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DORPHANG IN POLICE NET

ASSENG/2015/64205

Vol. II

Issue 170

Dibrugarh, Monday, January 9, 2017

Rights for the rightful owners

P5

Price -

In what appears to an alleged case of corruption in the postal department, a fraud case was exposed in the Postal department following bringing to light of a huge embezzlement of amount supposed to be the hard earned money of poor farmer and labourers of Chowkham circle.

After the news hit the headline, of late the postal authority

ET CAPSULES I-T Asks Banks To Report PreDemonetisation Cash Deposits New Delhi, Jan 8 : Seeking to analyse the banking transactions in months before the demonetisation, the Income Tax Department has asked banks to report cash deposits in savings accounts between April 1 to November 9, 2016.

Beside this, banks have also been directed to ask the account holders, who did not furnished PAN (Permanent Account Number) or Form 60 (for those without PAN) at the time of opening bank account, to do so

by February 28 this year.

As per a notification, the banks, cooperative banks and post offices will have to report to the tax department all cash deposits between April 1 to November 9, 2016 -- the day when the demonetisation was effected by junking old ? 500 and ? 1000 notes. Further, bank officials will have to document PAN or declaration of Form 60 received from the account holders and maintain all records for transactions under Rule 114B of I-T Act. Rule 114B lists various transactions for which quoting PAN is mandatory.

It said that persons who have not quoted PAN, or did not furnish Form 60 at the time of opening account, will have to provide the same by February 28. Form 60 is a declaration form filed by an individual without PAN. Following the demonetisation move effective from November 9, 2016, the tax department had earlier asked banks and post offices to report to it all deposits above ? 2.5 lakh in savings accounts and more than ? 12.50 lakh in current accounts made between November 10 and December 30, 2016. Also, cash deposits exceeding ? 50,000 in a single day had to be reported.

With an estimated about Rs ?

15 lakh crore in junked currency notes coming back into the banking system post demonetisation, the tax department has started analysing the bank deposit trends.

headed by K Kharshandi Superintendent of Post (HQ) Director of Postal Service Itanagar was deputed to unearth the irregularities.

However the investigation was one sided and biased, claims the letter. The note mentioned about gross misappropriation of deposit amount at Chowkham Sub Post Office (SPO) in Namsai district. In a written letter to the Chief Post Master General,

Department of Post Shillong North – East Circle, The Women Welfare Society (WWS) of Chowkham and members from Panchayat Raj Institution Chowkham – 5 expressed disappointments over the partiality meted out by the authority. The letter alleges that only 26 cases were investigated whereas the deception case is expected to be more.

The perpetrators are still in

unofficial leave and the department authority failed to initiate any action against them. Moreover the present Sub Post Master (SPM) Chowkham who is cooperative and sincere to the depositors and exposed irregularities by earlier incumbent is under transfer, asserts the letter.

The complainant also pleaded the authority to quash the transfer order of PP

PAGE 5

P7

Pakistani flag citing 'Jihad' hoisted in Dibrugarh

Sharma SPM till the case is resolved.

While concerning over the dilly-dallying tactics of the department to disclose the actual number of fraud cases and secure return of their hard earned money, the Women Welfare Society of Chowkham and members from Panchayat Raj Institution further expressed optimism over adopting effective mechanism for the immediate settlement of the cases.

Much- awaited ‘Lohit Bridge’ opened for light vehicle

Two Pakistani flags were found hoisted at Amaraguri Chapori, a sandbar of the Brahmaputra river in Dibrugarh on Sunday morning.

Photo by Manoj Pandey A Staff Reporter Dibrugarh, Jan 8

Tense situation prevailed following the discovery of a Pakistani national flag hoisted atop a bamboo pole in Amaraguri Chapori (sandbar) on the Brahmaputra river bed

Bishnu Rana Tezu, Jan 8

In a landmark footstep for the Lohit district, the much awaited and long pending Lohit Bridge (Alubari Bridge) a ‘dream project’ for this secluded region has been opened for light vehicle. The 2.9 Km bridge over the mighty Lohit River and 5 (five) km of road which was supposed to be completed on 2015 last was extended to Nov 2017, despite 6 (six) time of deadline failed where last deadline was fixed on 31st Dec 2016. On 5th Jan 2017 the bridge has been opened for light vehicle giving a huge sigh of relief to the public. “At last we got it, the long frustration, worries and pain of the public toward this bank of Lohit gets relieved.

Eventually we are joined in the mainstream,” expressed a commuter in ease. The commuters also extended deepest gratitude to Dr.

Pages- 12

Rashi Anand - A better childhood for street kids!

P6

Fraud case floors postal department’s officials at Chowkham Bishnu Rana Tezu, Jan 8

5.00

on Sunday morning. Two black banners with the word 'JIHAD' written across it were also found in the area tied to a house fence. Swinging into action the police immediately seized the objectionable items from the spot. Police said that they were investigating the incident

terming it an act by miscreants trying to disturb the peace of the society. No arrests have been made so far in this connection till filing this report.

Contd. on Page 4

17 illegal Bangladeshi immigrants to be pushed back ET Bureau Guwahati, Jan 8

Mohesh Chai local MLA, Danish Ashraf DC Lohit for their relentless effort to pursue the early completion of the bridge. And also extend appreciations to CM Pema Khandu and his government for their intervention. However 5 km (five) of road is under construction where Ground Sub Base (GSB) work is still undergoing which has several

ongoing culverts. The Company stands to its deadline but cited biggest stumbling block as rainy weather during monsoon which adversely effect in its pace of work.

Earlier, Venketesh Rao Assistant Project Manager (APM) Navayuga Private Engineering Company based at Hyderabad said that only bridge part is opened following public

earnest claim. “The entire 7 Km road-cum-bridge from Chowkham tri – junction to Digaru would have handover for public use but due to unavoidable circumstances we could not complete it in time.

We have also got extension of work up to Nov 2017 from Ministry of Road Transport & Highway (MoRTH) Govt. of India,” disclosed the APM.

Seventeen illegal Bangladeshi immigrants – three of them Hindus purportedly terrorized out of Bangladesh – will be deported by the authorities in BJP-ruled Assam on Monday. The deportation comes amidst stepped up protests by

Opposition parties, besides groups and organizations in the State, against the BJP-led NDA government’s move to grant citizenship to the nonMuslim immigrants of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan by amending the Citizenship Act. Official sources said the 17 were among 54 immigrants of

Bangladesh and Myanmar nabbed over the past few years for illegally entering India.

They had been languishing in a detention camp in southern Assam’s Silchar Central Jail since 2015. “The decision to deport the Bangladeshi immigrants was taken after two rounds of talks with Bangladeshi officials.

Contd. on Page 4

Assam set to launch Singpho Ethno-Cultural Fest home-stay scheme to to be celebrated at Bordumsa tap rural tourism Indrajit Tingwa Bordumsa, Jan 8

The 33rd edition of Singpho ethno-cultural festival Shapawng Yawng Manau Poi will be celebrated at the Singpho Heritage Centre (SHC), Bordumsa from 12 to 15 February, 2017. In this regard, a meeting was

convened at the SHC by the organising committee to chalk out the programmes and distribute works for the four day event. As usual, a large number of delegations are expected this time too. The Kukis and Yobins will also join the celebration. The Kachins from Myanmar will also partake in the festivities like previous years.

Speaking on the occasion former minister C.C.Singpho said that he and his family shall be extending all possible help for the successful outcome if the festival. He also said that he was always available for any advice or suggestions and extended his best wishes to the organising committee. Mayong Maio, former head of Singpho

Development Society also spoke in the meeting.

The Shapawng Yawng Manau Poi is celebrated in commemoration of Shapawng Yawng who the Singphos believe was their forefather. It is also a platform for get together of the community and foster unity amongst themselves.

PTI Guwahati, Jan 8

Assam government will soon roll out a rural home-stay scheme that aims to tap tourism prospects in rural and semi-urban areas besides creating job opportunities.

‘Aamaar Aalohi (Our Guest)Rural Homestay Scheme’ will give a new dimension and thrust to comfortable homestay facilities of standardised services to tourists and to

supplement the availability of accommodation in the rural tourist destinations, Assam Tourism Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

“The basic idea is to provide a clean and affordable place for foreigners and domestic tourists alike including an opportunity for foreign tourists to stay with Assamese families to experience local customs and traditions and relish authentic local cuisine,” he said. The scheme will be

implemented by the state government’s tourism department through Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) at an estimated cost of Rs 16.29 crore.

North East by Acting Eastwards to Southeast Asia and East Asia and the government would soon set up an Act East Department to explore the opportunities lying across the border in the international neighbourhood," Sonowal said at the Chief Ministers Session at Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Bengaluru.

and cultural relations, he said.

Assam is going through massive transformation - in every sector from infrastructure to reforms, land policy, investment, good governance, connectivity, social security and welfare, he said.

In the first phase for the year 2017-18, 200 such home-stays will be set up with the highest of 40 in Golaghat district where the famed Kaziranga National Park falls.

Contd. on Page 4

Plans to change Citizenship Sonowal urges NRIs Act hit Assam accord hurdle to invest in Assam

cmyk

The Modi government's plans to fast track citizenship for minorities like Hindus, Sikhs and Christians fleeing religious persecution has hit a bump with the law ministry pointing out that the proposal runs afoul of the Assam accord.

The amendments to grant swifter citizenship to minorities from countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan is a key promise

of the NDA government that argues that India has a duty to help out this section of refugees.

The move has a political element as these refugees have claimed to be victims of forced conversions and assaults.

But the proposed amendments to the citizenship act have political ramifications for Assam where chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal had himself successfully challenged the functioning of the Illegal Migrants

(Determination by Tribunals) Act on the grounds that the tribunals were in violation of the Constitution.

The Supreme Court had ruled in 2006 that all cases under the IMDT Act be transferred to the tribunals constituted under the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964 which defines a person of Indian origin as someone who has been a resident of Assam since January 1, 1966.

Thereafter a person who has entered India between January 1, 1966 and before March 23,

1971 and who has been detected to be a foreigner cannot be on an electoral list for a period of 10 years since then. "The proposal to reduce the aggregate period of residence from 11 years to six years appears to be contrary to the Assam accord," the law ministry said.

It has also pointed out that the case is currently being heard by a constitution bench of the SC and this needs to be taken into consideration when framing the bill. "The amendment of the citizenship

act makes it clear that the question of determination or detection of a foreigner is governed by the foreigners act, 1946 and foreigners (tribunals) order, 1964," the ministry has submitted.

The non-inclusion of Muslims in the amendment to the citizenship act has been opposed by some political parties as an act of discrimination.

The government has argued that the majority communities of these nations do not qualify for special treatment.

PTI Bengaluru, Jan 8

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today urged NRIs around the globe to join hands with the state government for the growth of Assam which, along with the entire North East, can become the new growth engine of not only of the country but for the whole of Asia. "Future growth of India can come through its

This would help in strengthening business, communication, investment,

"Assam is rapidly emerging as a strategic base for foreign and domestic investors to tap its vast potential.

Contd. on Page 4

cmyk

ET Bureau New Delhi, Jan 8

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JANUARY 9

P2 Aries

All your relationships should be especially warm and supportive now, Aries. This is a great day to form a business, personal, or romantic partnership. Business partnerships made now should be successful, while committed romantic bonds entered into today could well last for a long time.

Be open, honest, and unafraid to speak your mind. You might find that others share your thoughts.

Taurus Everything should be going great for your career, Taurus. It may all seem too good to be true, but rest assured that it's real.

Events could involve a job change, promotion, raise, or the opportunity to strike out on your own. Don't kid yourself. A lot of challenges lie ahead.

Gemini Discussions with those close to you could lead to the discovery of new concepts, perhaps from foreign cultures. You will want to learn more about them, Gemini, as will your friends. You might even decide to plan a trip to a place where you could expand your knowledge of this new interest. Any trip planned today should go smoothly and be quite rewarding. Don't hesitate.

Cancer Emotions that run very deep should bring you a lot of satisfaction today, Cancer. Relationships of all kinds could also be especially promising. A romantic relationship may be consummated, revitalized, or moved to the next level of commitment. Close friendships might become closer because of your mutual interests. Happiness and satisfaction should reign in the home today.

Leo Relations with neighbors, siblings, or other relatives could get a shot in the arm now, Leo. For some, your recent business successes cause them to get on the bandwagon. For others, your personal growth could increase their admiration of you. Partnerships of any kind formed today show great promise of success.

Virgo Success in your work continues to bring good fortune your way. Today you might get reassurance that this isn't a flash in the pan. You're likely to be financially secure for a long time. You're probably feeling strong and robust, full of energy and stamina, and ready to take on just about any challenge. Move ahead, Virgo, but move with caution. You're never too prosperous to be careful.

Libra As you continue to enjoy success and good fortune, your self-confidence grows, Libra, and so you're likely to attract new relationships with fascinating people in exciting fields who share your vision and interests. These could be business associations, close friendships, or new romantic partners.

Scorpio Today your sensitivity joins forces with practicality. Intuitive insights could come to you today, and you might express your new ideas to others, Scorpio.

Don't be surprised if they accept them.

Your unconscious mind is on a far more practical track than you may assume.

Sagittarius Today shows the promise of being a very busy yet fulfilling day, Sagittarius.

Enterprises involving corporations, churches, or other groups in your community are likely to benefit from your participation. You combine intuition with practicality in everything you do. You're especially communicative and good at dealing with others.

Capricorn Your financial success over the past several weeks may seem too good to be true, Capricorn. It might make yet another leap forward. This should make you happy. It also could bring up your insecurity over whether or not this cycle will continue. It probably will for a while.

It might be a good idea to save or invest you money.

Aquarius You're flying high at this point, Aquarius, enjoying the success you've achieved over the past several weeks. Today you could accomplish yet another goal, adding to your feeling of accomplishment.

Pisces Today you might have insights as to how to advance your career. These could come your way through dreams, sudden revelations, or perhaps visions. Don't hesitate to put them into action simply because of the unorthodox way they come to you, Pisces. Some of the most progressive and successful ideas have come because the inventor had a vivid dream.

Congress Seeks Revival In Assam Riding On Anti-Notes Ban Wave ET Bureau Guwahati, Jan 8: After the major poll debacle in Assam last year, the Congress that ruled the state for 15 years is trying to regroup itself on the plank of the notes ban issue and return as a formidable opposition party in the state. While many of its leaders have moved to BJP and some have chosen total isolation, only a few can be seen in the party offices across Assam.

Congress organised a massive rally to protest the government's decision to scrap Rs. 500 and 1,000 notes in Guwahati on Saturday. Former Assam chief min-

ister and senior Congress leader Tarun Gogoi hit out at the way the currency ban, announced in November of last year as a move to combat corruption and black money, has been implemented by the government at the centre.

"Normalcy has still not returned to the country even after 50 days, the poor are facing difficulties after the decision, rich people in the country remain unaffected and their black money also seems safe. Those who lost their lives due to demonetisation have not got any compensation," Mr Gogoi said.

Thousands of Congress supporters in Guwahati today marched to the Deputy Commissioner's office to hand over a memorandum to the Prime Minister asking for immediate repeal of the notes ban.

While this was part of Congress's nationwide protests against the centre's move to scrap higher denomination currency, in Assam this is seen as a great scope for the sinking party to regroup.

"Demonetisation has been antipoor. Congress as a party has

always been with the poor people. Thus we are raising our voice. In Assam and north-east we have faced disappointment politically but here we are all together and have hit the streets with a political campaign once again," said Congress lawmaker Gaurav Gogoi.

Not only has Congress lost its turf to BJP in Assam, the neighbouring state of Arunachal Pradesh too is ruled by a BJP government now. In Manipur, elections are a month away and Congress will be fighting anti-incumbency to a 15 years' rule.

Indian army conducts free medical and dental camp at Lajum pather village Manoj Kumar Ojha Doomdooma, Jan 8 : Kakopathar Army camp of Rupai Battalion under the aegis of DAO division of the Indian Army , operating in Tinsukia district organized a free medical and dental camp in Lajum Pather village on 8 Jan 2017 .Indian Army along with a team of doctors and pharmacists attended more than 522 people of Lajum Pather village and neighboring villages . Free medical consultation and medicinnes were provided .

Lajum Pather a remote village is underdeveloped and the villages face tough times to avail proper health care facilities .Senior citizens , ladies and children took the best advantage of medical camp and appreciated the efforts put in by Army .

Army has been undertaking many such activities and projects like awareness campaign , training the youths to join Army , provisioning of bridges and culverts to develop good will among local and instill confi-

Bharat Gaurav' Award to Dr. Tarali Gogoi Amit Nagori Golaghat , Jan 8: Eminent writer , educationist and vice principal of Furkating College in Golaghat Dr. Tarali Gogoi has been conferred with the ' Bharat Gaurav' Award recently at New Delhi .

International Business Council has conferred Dr. Tarali Gogoi with this award at a ceremony held at Krishna Menon Bhawan in New Delhi . The ' Bharat Gaurav' Award was given away by former central cabinet minister BP Singh. In the award ceremony several distinguished personalities were present.

dence in Indian Army . All efforts to improve social well being of the villagers to include infrastructure development and

Accident victim’s family sends distress call to help ailing girl

coordination with civil administration to mitigate public grievances will also be undertaking by Army in future .

Sasanka Talukdar Bajali, Jan 8: A road accident shambled the dreams of a family. The incident involving the two scooty left the girl commuter seriously injured while the boy who was riding the other sooty died after both were shifted to a private hospital in Guwahati. The incident occurred on 25th November 2016, as an impact of collision between two scooties at Bhawanipur (Sarupeta) in Barpeta district. The girl is battling for life; she is in a state of coma at a Guwahati based private hospital. The girl hails from Sarupata of Barpeta district a brilliant student of Bhawanipur Anchalik College. Her family has already spent Rs 7 lakhs for her treatment, and according to the doctor the

girl needs to be cured through a very long term process treatment, involving another Rs 7 to 8 lakh have to for her better further treatment, she has also lost her memory in the incident. The girl belongs to poor family; her family has already sold some land and some property for her treatment. Her father (Utpal Patgiri) is a teacher at LP school. The family has requested to the Public, Education and Health Minister for financial help of their child Miss Cimi Patgiri.

Any donation can return her family's lost smile by sending some money to her father's bank account no31104580302. And phone number 7896984677, 7399985134.

PREP FOR BIHU

Some eminent write ups of Dr. Tarali Gogoi are ' Okonir Dr. Lila Gogoi ', ' Dholphat', ' Bhaxha Sahitya Sanskriti and Dr. Mamoni Raisam Goswami ', ' Kaliya Daman' etc. The people of Golaghat expressed happiness and congratulated Dr. Tarali Gogoi on her achievement .

Expelled from AASU Amit Nagori Golaghat , Jan 8: Two members of All Assam Students Union's Golaghat Regional Union have been expelled from the organisation for their alleged anti organisation activities .

The two members Himangshu Saikia and Bitupon Gogoi have been expelled from Golaghat Regional Students Union . It was stated in a press release by the organisation .

Apply for PAN Card Just call at: +91 9863388669 Directly Delivered to you Diyun, Dist-Changlang A.P

A women making “Pitha” for Magh Bihu in Jorhat.

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DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JANUARY 9

NEWS

P3

Parliamentary panel summons RBI governor Urjit Patel on demonetisation move MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: A parliamentary committee probing the government's decision to scrap high-value bank notes, has sent Reserve Bank of India governor Urijit Patel a list of questions on the demonetisation process, and has asked him to appear before it on January 20.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has asked Patel to explain how the decision for demonetisation was taken, and for details on its impact on the country's economy, PAC Chairman and senior Congress member K V Thomas told

Reuters.

The PAC has asked Patel to provide details on the value of currency that has been returned to the bank, the quantity of "black money" it has received and the amount of new currency released so far, Thomas said.

"We had decided to call the RBI governor sometime in December but because the Prime Minister had asked for 50 days, we decided to postpone it to sometime January," Thomas told Reuters.

"We did not want to give it a political colour."

The PAC has also called other finance ministry offi-

A Parliamentary panel probing demonetisation move has asked RBI governor to appear before it.

The panel has asked Patel to explain how the decision for demonetisation was taken.

It has also sought details on impact of the move on the country's economy.

cials, including Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia and Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa, Thomas said.

Urijit Patel is under fire from some politicians over shortages of replacement currency and restrictions on depositing old notes that have caused long queues at banks and ATMs. He's already set to testify before another parliamentary committee.

Pressure on the central bank and Patel has grown since Prime Minister Narendra Modi stunned the country on November 8 by

announcing the withdrawal of legal tender for the old 500- and 1,000-rupee notes, removing 86 percent of the currency in circulation in a bid to crack down on the "shadow economy".

The RBI has issued over 50 circulars on demonetisation since the announcement. In fact, in just the first fortnight after November 8, the central bank issued as many as 27 circulars in direct response to the fallout of the note ban.

Last month, the RBI unexpectedly kept its key policy rate unchanged at 6.25 per-

cent, despite calls for action in the face of an intense cash shortage that threatens to slam the brakes on world's fastest-growing large economy.

The bank was widely expected to cut the rate by at least 25 bps.

K V Thomas told Reuters that the RBI governor has also been asked about the country's preparedness to handle cashless transactions, which the Narendra Modi has promoted after demonetisation by announcing lucky draws and several other 'incentivising' measures.

Note ban: PM Modi thinks of next generation, Now, Sushma Swaraj to 'perRahul Gandhi looks at disrupting next Parliament sonally' monitor Indian embassies' responses to tweets session, Arun Jaitley says New Delhi, Jan 8: Two months into the ban on high-value currency, the once serpentine queues outside banks "have disappeared", claimed finance minister Arun Jaitley in a Facebook post today.

As well, the fact that there was no social unrest during this "inconvenient" period shows that "an overwhelmingly large percentage of people have supported the centre's decision" to take out of circulation Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, the minister added.

"It (note ban) is obviously disruptive. All reforms are disruptive+ . They change the retrograde status quo.

The demonetisation puts a premium on honesty and penalises dishonest conduct... (Therefore, those opposing it have) sided with the black money friendly status quo," Jaitley said.

Those sentences formed the crux of Jaitley's post - sweeping reform will lead to a cleaner economy and anyone criticising it is moribund, a Luddite and corrupt.

And he may have titled his post 'Demonetisation - A look back at the last two months', but the short essay was equal parts crystal grazing and equal parts a defense of the various inconveniences people have faced since the note ban

came into effect November 8, 2016.

About criticism that PM Modi takes "unilateral decisions" Jaitley said there's "a marked difference in the approach" of the PM and his opponents.

"The Prime Minister was being futuristic, and thinking of a more modern, technology driven cleaner economy+ . He is now speaking of cleaning the political funding systems.

His opponents want a cash dominated, cash generating and cash exchange system to continue. The difference between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi was clear - the Prime Minister was thinking of the next generation while Rahul Gandhi was only looking at how to disrupt the next Session of Parliament," said Jaitley not pulling any punches.

Finance minister answers critics Jaitley addressed the criticism that the note ban led to acute cash shortages which in turn affected growth.

"Drop in economic activity on account of the currency squeeze during the remonetisation period would have (only) a transient impact on the economy... When 86% of a

country's currency constituting 12.2% of its GDP, is squeezed out of the market and sought to be replaced by a new currency, there would obviously be significant consequences of that decision," he said.

The minister said this "transient impact" is a necessary step toward a cashless economy as well a tax-compliant one, with benefits for all. Cash, he said, is evil. It "funds bribery, corruption, counterfeit currency and terrorism."

"Paper currency is a zero interest anonymous bearer bond. It has no name or history attached to it. Crime can take place with or without cash but excessive cash as a medium of exchange is favoured by the underground economy. It results in non-compliance in the matters of tax payments which creates an unjust enrichment in favour of the evader as against the poor and the deprived," he wrote.

The predominance of cash also leads to tax evasion, or, 'the old normal', Jaitley said.

"Expenditure required for poverty eradication, national security and economic development have to be compromised with on account of tax non-compliances. For seven decades the Indian "normal" has been to undertake transac-

New Delhi, Jan 8 : If you're travelling abroad and need the local Indian embassy's help, tweet to them and tag External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in your message. She said today she'll "personally monitor" embassies' and other authorities' reponses to such calls for aid.

Swaraj has often responded to tweets sent directly to her by Indians in distress abroad, and has intervened personally to help them. But today, she said her Public in favour of note ministry's adopting "a new bank As for the note ban leading pattern." tions partly in cash and partly in cheque. 'Pucca' and 'Kachha' accounts are a part of the business language.

Tax evasion has been considered as neither unethical nor immoral. It was just a way of life. Several Governments have allowed this "normal" to continue even though this compromised with larger public interest.

The Prime Minister's decision is intended to create a new 'normal' " Jaitley said.

to huge problems for farmers, daily wagers and the lower middle class, Jaitley took their silence to mean consent.

"There was no social unrest while implementing such a major decision. All opinion polls conducted by independent media organizations have shown that an overwhelmingly large percentage of people have supported the Government's decision," Jaitley said.

He said "the opposition disrupted a full Session of Parliament" for no reason and ineffectually.

community radios can address the issues of skill development and demographic dividend in India.

A week-long Capacity Building Programme on integration of Community Learning Programme (CLP) in Skill Development leading to sustainability ended today at the SVD house, Airport Road, Borjhar. The programme was organised by the Dr. Anamika Ray Memorial Trust (ARMT), Guwahati in collaboration with the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA), New Delhi.

The aim of the workshop was to communicate about the skill development concept and national agenda,

concept mapping, message matrix, baseline survey, identifying community skills and simplify the concepts of industry sectors and skill trainers while integrating the CLP with skill development.

Altogether 20 representatives from eight Community Radio Stations from the eastern India participated in the programme and exchanged their views and queries on communication of skill development and sustainability. The participants were from the Community Radio Stations like Radio Luit, Radio Brahmaputra, Jnan Taranga from Assam, Radio Snehi from Bihar, Radio Bulbul from Orissa, Radio Jadavpur University and Salesian Radio of West Bengal, Radio

Integrated Community from Manipur. Dr. Chandrabhanu Pattanayak, Sanjogita Mishra, Devi Leena Bose, Dr Badab Barman and Dr Ankuran Dutta were the resource persons in the workshop. All eight stations will work with the youth communities for a period of six months to identify the traditional skills and create awareness on skill development. Each station will conduct a baseline survey for 500-1000 youths followed by formative research to develop the community learning programmes on skills. The Chairperson of ARMT Professor M C Sarma thanked all the participants from five states of country for their effort to make the programme a grand success.

CBSE exams will not be deferred due to state polls BHOPAL, Jan 8: The class 10 and class 12 board examinations under the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) this year will not be delayed due to Assembly polls.

However there might be minor changes in examination dates in the first and second week

of March.

According to reports, CBSE has written to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) to keep in mind the schedule for board exams while setting the dates for the Assembly polls.

The exams will most likely commence from

March 1, 2017. However, no exams will be conducted on March 4, 8 and 11.

The exams generally take place in the months of March and April.

According to CBSE PRO Rama Sharma, the schedules for class 10 and 12 board examinations will be released

next week.

"We will soon release a hassle free date sheet, students need to be patient and wait for the dates to come," Sharma told TOI over phone from New Delhi.

Last year, the class 10 and 12 CBSE board exams began on March 1.

last night.

I monitor their response to your tweets personally. In case of emergency pl mention Sushma Swaraj (SushmaSwaraj) January 8, 2017 Swaraj's announcement comes just weeks after her ministry launched Twitter Seva+ , "an umbrella platform" of all External Affairs Ministry-affiliated Twitter handles which will allow Indians to get help faster than ever from passport offices and Indian overseas missions.

ET Bureau ITANAGAR, Jan 8 : A month after Prasar Bharati announced the launch of DD Arun Prabha, Doordarshan's second channel for the northeast, the first interactive meeting on the matter was held here on Friday.

The meeting focused on improving film production in Arunachal Pradesh and saw a detailed discussion on programme proposals for DD Arun Prabha.

The Prasar Bharati team was headed by director-general Supriya Sahu, a senior IAS officer, while the film fraternity of the state was led by Film Federation of Arunachal president Chopa Cheda.

Speaking on the occasion,

Supriya called upon producers and directors to come up with new ideas for programmes, serials, telefilms and documentaries. She said the proposals put forward by Arunachal and Sikkim would be given utmost priority.

"Though the channel will cover the whole of the northeast, it will specially focus on shows/ programmes from these two states," the officer said. She, however, clarified that proposals put forward would be properly scrutinized and transparency would be maintained to make sure only the best programmes were selected. Urging filmmakers to come up with interesting programmes, the DG added, "We are looking for innovative shows and documentaries."

Escaped UPT from Dhemaji arrested in Pasighat A Staff Reporter PASIGHAT, Jan 08: The Pasighat police on Friday arrested an escaped Under Trial Prisoner who was wanted in connection with Dhemaji PS Case No. 270/ 14 U/s 224/216 IPC from 2 Mile area who was working as a Shaktiman Truck driver.

The police team was led by SP Pranav Tayal who raided the location of the escaped prisoner after getting a tip off from their sources.

While briefing about the arrest, Atan Taki, OC, Pasighat PS said that, one Ratan Basumotary, S/o Rajen Basumotary age about 24 years, village No. Mahanpur, PO/PS Chimen Chapori, Dhemaji, Assam was wanted by Dhemaji police and in compliance with the WT message from SP Dhemaji vide signal No. DMJ/CRM/UTP/2014 dated

24/10/14 the escaped prisoner was arrested from 2 Mile at 9.10 PM on Friday.

The SP Pasighat, Pranav Tayal himself led the police team being assisted by SI Tabin Padung and SI Nani Nama. Basumotary was handed over to OC, Jonai, Assam, S.C. Das next day, informed Taki.

Meanwhile, police has made an appeal to every concern citizen of the district that, before engaging anyone as driver, labour etc, his/her character antecedents has to be cross verified first to avoid any future complicacies as there are some dreaded criminal/s from across the border who are taking safe refuge in the district/state. As such dangerous criminals also pose great threat to the employers as well, cautioned police.

Fielding candidates for all 403 Assembly seats in UP: Cong

"Their exaggerated claims on the disruption of the economy have proved wrong," he said.

LUCKNOW, Jan 8 : De-

Community radios of the country can play a significant role by the participatory communication: Amit Borah ET Correspondent Guwahati, Jan 8: India is the youngest country of the world from the number of youth population is concerned and the government has been trying to develop the skills of the youth population of the country. In this mission of the government, the community radios of the country can play a significant role by the participatory communication. While addressing as the chief guest at the valedictory session of the Capacity Building Programme on Skill Development through Community Radio, Assam Chief Operating Officer of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDUGKY) under the Ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of India, Amit Borah said that

Pl tweet your problem to concerned Indian Embassy/authority and endorse the same to @sushmaswaraj . I monitor their response to your tweets. — Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) January 8, 2017 Swaraj also said those facing an emergency should use the hashtag #SOS, repeating a request she made

SushmaSwaraj

Prasar Bharati focus on Arunachal Pradesh

spite talks of alliance with SP in Uttar Pradesh, Congress today said it was going ahead with preparations for fielding candidates in all 403 Assembly seats in the state.

"We are in the process of selecting candidates for all the seats," UP PCC chief Raj Babbar said here.

He said all the names will be recommended to the Central

Election Committee of Congress by tomorrow.

So far candidates have been selected for the first three phases of the UP polls.

Babbar has not been in favour of any alliance with SP, though senior Congress leader and incharge of UP Ghulam Nabi Azad is not averse to such a tie-up.

Meanwhile, senior SP leader Ramgopal Yadav refused to

reveal his cards, saying he had not spoken to Akhilesh Yadav and was not in a position to make any comment.

Akhilesh has been saying that the SP will get majority on its own and in case of an alliance, they will get over 300 seats.

Talks of a possible alliance with Congress had hit the roadblock when Mulayam

Singh Yadav ruled out a tieup with any party and favoured only merger of parties with SP. But, with Akhilesh gaining the upper hand in the power game in Samajwadi Party, Congress seems to be moving closer to an alliance with the ruling party in Uttar Pradesh to keep MuslimYadav equation intact.

Peace in J&K will compel India, Pakistan to end animosity: Mehbooba SRINAGAR, Jan 8 : Pitching for peace and reconciliation in Jammu and Kashmir on the first death anniversary of her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today said a "good atmosphere" in the state will compel India and Pakistan to come together.

The PDP chief said the peace process should start in the state and "first we should talk within us" as "our people are fighting against each other".

"I request you to stand united. The relations between India and Pakistan are bad but they cannot remain the same always.

"Both the nations have to live and die together. We have to create such a good atmosphere in Jammu and Kashmir that India and Pakistan are compelled to come together," Mehbooba

said here.

She was addressing PDP workers at a function on the first death anniversary of her father and former chief minister Sayeed.

Mehbooba said Jammu and Kashmir bears the direct brunt of animosity between India and Pakistan. "There is a direct impact of that on the situation here... (but) the enmity is not going to continue," she said.

The Chief Minister said Sayeed always wanted to take the state out of "this morass because till we do not get out of this difficulty, development is not possible".

"That is why he wanted to take the developmental process forward along with the political process," she said, adding she and her party are trying to implement his

programme which is part of the agenda for alliance with BJP. "I am confident that we will work on that agenda and take J-K out of this morass," she said.

She said there were a number of issues to work on like water, power and ration and the "biggest" one of unemployment but "all this comes to a standstill when our political process stops".

"The political process started by Sayeed in his first term from 2002-05 saw dialogue. Roads were opened and there was a good atmosphere between India and Pakistan, there was ceasefire.

"But because of the governments here and in Delhi, that process could not be taken forward," she lamented The Chief Minister said

Sayeed had to "start from zero" when he took over the reins of the state again in 2015 but unfortunately he could not complete the task.

Mehbooba said that her government is now trying to bring back on track the peace process and noted that she had written to separatists to meet the parliamentary delegation which visited the state last year.

"But we did not get a desired response. I am trying that together we create such a situation so that a process is started.

"First we should talk within us. Our people are fighting against each other. Our children should be in schools, with pens in their hands.

Sometimes, certain elements thrust stones in their hands in place of bats and balls.

"It will take time and we are hopeful of succeeding," she said.

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JANUARY 9

ULFA Militant Apprehended Amit Nagori Golaghat , Jan 8: A self styled second lieutenant of the ULFA (I) Madhab Das alias Pranab Gogoi was today apprehended by the police at Dergaon in Golaghat . According to police sources the hardcore militant has direct links with Dhiren, Eastern Commander of the banned outfit and another leader Nayan. Further investigation is on.

GNRC honours 4 social icons Agencies GUWAHATI, Jan 8 : The GNRC Hospitals observed its 30th anniversary in its Dispur campus on Thursday, according to a press release issued here today.

To commemorate the occasion, the GNRC Hospitals honoured four noted personalities of Assam, including senior journalist and former editor of Dainik Asam DN Chakravartty, noted litterateur and consulting editor of Niyomia Barta Homen Borgohain, senior journalist and writer Dhirendra Nath Bezboruah and veteran journalist and editor of Dainik Asam Radhika Mohan Bhagawati.

Speaking on the occasion, CMD of GNRC Dr Nomal Chandra Borah said, “It is our honour to recognise these icons and express our gratitude to them for their significant contributions to the society. As a token of gratitude for their contributions to the society, the GNRC will take care of their healthcare expenses for their lifetime.”

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Assam Governor advocates character building education ET Bureau Guwahati, January 8: Assam Governor Shri BanwarilalPurohit appealed to the teaching fraternity of the State to shoulder the responsibility of rendering education that becomes helpful for character building and inculcating love for the nation among the students. ?Speaking at the closing ceremony of the completion of 80 years of Khetrihardia

H.S. School at Hajo today, Shri Purohitsaid that the education that helps the students to build moral character can go a long way in addressing burning issues like corruption etc. He said, “If the education system of our nation helps our students imbibing and nurturing moral values they can build a deterrent against corruption and if that can be done our country can script many success stories and can surpass manydeveloped

nations of the world”. ?Emphasising the need of moral character, Shri Purohit cited the example of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri who by virtue of their sheer humility and sound moral character rose to the zenith of success. He also called upon the students to be disciplined, dedicated and determined to achieve bid targets in life. Shri Purohit also asked them to resort to

ET Correspondent Guwahati, Jan 8: Worried over one of the leading media houses in the country, HT Media Limited’s decision to shut down four editions of its English daily Hindustan Times, Journalists’ Forum Assam (JFA) expressed serious concern over the development. It may be mentioned that various bodies of journalists across the country expressed serious concern over the HT Media’s decision to shut down Hindustan Times’ four editions. Leading scribe body Brihanmumbai Union of Journalists (BUJ) while condemning the HT Media Limited’s decision said that for this development, hundreds of journalist would lose their job. The Assam based media rights body asserted that the development shows the lack of goodwill of the newspaper managements to offer due benefits to their own employees. Mentionable is that the BUJ, in a recent statement from Mumbai, strongly condemned the decision of HT Media Ltd to

shut down four editions of Hindustan Times (HT) in Kolkata, Bhopal, Indore and Ranchi and three bureaus of Kanpur, Allahabad and Varanasi with effect from 9 January 2017. The journalist union also demanded to immediately revoke the decisions, failing which it would draw the attention of the apex court in the country to these developments in the hearing slated for 10 January next.

“The closing down of four editions and three bureaus at one go is an unprecedented event in the history of Indian print media and has clearly been done to circumvent the implementation of the Majithia Wage Board Award, which was upheld by the Supreme Court by its judgment dated 7 February 2014,” said the BUJ statement. It also added that apart from closing down four editions, the HT authority was pruning staff in various departments as well as in The Mint, a sister publication from the New Delhi based group and shut down the business bu-

reaus in Mumbai and Delhi, besides the bureau in Kolkata. Hundreds of journalists and other media employees are likely to lose their jobs as a consequence of these malicious and illegal decisions, added the statement.

A BSE listed entity, HT Media Ltd with an annual turnover of over rupees 2000 crore has not implemented the recommendations of Majithia wage board in any of its units and forced employees to submit undertakings under clause 20(j) of the award to renounce the benefits under it.

The company also failed to implement clause 9(b) that entitles even those working on contract basis to receive variable pay at the rate of 30 percent of basic scale. “It is astonishing that a hugely profitable company like HT Media Ltd (whose third quarter of Calendar 2016 earnings stood at Rs 602.23 crore) has chosen to illegally close down six editions of Hindustan Times and sack several other journalists working in various

Manoj pandey Dibrugarh, Jan 8 :The prestigious 12 day long National Integration Tour(NIT) came to an end on 07 Jan 2017, with a flagging in ceremony organised at Naharkatiya Sports Auditorium. The Flagging In ceremony was presided over by Chief Guest Maj Gen Ananta Bhuyan, SM, GOC Dao Division, in attendance were Brig Siddharth Chawla, Commander Dao Gunners and MLA Shri Naren Sonowal on 07 Jan 2017.

The Flagging In ceremony was presided by Maj Gen Ananta Bhuyan, SM. " my Division had made elaborate preparations for the complete journey. I am sure this tour had made a remarkable mark in the life of these students.

The tour was planned in a manner to give maximum exposure to the diversity of the nation," he said.

?Pointing to the unrelented support to the demonetization move of the centre by all conscientious citizens, Shri Purohittermed it as the Nation’s crackdown on corruption. He also lauded Assam Government’s response to demonetization move and hailed Chief Minister Sarbananada Sonowal’s

efforts in managing post demonetization period and making cashless transactions a reality in all the places especially in tea garden areas.

The meeting which was presided over the veteran journalist Kanaksen Deka, was attended by the Deputy CommissionerKamrup Vinod Seshan, Principal of Khetrihardia H.S. SchoolNazimuddin Ali Saikia along with a host of other dignitaries.

HT Media Ltd’s shut down call alarms Journalists’ bodies of Assam

Flagging in : National integration tour

The tour saw the meritorious students from lesser privileged sections of Assam travel to various places of historical and cultural importance in Delhi, Agra, Jaipur and Guwahati. As a part of the tour, students met the President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee on 2 Jan 2017 at Rashtrapathi Bhavan.

‘hard labour’ to make a difference to the society they belong to.

bureaus rather than implementing the statutory wage board recommendations,” asserted the BUJ. Also added, “Furthermore, the company's official website has projected a total revenue of Rs 662.40 crore, in Q1FY2017, which constitutes an increase of 7.5 per cent over the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

It also maintains a strong balance sheet position with net cash of Rs 823.40 crore.” “We, in Assam, witnessed the sudden closure of a mainstream Assamese daily in November last year, where the management (proprietor being a former Congress minister) maintained serene silence over the matter. Many journalist friends, engaged with Janasadharan, preferred to quit the job with three months warpath against the management,” said JFA president Rupam Barua. As the heat of Majithia wage board rises, most of the newspaper managements in Guwahati have adopted many clever (also innovative) ways to deal with the situa-

GOC Dao Division Major General Ananta Bhuyan, Commander Dao Gunners Brigadier Siddharth Chawla posing with the students who participated in a 12-day National Integration Tour during the flagging-in cremony held at Naharkatia Sports Auditorium in Dibrugarh district on Saturday.. photo by manoj pandey dibrugarh

They will be pushed back through Karimganj sector of the border tomorrow (Monday) morning,” Cachar Superintend of Police Rakesh Roushan told Express. The three Hindus are Bhagabati Goala (50), Rahul Das (23) and Mou Das (18). They had purportedly fled the neighbouring country in the face of religious persecution there. Last year, the authorities in southern Assam had deported 10 Bangladeshis.

The students who participated in National Integration Tour said this was once in a life time opportunity. “I never expected I would get a chance to meet the President, it was a great experience for the first time in my life, I saw true diversity of the country.

I sincerely thank Dao Division for giving me this great opportunity. – Raktim Parashar Goswami of KV Namrup” The NIT tour started on 26

The opposition parties in Assam are critical of the BJP’s alleged contradictory stand on the issue of illegal immigrants.

“The BJP emphatically says it will drive out the illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. Then, it contradicts its position through its move to grant citizenship to the Bangladeshi Hindu

General Officer Commanding Dao Division as part of Operation Sadbhavana. A free Medical Camp with free medicines and check-up for 2000 persons was organised, interaction with ESM and Sadbhavana Project beneficiaries, Pre-Recruitment Rally for 1500 persons, Equipment Display of Indian Army and Financial Inclusion programs were organised on the eve of Flagging In.

“Even though The Assam Tribune group of publications set the example in implementing the Majithia wage board recommendation years back, it has not inspired the other Guwahati based newspaper managements to take similar initiatives for offering legal dues to their employees,” asserted the JFA statement questioning, ”Are they waiting to get their newspaper establishments declared as law-breaking institutions in India?”

immigrants by amending the Citizenship Act. How can both go side by side?” three-time former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi of the Congress wondered.

The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) is equally livid.

“Assam shouldn’t be made a dumping ground by being forced to accept the immigrants,” Gogoi’s predecessor and AGP leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, who recently petitioned President Pranab Mukherjee against the Centre’s move, said. The BJP views the Hindu immigrants as “refugees”.

It asserts that they are the victims of partition, who fled to India in the face of torture and religious persecution in Bangladesh.

As per the Assam Accord of 1985, the immigrants, irrespective of faith, who entered Assam after March 24, 1971, will be deported.

The Accord was signed by the then Rajiv Gandhi government in the aftermath of the bloody Assam Agitation.

Smart policing project faces many hurdles ET Bureau Guwahati, Jan 8 : The ambitious Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) project which aims to create a comprehensive system to enhance the efficiency of policing through e-governance has lost momentum as a result of the remoteness, terrain and lack of power in several areas of Assam.

Left with little option, state police recently approached the Centre for help. "At least 374 sites have been connected using the BSNL network whereas 91 locations are working offline due to connectivity issues.

The matter has been taken up with the Centre," DGP Mukesh Sahay said.

Under the CCTNS, at least 312 police stations and 154 other offices including police headquarters, scientific and technical organizations, ballistic and fingerprint bureaus will be linked.

several sites in Chirang, Dhubri, Dima Hasao, Tinsukia and other districts are yet to be covered by the project," a top police officer engaged with the project said.

"Besides river police and a few railway stations, police stations in Sivasagar and Karbi Anglong as well as

So far CCTNS training has been imparted to more than 2,000 police personnel; 8,000 other police person-

Agencies Udalgiri, Jan 8: Owing to the new demonitization policy and the currency crunch across all over India; In a sigh of relief, the Orang tea estate under Udalguri district installed its first ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) on this Saturday. A collaborative meeting was held at the Orang Tea Estate which was inagurated by Sadhana Hojai, Deputy Commissioner, Udalguri. Speaking on the ocassion Hojai said, " Post-Demonitazation the workers of tea gardens had difficulty in receiving wages. But after collective efforts of government agencies and banks everyone is now entitled for wages through their respective bank accounts."

During the inaugural meet-

ing, Thaneswar Gohain opened the inaugural speech which was also attended by Benu Adhikari President of Orang besides representatives of Assam Branch Indian Tea Association. Officials of Assam Grahmin Bikash Bank (AGVB), tea labour's association members .

After inauguration of the ATM installation of AGVB

by Sadhana Hojai, DC Udalguri ,Rajni Khakha was the first worker who received her wages through the ATM facility. It may be mentioned that, the touch screen operated ATMs are an alien technology for the people of the area and it would need some lengthy time for them to use the service properly untill a proper sensitization drive is carried up in the region.

Pakistani flag citing 'Jihad' hoisted in Dibrugarh Contd. from Page 1 Assam Police has started survey of ‘char’ areas (seasonal islands), besides increasing patrolling to prevent any untoward incident by antisocial elements. There will be a lot of ground work to be done by the state administration if they are taking steps for stopping illegal migration and address security threats from across the border.

As per details from Census 2011, Assam has population of 3.12 Crores, an increase from figure of 2.67 Crore in 2001 census. Total population of Assam as per 2011 census is 31,205,576 of which male and female are 15,939,443 and 15,266,133 respectively.

According to an official release, “Survey in the 829 villages at char areas of the state have started after the direction of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and the river patrolling system has also been bolstered with modern technology.”

The survey would ensure that the youths of these areas do not fall prey to the evil designs of anti-national elements.

Last year panic gripped the state after local TV channels telecasted a video clip, allegedly posted by the Islamic State (IS) after the spate of terror attacks in neighbouring Bangladesh, which showed a Bengali-speaking militant issue a threat against what many mistook as ‘Assam’.

Interest within the state of Assam pertaining to the much known terrorist group Islamic State is growing if sentiments are not looked into and deradicalization programmes is absent within the framework of the Assam Police.

“The survey carried out by Assam Police in the chars would benefit the people residing at these areas, especially during the time of flood, erosion and other such natural calamities as relief operations would efficiently reach the affected people,” the statement added.

Dibrugarh police is investigating the case but this anti national activity that took place is considered as a failure of the police department.

Matters have to be taken seriously at hand even if it is only the handiwork of some criminal elements who wish to divide along ethic lines.

17 illegal Bangladeshi immigrants to be Assam set to launch pushed back home-stay scheme to Contd. from Page 1

Dec 2016 and ended on 07 Jan 17. The grand Flagging In ceremony brought before audience, exuberance of youth who performed various cultural shows.

The programme was supported in a huge way by the local population, approximately 6000 people from Naharkatia came for the grand event. Seven meritorious students were felicitated with scholarship of Rs 21000 each by Major General Ananta Bhuyan, SM

tion, said a JFA statement adding that some of them preached for reappointing all of their employees in the contract system. Some media house managements proposed to degrade all the employees including the journalists in positions with an aim to reduce the financial burden, and few have more astonishing idea to pay an employee according to the guidelines of the wage board with an inherent condition that he/she would return a major portion of the salary to the account department.

Orang TE gets ATM

nel have been trained on basic computer operations.

The trained officials have been involved in digitizing police database and records. The entire digitized data will be uploaded on the principal server at the State Data Centre.

"The project will enable easy sharing of information

among police stations, state or union territory headquarters and other agencies," he added.

Exclusive email services have been are provided to all the connected police stations and higher offices under the system. Nearly 25 lakh emails have been transacted using the system so far.

tap rural tourism Contd. from Page 1

It will be followed by 25 in Barpeta, home to Manas National Park, 20 each in Majuli, Morigaon, HaflongUmrangsu, 15 in Sonitpur and 10 each in Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Hajo-Sualkuchi and Darrang.

Besides providing standardised and s u p p l e m e n t a r y accommodation in and around tourist areas, a primary aim of the scheme

was to empower local community by creating tourism related employment and distributing economic benefits through tourism and to enrich sustainable and responsible development of eco and rural tourism, Sarma pointed out. He further said the scheme also aims to conserve nature, culture, heritage and traditions, to create positive environmental benefits for rural people and their surroundings and to increase the value for local culture.

Sonowal urges NRIs to invest in Assam Contd. from Page 1

Assams location in combination with its rich natural resources and skilled manpower provide a natural backdrop for promising business", an official release quoted the Chief Minister said as saying.

Sonowal said that in terms of connectivity, industrial infrastructure, natural resources and policy initiatives, Assam has a very promising and investorfriendly environment.

Assam is connected to all major cities of the country through East-West corridor, air and rail network. The state has highest number of airport density in the country with international airport at Guwahati, he said.

The waterway through the river Brahmaputra provides access to sea ports of Kolkata and Bangladesh while the proposed Trans Asian Railway and Trans Asian Highway will further improve connectivity with most of the BIMSTEC and ASEAN nations, the Chief Minister pointed out.

Sonowal later met several NRI entrepreneurs and representatives of foreign companies and sought their cooperation for industrial growth of the state.

NRI Delegates and representatives of companies from countries like US, UK, Canada, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, Malaysia, China, Kenya, Mauritius, West Indies, and France took part in the discussion.

PTI DG NN MR

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JANUARY 9

REST OF

Dorphang in police net Shillong, Jan 8 : Mawhati legislator and former HNLC chairman Julius Kitbok Dorphang was arrested by a joint team of Assam and Meghalaya Police from the Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) at Garchuk on Friday night, a senior city police officer informed. He has been remanded to five-day police custody.

Dorphang came into police net after 11 days of search.

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, Vivek Syiem, SP, City (Crime), said several places were raided and intelligence inputs led the police team to Guwahati.

“We finally arrested him around 11pm from ISBT Garchuk with the assistance of Guwahati City Police,” the SP said, adding, “He will be produced in the court of the Additional District Commissioner on Saturday and we are asking for police remand for five days.”

Syiem said the Assembly Speaker has been informed about the arrest and police hope to file charge sheet at the earliest. Ri Bhoi police will also ask for remand.

Though other sections of POCSO Act have been invoked, police have prayed to the court to add more rigorous charges under Section 5(c) pertaining to rape committed by a public servant on a minor.

Dorphang’s face was cov-

Co-convener of her newlyfloated party, People's Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA), Sharmila went to Thoubal on her bicycle and chose the room herself.

Julius Dorphang being brought out of the District and Sessions Court in the city on Saturday. ered with a shawl when he was being led by the police into the court of the District and Sessions Judge late on Saturday afternoon.

Some relatives accompanying the arrested legislator walked hurriedly in front of him shielding his view from the media. The Meghalaya Police had earlier issued a lookout notice against the legislator who was absconding after a court in Shillong issued non-bailable warrant against him on Wednesday last in connec-

tion with the case of sexual exploitation of the 14-yearold Ichamati girl.

Meghalaya police also alerted their counterparts in the neighbouring states.

A joint team of Meghalaya and Assam police were conducting raids in various places in Guwahati since Thursday to nab the absconding MLA. The city police suspected that he was trying to board a bus to somewhere from Guwahati at the ISBT. The minor girl had accused

the Independent legislator of sexually exploiting her in a guest house in Shillong and on another occasion somewhere in Ri Bhoi. The 51-year-old militant leaderturned politician was the self-styled chairman of HNLC from 1993 to 2007. He surrendered in 2007 and was elected as MLA in 2013.

The case was registered on December 24 in which Dorphang was the accused at Laitumkhrah PS. He left Shillong on December 27 and was absconding.

Act 2001. The handling of the ULB election by the NPF-led DAN government has resulted in a confrontation with all Naga tribes. The pros and cons in ascertaining - lengthy and expensive court battle and apprehensive of losing the case- did not warrant the hasty decision.

The NPF-led DAN government appeared to have plunged headlong in issuing notification for civic polls mainly to get significant fund from the Ministry of Urban Development, once notification for holding civic polls has been issued.

Mokokchung: In Mokokchung, the Ao Senden also called for a ‘lightning bandh’ from 11 a.m.to 5 p.m. which paralysed the town and prevent-

ing aspirants form filing their nomination papers.

Immediately after the announcement, shops downed shutters while plying of vehicles and movement of pedestrians were also restricted.

The bandh was to prevent any nomination Municipal and Town Council elections on the last day(Saturday).

In a charged up atmosphere, hundreds of volunteers blocked the road leading to DC office to prevent public or private vehicles from entering.

At the end of the stipulated time 3 p.m. the closure was underway when information was received about extension of the last date to January 9.

Senden reacts: The Senden said that when the people were raising their voices and

expressing displeasure against holding of municipal elections in the current format in Nagaland, the decision of the state govt to extend the dateline is considered by the Ao Senden as a “direct insult and disrespect to the people”.

The Senden said extension was done only to enable a few vested interested candidates to file their nomination and going against the sentiments of the community.

The Senden further cautioned the state government that in case of any eventuality arising out of the extension of nomination, the government itself will be held solely responsible. The Senden has also vowed that it will continue to remain in vigil in front of DC office even on Sunday.

558 candidates file nominations till Jan 7; nil for 6 civic bodies Dimapur, Jan 8 : Altogether 558 candidates filed thier nomination papers till January 7, 2017 for the forthcoming Municipal/Town councils poll across the state while no one had filed nominations for– Kohima Municipal Council, Mokokchung Municipal Council, Kiphire Town Council, Tuensang Town Council, Mon Town Council and Changtongya Town Council.

According to ADC Kohima and Returning Officer for KMC election, Lithrongla Tongpi, 31 nomination papers have been issued but none of them came forward to file nomination. She however said that the situation in Kohima has been by and large under control despite stiff opposition from various civil societies and NGOs restraining the candidates from filing nomination.

For Dimapur Municipal Council, a total of 15 candidates including 6 women

Irom Sharmila camps in Thoubal to take on Ibobi Singh polls.

IMPHAL, Jan 8 : Rights activist Irom Sharmila Chanu took her mission to fight chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh in the upcoming crucial assembly elections a step ahead on Saturday, getting herself a rented house for her stay in Thoubal, Ibobi Singh's home turf.

Bandh held in Kohima, Mokokchung Kohima, Jan 8 : There was spontaneous response from public in Kohima, Medziphema and Chumukedima to the total bandh called by the Angami Youth Organisation(AYO) Saturday from 7 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. to discourage any aspiring candidate in Angami areas under Kohima and Dimapur districts from filing nominations to for election to the Urban Local Bodies(ULBs) scheduled on February 1,2017.

Both Kohima and Medziphema recorded ‘nil’ nomination for the municipal and town council election respectively ; while 14 candidates filed their nominations at the DC office Dimapur for the Chumukedima town council.

Like the Angami Public Organisation(APO) and also Ao Senden all apex tribe organisations had called for boycott of the polls against the NPF-led DAN government’s hasty decision to hold civic polls without addressing serious apprehensions raised by apex tribe organisations pertaining to various aspects of the Nagaland Municipal

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NORTHEAST

submitted nomination papers to Returning Officer, of which four were from the BJP, seven Independents and four Congress. Further, a total of 14 candidates including seven women candidates filed nominations for 11 wards under Chumukedima Town Council (CTC) on Friday. The candidates-11 NPF and four Independents, submitted their nomination papers to Returning Officer DC Office Dimapur.

In Meluri Town Council 6 Independent candidates including a lone woman filed nominations. Six more candidates filed nominations for Aboi Town Council on NPF and Congress tickets.

In Wokha Town Council one Independent candidate filed the nomination while in Bhandari Town Council three Congress (two women) and two Independents both women. In Tuli Town Council three Independents and one BJP filed

nominations, while in Tizit Town Council BJP fielded nine and a lone Independent.

In Pungro Town Council eight candidates including four women filed nominations- one NPF, six Independent and one BJP and in Tobu Town Council two each Independent and BJP. Four more candidates- three BJP and one Independent, filed thier nomination for the East Dimapur Town Council and one Independent for Tseminyu Town Council.

Seven candidates including three women filed nominations for Peren Town Council-- four Independents and three Congress while for Phek Town Council polls one NPF, two Congress and one Independent filed thier nominations.

Another seven candidates including four women filed nomination papers for Mangkolemba Town Council Saturday.

ADC Mangkolemba Wapang Aier told Nagaland Post

that so far 13 nomination papers for nine wards were received.

In Kiphire Town Council for 11 wards (4 reserved), 18 candidates including 6 women filed nominations10 NPF, 6 Independents, 1 BJP and 1 Congress.

In Pungro, for 9 wards, 19 candidates including 7 women filed nominations -9 NPF, 9 Independents and 1 BJP. For Zunheboto Town Council, a total of 10 candidatesone each from NPF and Congress and eight Independents filed thier nominations on Saturday, out of which four were females and six male.

Corrigendum: Apropos to news item published on January 6 under the caption “Kiphire CSO agree to allow filing nominations” in the first paragraph, Pungro Town Council should be read as Kiphire Town Council. The error is regretted.

"Today, I found a room on rent at Thoubal Wangmataba, the home constituency of the chief minister, for my temporary stay. It will also be used as PRJA Thoubal office. I'll move there within the next few days," Sharmila told TOI on Saturday. "After putting up there, I, along with my workers and sup-

File Photo porters in Thoubal, will kick off our poll campaign," the 'Iron Lady of Manipur' said, adding that she had already begun canvassing there.

Manipur will go to the polls in two phases - March 4 for 38 seats and March 8 for the remaining 22 seats, of which 11 are in the hills and as many in the valley, including Thoubal.

The driving force behind Sharmila's intention of taking on the chief minister is his "failure to scrap the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in Manipur and fulfil the people's aspirations during his 15-year regime." Sharmila ended her epic 16-year fast against the military act on August 9 last year and announced she would contest

PRJA convener Erendro Leichombam (33), who is contesting from the Thangmeiband constituency in Imphal West, said the party will field at least seven candidates, of which five have been finalised and have begun canvassing. As part of its unique strategy, PRJA has been canvassing in religious houses and holding social interaction programmes at the village and district levels in addition to conducting group discussions with youths and students.

On Thursday, PRJA members, led by Erendro and Sharmila, visited Gurudwara Sahib at Thangal Bazar in Imphal under Thangmeiband constituency on the occasion of the 350th birth anniversary of the 10th Guru Gobind Singh.

Poll-related issues Model code of conduct comes into discussed at Kpi force in Manipur

KANGPOKPI, Jan 8 : Ahead of the 11th Assembly election, a meeting of representatives of various political parties was convened here today at multipurpose hall, DC complex, Kangpokpi DHQs. Issues related to Model Code of Conduct, maintaining expenditure registers, defacement of property and other issues were discussed during the meeting.

Addressing the representatives, Deputy Commissioner Senapati, C Arthur W, IAS, who is also the District Election Officer, Senapati said that political parties should avoid indulging in personal clashes while ensuring peaceful conduct of the upcoming elections in the district on March 4.

The District Election Officer appealed to the political parties to follow the guidelines of the Election Commission in spirit and letter while adding that permissions regarding election campaigning will have to be taken in advance and all political parties should ensure that their timings and place of holding elections campaign do not clash.

He asked the representatives to refrain from using public and private property for the election campaigning by using posters, banners, etc. as doing it will amount to violation of the Election Commission of India instructions.

“Parties will have to take prior permissions from owner of the private property before using his or her property for campaigning”, the DEO said and asked all the political parties to refrain from pasting posters that malign the image of other candidates.

The meeting chaired by the District Election Officer, C Arthur W also dwelt on paid news and other contents in the media which are against the code of conduct enforced already in the State.

He said that ECI has issued instructions regarding requirement for pre-certification of political advertisement from the District Level Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC). Arthur also en-

lightened the representatives that application must be applied as per Annexure A of reference letter No.1 not later than 3 (three) days before the proposed date of advertisement in case of registered National and State parties while any other person or unregistered political parties need to apply not later than 7 (seven) days before the proposed date of advertisement.

“These procedures are mandatory while applying for advertisement in all forms of print and electronic media”, the DEO asserted and added that the District Level MCMC will check all the election related content in the media both print and electronics and inform the appellate authority.

He further said that legal provisions under sections 77 and 123 (6) of the representation of Peoples Act 1951 limiting the ceiling of expenditures of the candidates would be attracted and besides this provisions, Section 127 A of the Representation of Peoples’ Act 1051 and Section 171 H of IPC would be applied to the media agency while the District Level MCMC constituted as per instructions of the ECI will be monitoring incidences of ‘paid news’ at the district.

The DEO, Senapati said any complaint or permission regarding elections would be applied online through w e b s i t e www.ceomanipur.nic.in while briefing that for applications regarding complaints, people will have to apply on Samadhan portal and regarding permissions, the application will be available on Suvidha portal of the same website.

He also cautioned all concerned that any kind of violation will be dealt as per the guidelines of the Election Commission.

Representatives of the Indian National Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party were present during the meeting.

Rang Peter, MCS, Chief Executive Officer, ADC Senapati and SDOs Senapati and Kangpokpi including all officials concerned also participated in the meeting.

IMPHAL, Jan 8 : With the announcement of the Manipur assembly election on March 4 and 8 next by the Election Commission today, the model code of conduct has came into immediate effect.

An office memorandum issued today by state Chief Secretary O Nabakishore Singh said, according to the election code of conduct, ministers and other authorities should not announce any financial grant in any form or promise thereof, lay foundation stone of projects or schemes of any kind, make any promise of construction of road, provi-

sion of drinking water facility and make any ad-hoc appointment in government, public sector undertaking for influencing the voters in favour of the party in power.

There should not be misuse of official vehicle belonginging to central and state governments, public undertakings of central or state governments, local bodies, municipal corporation, marketing boards, cooperative societies or any other bodies in which public funds, whether in small portion or in total, are invested, the memorandum added.

Killing of Irom Roger case in 2011 Prime accused N Ajay convicted, quantum of penalty on January 11 IMPHAL, Jan 8 : Nongthombam Ajay, son of former Congress Minister N Biren, was convicted by the Court of Session Judge, Imphal West yesterday under 304 part II IPC and 27 Arms Act yesterday.

The same Court would announce the quantum of punishment on January 11.

N Ajay was accused of killing Irom Roger of Wangkhei at Ghari during Holi festival in 2011.

Following a public uproar, the State Cabinet decided to hand over the murder case to CBI. Later CBI submitted a charge sheet in June 2012 along with names of 70 prosecution witnesses.

The final argument hearing of the case was held from December 1 to December 8 last year.

Since 10 am yesterday, a large number of people, both supporters of the accused and the victim, gathered at Cheirap Court complex.

However, N Ajay did not come inside the Court complex. He remained seated inside a tinted SUV car until he was asked to come inside the Court room.

Ajay stepped inside the Court room escorted by a large number of his supporters.

Even as the final argument hearing of the case concluded on December 8 last year, Imphal

West Session Judge Maibam Manojkumar kept the judgement reserved.

He announced the judgement yesterday which convicted Ajay under Section 304 part II of IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 27 Arms Act. Soon after the judgement was announced, the former Minister’s son was taken inside a separate room where he met his father, elder sister and other well wishers.

After completion of the due procedures, the convict was handed over to Sajiwa Jail authority.

Ajay came out with his face covered by a piece of cloth, guarded by his supporters and police personnel.

As soon as Ajay stepped out of the separate room, he was attacked by a large number of the victim’s supporters.

However, security personnel managed to take the accused inside a police vehicle. This was followed by a violent confrontation between supporters of the accused and the victim.

Police deployed inside Cheirap Court complex had a hard time as they tried to control the situation. They somehow managed to push both the parties outside the Court complex where the confrontation continued.

GMPC awaits MHA’s response IMPHAL, Jan 8 : The Goodwill Mission for Peaceful Co-existence (GMPC) is waiting for a positive response from the Union Home Ministry to hold tripartite talks at Delhi in order to bring a peaceful solution to the issue of the UNC’s ongoing economic blockade.

Speaking to media persons at Ima Keithel Number 1 today, GMPC convenor

Ningthouja Lancha said that the GMPC was launched on December 19 last year with representatives and leaders of various communities of the State after the unfortunate incident of December 18 at Khurai Heikrumakhong.

A team of GMPC went to Lamlai Bazar where counter economic blockade was imposed and held a meeting with various communities

on December 21.

On December 20, they held a meeting inside MBC premises with representatives of various communities which was followed by the all community meeting cum get- together at Ima Keithel the next day.

He also said that on December 25 after obtaining permission from Home Minister Gaikhangam, they met UNC president Gaidon and

information secretary Stephen for three hours in the presence of Imphal police station OC Dinesh.

On December 26, they went to meet other UNC leaders and former presidents at Senapati along with a letter which were handed over to them by UNC president Gaidon Kamei and also clarified that they were not aware about the contents of the letter.

EDITORIAL

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JANUARY 9

Rights for the rightful owners

Today's quote

“

How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don't think. – Adolf Hitler

Demonetization's deflationary shock?

That the Centre's decision to withdraw highdenomination banknotes was going to impact economic activity in the short term was never in doubt. But the specific contours of the effects were probably a lot less understood at the time of that announcement. The deflationary shock has manifested itself in a deceleration in retail inflation, as demand for a range of goods and services have been damped. That the headline Consumer Price Index-based gauge hit a two-year low of 3.63 per cent for November is therefore no surprise, especially given the additional factor of a favourable base effect - the reading was 5.41 per cent in November 2015. The major contributor to the slowdown in price gains was the food and beverages group, where inflation eased to 2.56 per cent largely on the back of a slump in the prices of vegetables, a highly perishable commodity. But a closer look at the food group throws the spotlight on some trends that the Reserve Bank of India had flagged in its latest monetary policy review as areas of concern. Specifically, the prices of sugar and confectionery accelerated by 22.4 per cent while meat and fish and egg also reflected persistently elevated levels. The services sectors, including transport and communication and education, also manifested stickiness, underscoring the rationale for the RBI's cautious approach in keeping benchmark interest rates unchanged.

Clearly, signals from the inflation data pose a conundrum before policymakers. With demand impulses taking a wide-ranging knock from the shortage of cash in the hands of consumers, proponents of policy accommodation would argue that the time is ripe for the RBI to cut borrowing costs to help impart some credit-fuelled economic momentum. But as the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee itself articulated it on December 7, "while discretionary spending on goods and services in the CPI excluding food and fuel" could have been affected by restricted access to cash, the prices of those items may weather the transitory effects since they are normally revised according to preset cycles. More importantly, the MPC cautioned that food inflation pressures could re-emerge as a consequence of disruptions in agricultural activity as a result of the currency withdrawal. The spectre of upward price pressures from key components including food and fuel - OPEC's output cuts are already pushing up crude oil - combined with the fading away of a favourable base effect could leave the RBI with little wiggle room to support growth. With the central bank's March 2017 target for retail inflation of 5 per cent clearly in their sights, the monetary authorities may be persuaded to keep the powder dry.

India's winning streak I

ndia's emphatic innings-and-36-run victory over England at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium has effectively broken a jinx. Among all its Test cricket rivals, discounting the hype around games against Australia or the history that permeates jousts involving Pakistan, England had been a bugbear. Twice, India lost Test series in England in 2011 and 2014; it also suffered the ignominy of losing at home in 2012. Redemption finally came in Mumbai as Virat Kohli's men secured an unassailable 3-0 lead with just the fifth and final Test remaining to be played in Chennai, starting Friday. The cobwebs of the past have been shed and a new order is in place. In its last 17 Tests, India remained undefeated, the highlight being 13 wins. This equals the purple patch from 1985 to 1987 that featured four victories, 12 draws and a tie across 17 games. India can do one better if it wins or at least draws at Chennai. The current winning streak includes five consecutive Test series triumphs: Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies, New Zealand and England have been vanquished. From shedding the pangs of transition to charting its own path, the present squad has shown that it respects the aura of Tests and is fiercely motivated to win. It is a trait Kohli shares with coach Anil Kumble.

The squad's twin arms, Kohli and R. Ashwin, have worked in pulsating tandem. As a batsman with a concurrent average of 50-plus across all three formats, Kohli is poised to join the league of legends. He has led from the front. England wilted under the weight of his bat that yielded 640 runs at an average of 128.

He even played peacemaker when Ashwin and James Anderson had a spat in Mumbai. Ashwin, meanwhile, has powered India's remarkable growth, with both ball and bat. He has bagged 27 wickets in this series, and the final contest at his home ground in Chennai may only enthuse him more. The team's glory is not just restricted to Kohli and Ashwin, the rest have all put their hands up at various times. Be it Jayant Yadav, an able understudy to Ashwin the off-spinner and an effective batsman; Parthiv Patel, called in as a replacement wicketkeeper; seamer Mohammed Shami; or the reliable Murali Vijay, opening with assurance.

The squad's inherent strength hasn't waned even when personnel are lost briefly due to injuries (Ajinkya Rahane or Rohit Sharma) or when form deserts (Shikhar Dhawan). India still has a long road to traverse and overseas wins in Australia and England need to be secured. But for now Kohli and his men are enjoying a stupendous home run.

P6

On the tenth anniversary of the historic passage of the Forest Rights Act, tribal resistance to defend their rights is growing even as government after government tries to dilute its provisions.

Brinda Karat On this day 10 years ago the historic Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act was passed in the Lok Sabha. Its conception and passage was the result of the decades of struggles and sacrifices of millions of tribals across India, of their organisations, of numerous activists and intellectuals working on tribal issues, and because of the commitment and efforts of the Left parties.

Attempts at dilution A century ago colonial chicanery had turned tribal owners of the forests and its resources into encroachers. A decade ago, the Indian inheritors of this legacy of fraud were working against the Bill till literally the last moment. The real encroachers and plunderers of the forests, the mining companies, the private power sector companies, those involved in irrigation projects, the timber and paper industries, the forest resort tourist industry had high stakes in preventing the passage of the Bill. They were in the company of fundamentalist wildlife and environmentalist groups with their close links with the powerful forest bureaucracy. They made a motley though influential crowd and had the ear of very important people in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government hierarchy.

They succeeded in diluting some important recommendations of the Parliamentary Select Committee on community forest rights, access to minor forest produce and so on. The clause that Nontribal Traditional Forest Dwellers would have to show evidence of their occupation of the land for 75 years virtually negated the inclusion of these largely poorer sections, many of them Dalits, in the law. The Left had proposed that for

these sections the Supreme Court-proposed cut-off year of 1980 would be appropriate, while for tribal communities the cut-off year should be 2005. But at the last moment the government surreptitiously brought in the three generation or 75-year clause.

The Bill with these obnoxious clauses was circulated and listed for immediate discussion and passage. As soon as we saw it, the Chairman of the Select Committee, Kishore Chandra Deo, and I rushed to the chamber of Pranab Mukherjee, then External Affairs Minister, who was the point person for the Bill on behalf of the government in the negotiations with the Left.

There was a mini-drama and heated discussion which finally ended with the arrival of the Tribal Affairs Minister, P.R. Kyndiah, who had been summoned by his senior. In the discussions he assured us that he would move amendments to the Bill. At that time there was no choice but to accept the assurance at face value. It had taken more than a year of struggle to finally get the Bill included in the business agenda of Parliament and listed. The powerful lobbies against the Bill would have used our opposition to once again shelve it. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was playing a duplicitous role - its Adivasi MPs supported the Bill while others were dead against it.

They ran a campaign among MPs from the Northeast that if passed, the law would legalise encroachment by "illegal Bangladeshis". This was utterly misleading, but anything was fair in the war against tribal rights.

The missing amendments The Bill became law, but without the amendments promised. After much discussion and pressure, some of them were included in the Rules. This also was a big struggle and there was a strong group of activists who along with the Left

representatives could work out a fairly good set of Rules. It included giving prime importance to the role of the gram sabhas.

In spite of its inadequacies, there can be little doubt that the Forest Rights Act (FRA) stands as a powerful instrument to protect the rights of tribal communities. It is a hindrance to corporate interests to their free loot and plunder of India's mineral resources, its forests, its water. But the Narendra Modi government is systematically implementing its plan to weaken and dilute the Act in several ways.

New attempts at dilution First, it has brought a series of legislation that undermine the rights and protections given to tribals in the FRA, including the condition of "free informed consent" from gram sabhas for any government plans to remove tribals from the forests and for the resettlement or rehabilitation package.

The laws were pushed through by the Modi government without any consultation with tribal communities. They include the amendments to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act and a host of amendments to the Rules to the FRA which undermine the FRA. The requirement of public hearings and gram sabha consent has been

done away with for midsized coal mines. BJP State governments and partners in the National Democratic Alliance such as the Telugu Desam Party government in Andhra Pradesh have introduced government orders to subvert the FRA. In Telangana, in total violation of the FRA, the government has illegalised traditional methods of forest land cultivation. The Jharkhand government has brought amendments to the Chotanagpur and also the Santhal Pargana Tenancy Acts which eliminate rights of gram sabhas and permit tribal land to be taken over by corporates, real estate players, private educational and medical institutions in the name of development, without tribal consent. In Maharashtra the government has issued a notification of "Village Rules" which gives all rights of forest management to government-promoted committees as opposed to the gram sabha. This is the law-based offensive.

Second, there is the policybased war. The Modi government has declared its commitment to ensuring "ease of business", which translates into clearing all private sector-sponsored projects in tribal-inhabited forest areas. The National Board for Wildlife, with the Prime Minister as Chairperson, was reconstituted,

slashing the number of independent experts from 15 members to three, packing it with subservient officials.

In the first three months of assuming office, the Modi government cleared 33 out of 41 proposals diverting over 7,000 hectares of forest land. Of this the major share was for Gujarat companies. In two years the clearances for projects have included "diversion" - or more appropriately land grab - to the extent of 1.34 lakh hectares of forest land.

In many areas this will lead to massive displacement of tribal communities. In the multipurpose Polavaram project in Andhra Pradesh alone, now given a national status by the Central government, 2 lakh hectares of forest land will be submerged affecting around 85,000 families, more than half tribals, including 100 habitations of particularly vulnerable tribal communities. In almost all these projects, the affected tribal families have not yet received their pattas (land ownership documents), one of the conditions set by the FRA. This wilful disregard and blatant violation of the legal protections given to tribals has become the cornerstone of the policy.

Third, there is the deliberate freeze of the actual implementation of the FRA. Neither individual pattas nor pattas for community forest resources are being given.

During the UPA-II government the implementation of the Act was virtually hijacked by the Ministry of Environment and Forests and rejections of claims increased. However, now the situation has worsened, and the rate of rejections has gone up during the Modi regime. According to one analysis, between May 2015 and April 2016, eight out of every 10 claims were rejected. This is the 'Gujarat model' in operation. The State has one of the worst records in implementation of the FRA. Although 98 per

cent of the approximately 1.9 lakh tribal claims had been approved by the gram sabhas, the bureaucrats in the sub-divisional committee and above brought the acceptance down to just 38 per cent. This is in sharp contrast to a Left-led State such as Tripura, where 98 per cent of tribal claims have been recorded and titles given.

Mixed signals from the judiciary The judiciary has also had a role to play. The same institution, which gave tribals hope through the Samata judgment, the historic Niyamgiri judgment, has also clubbed together a number of hostile petitions to the FRA and is giving them a sympathetic hearing.

In January last year the court in an ominous intervention in a writ petition filed by Wildlife Trust of India and others issued notice to all State governments to "file an affidavit giving data regarding the number of claims rejected within the territory of the State and the extent of land over which such claims were made and rejected and the consequent action taken up by the State after rejection of the claims".

This has rightly been taken by tribal communities and their organisations as a prelude to mass evictions.

Maharashtra issued a notification dated April 23, 2015, directing the police to take action against "identified encroachers", namely those whose claims have been rejected. Till 1985, the department of "Tribal Affairs" was under the Home Ministry.

Tribal rights and struggles for justice were viewed as a "law and order issue, always a problem". Under the present dispensation this retrograde approach seems to have been resurrected.

On the tenth anniversary of the historic passage of the FRA, tribal resistance is growing all over the country to defend their rights under FRA and other related issues.

Choking is what choking does Nirmal Shekar He was a career choker, said a friend the other day as we were talking cricket and about men who looked like geniuses in domestic cricket but failed most of the time when playing for the country - Graeme Hick, the Zimbabwe born England batsman, for one.

Is there a stereotyping of a sportsman worse than that anything physically draining and psychologically at once menacing and dreadfully nightmarish, however high the player might be in the pecking order in his sport?

Players don't mind being called losers. They find consolation by saying that they had not lost to a superior athlete; nor do they care much about losing to competitors lower ranked than they are. They can always say that they had one bad day or that the opponent played the match of his life.

But the choker tag is something different because it involves the mind more than any other manner of losing. It turns the spotlight into the deepest recesses of one's mind and is much more character-revealing

than anything you can think of.

There you are, all alone, at the very last doorstep to victory, and suddenly something goes wrong. You have not even played the ball - all you need is a single good shot on a day when you've been on song for the most part. And the few seconds between what you might have imagined the last ball - a time when you should "Knock, knock, knocking on the heaven's door," as Bob Dylan sang - turns out to be hell on earth.

Up 40-15 or 40-30 on serve at 5-4 in the decider in a Wimbledon tennis final; requiring one or two runs off the last ball in an ODI World Cup final; walking up to take the penalty that means everything - the World Cup itself - is the time when you must stay in a state of Zen mindfulness rather than think of what might happen if you failed.

Of course chance plays a major role in such situations and the stature of the player or the popular heft of the tournament matters little. But that little makes a huge difference. Remember Roberto Baggio of Italy in the 1994 final against Brazil - arguably, the team's

best player taking the last kick.

Then up goes the ball, way above the crossbar. The World Cup has been won and lost by the margin of a single shot.

That is a statistic; for, more than that, I would never forget the face of a player displaying such deathly horror and distress. What might have been one of the greatest moments of his career, instead, turned into a nightmare for which he will always be remembered, as unfair as that may be? Did Baggio choke or was it just a part of the game?

There are players who carry out the task routinely, as if nothing big were at stake; and there are those who think of the consequences of failure and stand there, shivering, hands shaking a bit, mind all over the place rather than focussing only on the job on hand.

How many times have we witnessed these situations in sport! How many times have we seen a Pete Sampras or a Roger Federer hit two successive aces at 15-40 and 5-6 in the final set of a tournament final or semifinal. How many times have we witnessed Mahendra Singh Dhoni turn a seemingly hopeless situation

We are never alone Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian youth's rite of passage?

His father takes him into the forrest...blindfolded...and leaves him....alone. He is required to sit on a stump the whole night...and not take off the blindfold until the ray of sun shines through it. He is all by himself. He cannot cry out for help to anyone.

Once he survives the night...he is a MAN. He cannot tell the other boys of this experience. Each boy must come into his own manhood.

The boy was terrified...could hear all

kinds of noise...Beasts were all around him. Maybe even some human would hurt him. The wind blew the grass and earth... and it shook his stump. But he sat stoically...never removing the blindfold. It would be the only way he could be a man.

Finally, after a horrific night...the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold. It was then that he saw his father...sitting on the stump next to him...at watch...the entire night.

We are never truly alone. Even when we do not know it, our family and friends are watching out for us...sitting on a stump beside us.

and bring up a famous victory, prompting us to switch on our television once again?

But for every Sampras, Federer, Dhoni or Virat Kohli, there are dozens of people who wish they would never have to be in such situations because they themselves are not sure that they'd be able to pull it off.

"I always think what the consequence would be, how the world would laugh at me and how the shot I want to make may not fall in the court," a top-three tennis player told me long years ago. Of course, he got over his early career jitters and did not end his playing years as a choker. But he did confess that his career clearly fell in two parts - before he reinvented himself as a super-confident big match player, and after he unburdened himself of the choker tag.

All this goes to prove that chokers are not to be found only among the also-rans; it is a disease that has affected the men and women at the very top. And every sport has its own well known athletes who carry the choker tag.

You might want to think of South Africa in limited overs

cricket, or Jana Novotna in a Wimbledon final against Steffi Graf - when she famously cried on the shoulders of the Duchess of Kent - but there are too many examples and the names alone might fill this page.

Crucial factor In sport, mental conditioning is as crucial a factor as anything else. Sometimes it is even more significant than great natural talent. This is because sport is played by men and women who are like us for the most part. They don't sport horns or wear a cloak of invincibility.

"I think, therefore I am," said the great philosopher Rene Descartes in an entirely different context. But there are times in sport when thinking becomes suicidal.

In the men's singles final of the Wimbledon tennis championship in July 2000, the talented Australian serve-and-volleyer Pat Rafter dominated Sampras for almost two full sets. In the second set tiebreak, Rafter opened up a 5-2 lead and the greatest Wimbledon champion was two points from defeat.

"Pete, what were you thinking at that point," the American, who hit a second serve ace and

won the tiebreak and the match eventually, was asked at the post-match press conference.

"Nothing. I thought of nothing," said Sampras. But what he really meant was that he was not thinking of what might happen if he had lost a point or two there. He had the great gift of emptying his mind of all the psychological trash.

Living in the moment is not just a new age religious mantra. If you believe in evolutionary psychology, it may be a matter of life and death in sport.

Finally, if you want to find out more about choking in this day and age, just look up the English football team's record in the penalty shoot-outs of major tournaments; Greg Norman's fourth round scores in the Majors when the title was almost in his pocket; Jana Novotna's record in the Majors; Jimmy White's record in world snooker finals - especially in 1994 - and many, many more.

Finally, chokers are not pathetic jokers; it is just that they let their nerves get the better of them and the player cracks in pressure situations.

Sometimes, wanting too much might lead to losing the whole lot.

Picking up the pieces A lakh trees have been uprooted in Chennai after cyclone Vardah hit the city.In some villages where there are large trees in front of houses, there are people who dress the branches. The trunk is kept intact after branches are trimmed. They almost resemble a skeletal structure. This prevents the tree from being uprooted.

Perhaps civic authorities and local bodies should think of such steps to minimise damage. In cities, we must also remember what an environmental activist based in Chennai has said: "I wish those in the administration come up with a tree health management system. Trees need to be considered as environmental infrastructure and looked after...."

Sudip Nath Bagchipara, Dibrugarh

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JANUARY 9

P7 5 Must-Read Stories of Young Indian Women Who Started Changing Lives While Still in Their Teens LIFE & STYLE

Sanchari Pal

Across India, young women are increasingly leading and empowering communities through their innovative work. From creating free organic wigs for cancer patients to educating street kids, these confident young ladies are using their courage and creativity to ensure that India sees a brighter future. They may be young, but their passion for making a difference would inspire even the cynics!

Here are 5 stories of young Indian women taking chances and changing lives of people near and far. Get ready to be amazed and inspired by these champions of change!

Meera Sharma - Off with their tresses, for cancer!

Avani Singh - A rickshaw of hope!

Anjali Chandrashekhar When a brush is mightier than the sword!

Meera Sharma runs Tangled, an organisation that provides organic wigs to women fighting cancer. It all started when Meera found out that real hair wigs for cancer patients were prohibitively expensive (as high as Rs. 30,000) and that synthetic wigs were itchy and extremely uncomfortable. As the chairperson of the Rotaract Club of Women's Christian College, Chennai, Meera decided to do something about this.

Along with her dedicated team at the club, Meera started by donating her own hair for the cause. Next, they partnered with the salon chain, Green Trends, and a wig-maker, Raj Hair Intl. Pvt. Ltd, who agreed to make natural hair wigs for them at a price of Rs. 4,500 per wig. These wigs are then distributed for free to the underprivileged cancer patients of the Cancer Institute. The cost of wig-making is borne by the sponsors whose generous contributions make this possible. Today, Tangled is working across India to provide free, organic wigs to cancer patients and boost their self-confidence.

An aspiring industrial designer with passion for painting and sculpture, Anjali Chandrashekhar was just 16 when she raised funds for causes such as natural calamities, child abuse, and rehabilitation of underprivileged children through her artistic creations. In 2008, she used her artwork to raise around 3 lakh rupees at an International Diabetes Charity and used that money to provide insulin and medication to many poor diabetic children. She also won the third prize at the United Nations Poster for Peace Contest for her disarmament posters, Break Free and Cutting a Peace Deal.

A firm believer in the philosophy that art transcends barriers of age, language and literacy, 22-year-old Anjali has been working silently on her global social project, Picture It, for over a decade. Through it, she has been using her art to raise funds for various health, humanitarian and environmental causes.

Varsha Varghese - For the love of words!

It was Varsha Varghese's love for books and her experience as a teaching volunteer in Make A Difference (MAD) that made her initiate the The Wordsworth Project. Along with college batchmates, Priyanka Roychowdhary and Rahul Sreekumar, Varsha decided to improve language competency in children. The trio firmly believed that since

language is the medium through which all subjects are taught, better language skills would directly lead to better learning outcomes.

The Wordsworth Project works to create interactive reading spaces in low resource schools and learning centres, by equipping them with books catering specifically to the children's reading level. Mindful that books alone cannot make language accessible, they have also recruited and trained volunteers who teach kids basic grammar through interactive activities. The volunteers also help map the individual progress of each child's progress to help the team analyse the outcome of their efforts and take the necessary steps.

Rashi Anand - A better childhood for street kids!

Seeing the plight of children on the streets of Delhi compelled Rashi Anand to make a difference in their lives. Worried about how vulnerable these kids were to exploitation, Rashi set up Lakshyam, an NGO working for street and underprivileged children in Delhi when she was just 18. Her next step was to set up a Toy Library programme that provided pictorial books and educational toys to street kids. Till date, this programme has donated books and toys to over two lakh underprivileged children in India.

Today, Lakshyam has established several schools (called Sakshyam) for street kids in

Small Loans Make Big Entrepreneurs out of 10 Women in the Heartland of UP Since 2002, the Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Vikas Pariyojana, through a network of 1, 31,175 SHGs across 43 districts, has transformed the lives of many women by making them entrepreneurs.

Take the story of Usha Singh, an SHG member from Naraini village of Amethi District, who, with two loans of Rs 1 lakh and Rs 50,000 and some money saved by her father-in-law, was able to buy two bighas of land and construct and run a co-ed school for 470 students.

It was a struggle, but the Sarvodaya Bal Vidya Niketan, set up in 2011 in Nanha Bartoli, adjoining Naraini, is a recognized school with 11 rooms and 11 teachers. As the money came in from admission and tuition fees, rooms were added and teaching scaled to secondary level. Usha Singh, who had studied till graduation, is the headmistress of the school; her husband and father-in-law, qualified and experienced teachers, help run the school. The construction is basic but the teaching standards are high, attracting students. Of the Rs 85,000 a month that comes in as fees every month, Rs 45,000 goes towards teachers' salaries.

At Phoolwari village, in the Phoolwari block of Lakhimpur Kheri, Manisha, Rekha and Preeti Gupta of the Ekta Mahila Gram Sangathan, all related by marriage, took loans and helped their husbands open and run Chandan Sweet House at Monu Chat Corner on the main road of Phoolwari.

Eight years ago, the shop they ran had been closed and their husbands were out of the village in search of livelihoods as electrician and bus conductor. In 2013, they took their first loan of Rs 10,000, and with Rs 1,000 the family could pool together, started the business. Then, with a second loan of Rs 10,000, they

purchased the required kitchenware. In two years the eatery is doing well and the loan has been repaid with 2% interest. Its samosas, mithai and puri bhaji are in demand and often orders are received in advance.

While the women manage the back end of the business, making the products for sale at home between 7 am and 9 am, the sales counters are managed by the men. Sales are brisk and the daily profits range from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500.

A family member, Chandan Gupta, who was in the catering business, groomed them for the enterprise, to bring that extra zing to their samosas. The 20 ft by 20 ft shop caters to 10 to 15 people at a time. Rekha, who has studied till Class 5, keeps the books, ensuring that purchase, sales and profits are neatly recorded. Rekha has taken another loan of Rs 15,000 and bought a freezer for keeping cold drinks.

Adding to the business, in 2015, Manisha took a loan of Rs 2,000 and her husband bought a machine for packing namkeens. He buys 3-4 varieties in bulk and makes small packets. Not only

have the women been the backbone of the business but their children are going to private schools too and life is looking up.

Forty-year-old Kiran, a mother of three, also from the SHG of Phoolwari, had never worked.

But seeing the transformation in the lives of other women of her samooh, she took her first loan of Rs 5,000 in 2015 and started a bangle shop from a room in her home in the busy marketplace.

Her husband takes her to Lakhimpur and she buys a variety of bangles in wholesale, keeping in mind the latest trends.

Having repaid the loan, she has taken another of Rs 10,000 and is now also selling artificial jewellery, mehendi and other decorative items used at weddings and special occasions. Her daily sales are Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200 and, during festivals and weddings they shoot up to Rs 4,000 a day.

Bypassing money lenders, a large number of the SHG members across the state are taking loans and opening grocery stores, investing in goats, pigs and buffaloes to improve their

economic status. There is no looking back for them. However, two stories that need to be told are of the mother and daughter team of Anju, a 45-year-old widow of Ekta Mahila Samooh, and her 21-year-old daughter Sandya, who, with SHG loans, have been able to take back eight bighas of land they had kept in mortgage. Sarita, 30, of the same samooh, was able to recover five bighas of land that a landowner had grabbed taking advantage of her alcoholic husband.

Anju's husband had blood cancer and she kept taking loans from the money lender keeping her eight bighas on mortgage.

However, he could not be saved.

In 2013, she and her daughter, who is now doing her MA in political science, joined the samooh, took a loan of Rs 20,000 and got back the mortgaged land. The mother and daughter toiled on the land and paid back the loan. Then they took another loan of Rs 10,000 and started running a general store; Rs 5,000 of the second loan too was repaid. Sandya's 12-year-old brother, who goes to school in the morning, runs the shop in the evenings.

Sandya, who wants to become a teacher, says, "We have crawled back from hell. We are happy now and don't depend on anyone.

The mahajan (money lender) is losing a lot of his clients!"

Sarita, mother of 15- and 10year-old boys, joined the samooh in 2013. Her husband worked as a casual labourer and blew up his earnings in booze. A landlord claimed her husband had borrowed Rs 20,000 and grabbed the fivebighas of land the family owned. So she took this amount as loan and recovered her land. A hard working woman, Sarita grows sugarcane on her five bighas, as well as on two more bighas she farms on.

After paying off the initial loan she has taken two more loans of

A Delhi girl, Avani founded Ummeed, a program that trains women from the slums of Delhi to become taxi and rickshaw (electric rickshaws) drivers, when she was just 17.

She started this initiative with a single electric rickshaw, donated by the local manufacturer, Green Wheels. To find a driver, Avani collaborated with the Delhi-based NGO CEQUIN to put out a call for volunteers in the Jamia area of the city. Soon, she had her first e-rickshaw driver, Kohinoor, who was delighted by the opportunity.

Today, Ummeed is giving many women a way to earn both a living and a level of physical and social mobility that was previously nearly impossible. Other than training underprivileged women to drive, it also provides and maintains the e-rickshaws.

Rs 15,000 and Rs 12,000 and bought two buffaloes. She does farming, looks after the buffaloes and sells milk to improve her earnings. Her husband, living separately, continues to be an alcoholic. "He can no longer bully and beat me," she says.

Due to economic empowerment, women are now investing in better, private education for their children.

Like Anju and Sarita, five other women of Phoolwari have been able to release their mortgaged land with loans from the SHGs. Lakshmi and Babli of the Pooja Mahila Samooh are big league entrepreneurs. With extremely supportive husbands, th n fact, this samooh got a cash credit limit of Rs 3 lakhs from the Allahabad UP Grameen Bank.

Lakshmi took two loans of Rs 20,000 and Rs 10,000 in 2013 to buy utensils, tables, chairs, gas, and basic necessities for running a big dhaba that could cater to over 100 persons every day. The dhaba is conveniently located opposite a cooking gas depot and there is an assured stream of customers from among those who come to collect gas as well as those working in the depot. Lakshmi's husband, Krishna Gopal, has worked at Sheri-ePunjab restaurant as a cook and makes good desi and Chinese cuisine. A plate of dal, channa, sabzi and roti (quantity unlimited) costs Rs 50. Chicken and meat are made to order by Lakshmi at home and bring in more money.

Lakshmi says with pride, "Mai gaddi per baithi hoon (I handle the cash)". In addition, she runs a sweets shop where 15 to 20 items of peda, burfi, jalebi, samosas, etc., are made by hired cooks who are paid Rs 220 daily. Lakshmi's five children study in a private school and the couple works hard, saving every day to return the loans.

the slum areas of Delhi. The organization also conducts workshops with street children under flyovers, in red light areas and at railway stations to provide basic education and create awareness about issues like drug addiction. Thanks to Rashi's efforts, Lakshyam has also expanded its work to states like Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Most of us nurture a passion but few translate it into action. These 5 young women didn't just dream about making a difference, they also built an effective social venture around a cause they were passionate about. Old or young, these go-getters are an inspiration to us all!

(Source: THE BETTER INDIA)

Don't worry, Be happy Chetan Bhagat Alright, this is not cool at all.

A recent survey by Nielsen has revealed that Indian women are the most stressed out in the world: 87% of our women feel stressed out most of the time.

This statistic alone has caused me to stress out. Even in workaholic America, only 53% women feel stressed.

What are we doing to our women? I'm biased, but Indian women are the most beautiful in the world. As mothers, sisters, daughters, colleagues, wives and girlfriends - we love them. Can you imagine life without the ladies?

It would be a universe full of messy, aggressive and egomaniacal males running the world, trying to outdo each other for no particular reason.

There would be body odour, socks on the floor and nothing in the fridge to eat. The entertainment industry would die.

Who wants to watch movies without actresses?

Kids would be neglected and turn into drug addicts or psychopaths by age 10. Soon, allmale world leaders would lose their tempers at the slightest provocation, and bomb the guts out of each other's countries. In short, without women and their sanity, the world would perish.

Yet, look at how we Indians, a land of spiritual people, treat them. At an extreme, we abort girls before they are born, neglect them in their upbringing, torture them, molest them, sell them, rape them and honourkill them. Of course, these criminal acts are performed by a tiny minority.

However, a majority of us are involved in lesser crimes. We judge, expect too much, don't give space and suffocate our women's individuality. Imagine if you did this to men won't they be stressed out?

At a broader level, this isn't just

about our women. We Indians have a habit of exploiting anyone without power. As a flip side, we are suckers for anyone with power.

We look up to corrupt politicians, keep voting them back, and feel they have an entitlement to loot us silly, because they are in power. In fact, we love power so much that when power comes to a woman, we automatically begin to regard her well too. Goddesses, female politicians, senior mothers in a household with a firm grip on family power - they all get our respect. Anyone else doesn't.

This kind of society, which values power above equality and justice, doesn't achieve too much. These societies remain like backward tribes, because they do not allow people without power to come up, even though they may have many talents. When we don't allow our women to come up, or create stress for them if they do, we are not allowing half of India to come up. When we abuse our power, we kill the exploited person's will to contribute to society. When we believe powerful people are always right, and the less powerful should be crushed, we resemble a jungle of animals.

And animals don't progress, humans do.

These regressive attitudes will take a while to change. For now, i want to give Indian women five suggestions to reduce their stress levels. One, don't ever think you are without power. Give it back to that mother-in-law. Be who you are, not someone she wished you would be. She doesn't like you? That's her problem.

Two, if you are doing a good job at work and your boss doesn't value you - tell him that, or quit. Talented, hardworking people are much in demand. Three, educate yourself, learn skills, network - fig-

ure out outways waysto to be economically be economiindependent. cally independent.

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Someone make don't a better Five, most will important, get scrapbook with for other her women. school competitive project than you.

Another will Someone will make a better lose more weight better scrapbook for with her aschool diet. Your neighbour project than you.

Anothermay will makemore a six-dabba tiffinafor her lose weight with better husband, youneighbour don't - big deal. diet.

Your may Do your best, buttiffin don'tforkeep make a six-dabba her looking out fordon't the report husband, you - big card, deal. and your definitely expect to Do best, don't but don't keep top the class. is no card, ideal looking out forThere the report woman in thisdon't world, and to if and definitely expect youthe strive to become there top class.

There isone, no ideal will be only one world, thing you will woman in this and if achieve stress. you strivefor to certain become-one, there So breathe, chill, relax. will be only one thing you Tell will yourselffor youcertain are beautiful, achieve - stress.do yourbreathe, best andchill, deserve a peaceSo relax.

Tell ful life. you Anybody trying do to yourself are beautiful, take best that and away froma you is your deserve peacemaking mistake, trying not you. ful life. aAnybody to Your that purpose coming take awayoffrom you to is this eartha ismistake, not to please evmaking not you. eryone.

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DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JANUARY 9

AAP to campaign against BJP in UP, not to contest polls PTI Lucknow, Jan 8 : Taking its fight against BJP to newer pastures, Aam Aadmi Party led by Arvind Kejriwal will "actively campaign" against the saffron party in the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, though it will not enter the electoral arena.

After completion of the election process in Punjab and Goa, where AAP will be contesting, all leaders including star campaigners, will concentrate on Uttar Pradesh to expose BJP, "which has betrayed the country and which is the biggest devil in national politics", AAP spokesman Vaibhav Maheshwari said.

Details of senior AAP leaders' tour programme will be worked out soon but almost all of them will campaign against the ruling party at the Centre so as to apprise the people of the real face of the BJP and tell them what all can happen if they are elected in the state, he said.

A detailed itinerary will be released later in which AAP will apprise people of the "wrongs" commit-

Arvind Kejriwal. ted by BJP although they will not seek votes for any party in the Uttar Pradesh polls, he said.

BJP is contesting the elections with demonetisation as the central issue and AAP has dubbed it as the biggest scam, Maheshwari said, adding this campaign (against BJP) can also be termed as a new kind of politics in which his party will be putting its energy and money into the elections in which its stands to gain nothing in terms of seats.

"This move is to ensure that Uttar Pradesh is not made to pay heavily in case of a wrong decision by the people as the state

politics make a big impact on national politics, with the next Lok Sabha polls scheduled two years hence.

"We have to caution people as to how can a party which has proved to be a failure at the national level be a good option in the politically crucial state," he said.

Although AAP is not in poll fray in Uttar Pradesh, it is contesting in Punjab and Goa where polling is slated for February 4.

The seven-phase UP polls start on February 11 and ends on March 8 and AAP leaders will get enough opportunity to criss-cross the state, Maheshwari added.

Rlys offers platforms for setting up over 2,000 ATMs

Rlys offers platforms for setting up over 2,000 ATMs. PTI New Delhi, Jan 8 : Eyeing about Rs 2,000 crore annually from non-tariff sources, Railways is all set to reach out to big names from the advertising world for spaces in trains, level crossings and areas along tracks besides offering major platforms for installing over 2000 ATMs. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu will launch the nonfare revenue policy, a first in Railways, offering various schemes for revenueyielding activities including train branding, rail radio schemes and the mega offer of setting up about 2400 ATMs at platforms of major stations across the country early next week.

"Currently Railways earns less than 5 per cent of its total revenue through nontariff sources. Our aim is to raise it substantially through concrete offers," said a senior Railway Ministry official involved with

the firming up the non fare revenue policy.

ATMs will be on end platforms or prominent spaces in the circulating area of the station, he said, adding stations will be offered via transparent e-auction process for a long-term 10-year contract.

The policy envisages that in addition to the existing identified sites, Railways shall allow advertising at areas hitherto unused such as area along tracks, road overbridges and levelcrossing gates.

The policy will offer out-ofhome advertising policy and allow monetisation of railway assets by means of advertising, the official said.

Besides, big LED screens will come up at station buildings, platforms, foot overbridges (leading to station area) for advertising under Rail Display Network as part of the new policy.

Rail Display Network will initially cover 25 stations including Old Delhi, Varanasi, Jaipur and later on extended to other major stations.

The policy will offer branding of trains allowing internal and external advertisement and product sampling on trains on a long-term basis to big players allowing marketing flexibility thereby leading to higher realisation of earnings.

Advertisement through vinyl wrapping of train exterior (including windows of AC coaches) and inside the coaches shall be allowed under the scheme, the official said.

There will be distribution of sample products free of cost for gauging passenger reaction to the product.

However, no sale of products will be allowed in trains, the official said.

The train branding packages will be offered through bidding in a phased manner starting with Rajdhani and Shatabdi services.

The policy will also unveil a new scheme - Content on Demand and Rail Radio Policy, which will allow monetisation of entertainment-based services on trains and stations, the official said, adding, these services will be provided through audio video trains and platforms.

Provision of content such as movies, shows, educational programs shall be in both paid and unpaid formats.

PM hits out at 'political worshippers' of blackmoney, graft PTI Bengaluru, Jan 8 : Castigating the opponents of demonetisation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said those terming the government's move as 'anti-people' were the "political worshippers" of graft and black money which were making the economy, polity and society hollow.

"Friends you know we have undertaken a big responsibilty in fighting black money and corruption... Black money and corruption have gradually made our polity, economy, society and the country hollow.

"It is unfortunate that there are some political worshippers (rajnaitik pujari) of black money who term our actions against it as anti-people," Modi said at the 14th

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention here.

"It is very saddening to see some black money supporters maligning the moves against corruption," he said while thanking the Indian diaspora for supporting the government's steps against corruption and black money.

Emphasising the role played by overseas Indians in the country's development, the Prime Minister said they have made an "invaluable contribution" to the Indian economy by investing over 69 billion US dollars.

"For me, FDI has two definitions -- one is 'Foreign Direct Investment' and the other is 'First Develop India'," he said, asserting that "I can say with full confidence that 21st century belong to

Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

India."

Referring to the earlier trend of brain drain, he said "we want to change brain drain to brain gain" and added that the government will soon launch a skill development programme 'Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojna' for the Indian youth seeking employment abroad.

Welcoming the efforts of

Indian diaspora to strengthen the country's partnership with the overseas Indian community, Modi said "we don't see the colour of the passports, but the relations written by blood which matter the most."

Encouraging all PIO Card holders to convert their PIO Cards into OCI Cards, Modi said "we

have extended the deadline for PIO card conversions to OCI from 31 December 2016, until June 30, 2017 without any penalty."

He also spoke about the various measures for welfare and safety of Indians abroad, from carrying out evacuation of Indians in distress to other steps taken by his government in last two years, specifically mentioning the efforts of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in this regard.

He also said that starting with Mauritius, his government was working to put in place procedures so that descendants of various Indian communities could become eligible for OCI cards, by addressing the difficulties of PIOs in Fiji, Reunion Islands, Suriname, Guyana and other Caribbean States.

Traders To DMRC hopes JICA support Meet Kejriwal will continue for Phase IV Against Making CP Vehicle-Free New Delhi, Jan 8 : Traders in central Delhi's Connaught Place have decided to approach Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal against the decision of making the inner and middle circle a vehiclefree zone from February.

"This is an impractical decision which will not only cause discomfort to visitors but also affect businesses. We have decided to meet the Chief Minister to voice our objection to the decision and seek his intervention as he is an MLA from New Delhi," Atul Bhargav, President of New Delhi Traders Association (NDTA), told.

"We will also consider meeting New Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi and NDMC Chairman Naresh Kumar and raise our concern. CP is a commercial centre not a tourist destination. The moment the inner circle will be made vehiclefree, the outer circle will be choked. We have already seen a demo on the Yoga Day," he said.

The decision to make the middle and the inner circular roads of Connaught Place vehicle-free from February was taken last week at a meeting chaired by Union Minis-

ter Venkaiah Naidu and attended by officials from the Urban Development Ministry, New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and Delhi Police.

The traders contend that Connaught Place has ample space for pedestrians but less parking area.

"The business has already taken a hit postdemonetisation and now this move will make things worse. How many people will park their vehicles at Shivaji stadium or Shankar market and come to CP," said Satish Sundra, who runs one of country's oldest toy stores in the area.

NDMC officials said park and ride' services from major parking areas at Shivaji Stadium, Baba Kharak Singh Marg and Palika will be made available to visitors and in the longer run the decision will be appreciated.

The NDMC had last year mooted a proposal to make both Connaught Place and Khan Market vehiclefree zones. While Naidu had in November last asked for making both the markets vehicle-free, no decision has been taken yet in this regard.

10 TN fishermen arrested by Sri Lankan navy PTI Rameswaram (TN), Jan 8 : Ten Tamil Nadu fishermen were today arrested and their boats impounded by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly fishing in their territorial waters.

While four of the fishermen belonged to this island town, the others hailed from Jegadapattinam in Pudukottai district, Fisheries department officials said.

The fishermen from Rameswaram, who had ventured into the sea yesterday were arrested

P8

NATION

near Katchatheevu this morning and were taken to Thalaimannar in Sri Lanka by the navy personnel, they said.

Those from Pudukottai district were arrested while they were fishing in Neduntheevu and were taken to Kangesanthurai port, they added.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Fishermen's Association General Secretary, NJ Bose said, "Nationwide protests will be 10 TN fishermen arrested by Sri Lankan navy. held to condemn the continuing arrests of the Centre fails to take steps tion to the problem." state's fishermen, if the to find an amicable solu- Yesterday, a 34-year-

old Tamil Nadu fisherman from here was injured when he was allegedly attacked by the Lankan naval personnel for fishing off Neduntheevu.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam had on January 5 written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to take up the issue of apprehension of the state's fishermen by Lankan Navy at the "highest diplomatic level," besides ensuring their safety and security.

PTI New Delhi, Jan 8 : DMRC is keen on extending its cooperation with Japanese government funding agency JICA for its Phase IV expansion, under which six new corridors spanning around 103 km will be built at a cost of around Rs 50,000 crore.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) shares an over two- decade-long association with JICA. The lion's share of funding of Metro's Phase I, II and the upcoming Phase III project has come from it.

"We believe that they (JICA) will support Phase IV. There has been a very good sort of understanding and working relationship between JICA and DMRC. We hope that it will continue,"

DMRC Managing Director Mangu Singh told PTI. Earlier, the Chief Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) India office Takema Sakamoto had confirmed that the organisation was in talks with DMRC over its future projects.

A senior metro official said the funding roadmap of Phase IV has not been chalked out yet. The Centre acts as a liaison in getting the loan, the official said.

The proposed Phase IV corridors are Rithala Narela (21.73 km), Inderlok Indraprastha (12.58 km), Tughlakabad Aerocity (20.20 km), Lajpat Nagar Saket GBlock (7.96 km), Janakpuri (west) - RK Ashram (28.92 km) and Mukundpur-Maujpur

(12.54 km).

The third phase of the DMRC is being supported by JICA with a 48.57 per cent loan. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 41,079 crore.

The loan comes at a concessional rate of 1.4 per cent and carries a repayment period of 30 years with a grace period of 10 years.

The first two phases had JICA's shares at 60 per cent and 54.47 per cent respectively which were built at a cost of Rs 10,571 and Rs 18,783 respectively.

In all the cases, the rest of the amount came in the form of Centre and state government equities (equal share), interest free subordinate debt towards land cost and property development among others.

Playing pro-poor card, Modi says note ban to lift their life PTI New Delhi, Jan 7 : Playing the pro-poor card, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said they are the focus of his government and projected demonetisation as a long-term tool to fight black money and corruption to improve their lives.

Serving the poor is serving the god, he said in his concluding address at the 2day BJP National Executive meeting in which he invoked a Sanskrit shloka to say that he does not covet power, heaven or second life but longs to end the people's sufferings.

Modi again pitched for electoral reforms and sought a consensus among political parties, asserting that BJP will play a lead role in making political funding transparent as demonetisation and digital economy have ushered in a more transparent era.

"BJP will be at the forefront of pushing transparency in political funding. People have a right to know where our funds are coming from," he said.

With opposition parties levelling corruption charges at BJP leadership following the note ban, he asked party leaders to welcome criticism but they should remain unfazed by accusations even as he underlined his humble origins and had lived poverty.

Referring to coming assembly elections in five states, including the crucial Uttar Pradesh polls, Modi expressed confidence that the party will win there.

He referred to the impres-

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. sive Lucknow rally he had addressed a few days ago and his interactions with workers in his constituency Varanasi to make the point.

The prime minister asked worked to focus effectively on booths, saying the more they work there the more fruits the party will harvest.

"The situation is in our favour in the elections," he said.

It was the poor and his government to empower them which was the central theme of his 50-minute long speech.

"The poor of our poor country have accepted this historic decision (demonetisation). They have accepted that it is an effective step to end social ills including corruption.

"Accepting the hardships which came with the decision, they have welcome this historic step toward a great change," Modi said, adding that the country has seen society's strength

in the last two months.

Some people were concerned about improvement in their life style but priority of our government was to change the quality of the life of the poor, Modi said.

Briefing the reporters, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Prime Minister asserted that the poor and poverty are not a tool for winning elections BJP and that it does not look at them through vote-bank glasses.

Modi cited a string of government's measures, including Jan Dhan accounts, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Swachh Bharat, and said the poor have inner strength to overcome poverty and his government has been working to empower them.

Sources said he also asked party leaders to not seek poll tickets for their kin, saying organisation will take care of the exercise.

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JANUARY 9

BUSINESS P9 Apple team to meet inter-ministerial group on Jan 25 Post demonetisation, money has

PTI New Delhi, Jan 8 : A team of the US-based iPhone maker Apple will meet a group of senior officials from ministries, including IT and finance, on January 25 to discuss its demands for setting up a manufacturing unit in the country.

Officials from departments of commerce, industrial policy and promotion (DIPP), revenue, environment and forest, electronics and information technology (DeITY) will take part in the deliberations.

In a communication to the government, the Cupertino-based technology major has asked for several tax and other incentives, including long-term duty exemptions, to enter the manufacturing sector in India.

However, the sources said the technology major should set up the

Apple team to meet inter-ministerial group on Jan 25. manufacturing unit in India without seeking additional support.

As many as 42 companies are making mobile phones in India, including Chinese firm Huawei and Xiaomi, and no firm has approached the government for any additional incentives.

Currently, the government provides support

by way of benefits under the Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (MSIPS) to boost electronic manufacturing.

The scheme offers financial incentives to offset disability and attract investments in the electronics hardware segment. It also gives sub-

Petrol pumps threaten to stop accepting cards from Monday to protest banks' transaction fee New Delhi, Jan 8 : A sudden move by banks to levy a 1% transaction fee on card payments at petrol pumps have taken the oil ministry by surprise and prompted dealers to say they will stop accepting plastic money from Monday, which could inconenience consumers in times of cash shortage and affect the government's move to encourage cashless transactions.

In Delhi, ministry officials said they were unaware of the move by the banks and have asked them to put off the levy till a system of compensating the petrol pump dealers is disccused by all stakeholders- state-run fuel retailers, banks and petrol pump owners. The banks' move will not target the citizens directly as no new charges will be levied on customers using cards.

Stopping card payments and accepting only cash at petrol stations comes at a time when the Centre is pushing for increased non-cash transactions and announced a 0.75% cashback offer on purchase of petrol using plastic money.

ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank sent notices to dealers on Saturday night to inform them about the surcharge.

ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank account for some 60% of card swipe machines deployed at 52,000 petrol pumps out of the 53,842 public sector fuel retail outlets across the country. There are 56,190 petrol pumps in the country, including those run by private oil companies.

Following the notice, pump owners took the

decision to stop accepting card payments at a meeting of all petrol pump dealers' associations in Bengaluru on Sunday. All India Petroleum Dealers Association (AIPDA) president Ajay Bansal told TOI from Bengaluru that all pump owners are firm in their decision to withdraw card swipe machines from intervening midnight of Sunday and Monday.

"They (banks) must apologise to the public," B R Ravindranath, president, Akhila Karnataka Federation of Petroleum Traders and Bangalore Petroleum Dealers Association, told TOI in Bengaluru.

Dealers say the transaction fee by banks will wipe out their profit, which is set by the staterun fuel retailers.

Ravindranath claimed the net profit, after deducting all operational costs, stands at at 0.3% to 0.5%. "If the banks straight away levy a 1% transaction fee, where do they expect us to go. It becomes extremely difficult to survive in such circ u m s t a n c e s , " Ravindranath said.

In a communication to finance minister Arun Jaitley, AIPDA said: "To compound matters further, these credit card machine issuers are delaying settlements and not settling the entire dues as per our settlements. There are disputes about purchases being returned or not delivered. The reconciliation of swipes to amount being credited to our accounts is causing a lot of hardships and losses to a large percentage of the dealer community."

According to Bansal,

banks usually have agreement with establishments that have a profit margin of 5% or more. "Petrol pumps are the only sector where the banks bear the cost of even our communication lines used for the card swipe machines.

So if they levy the fee, we cannot pass on the burden to consumers as the sale prices are set by oil companies, as also our margin. So that leaves burden sitting on our laps. We don't have the strength to bear the burden and will collapse unless it is withdrawn or oil companies lend us their shoulders," he said.

Assuring quick resolution of the issue, ministry officials in Delhi said "to be fair to dealers," the transaction fee cannot be paid by consumers or dealers.

"It should be borne by the oil marketing companies.

But that would need 2-3 days discussion to evolve a system that would allow dealers to raise demand daily and banks to compensate them. We are asking banks to put off the levy till detailed discussion on this is done," a top ministry official told TOI. The dealers are aware of the damage that can be caused to their public image due to their protest but claim they have no other choice. "The public will see us as the villains now. They will think we are inconveniencing them by demanding only cash, but the truth is not that.

Sale of petrol/diesel is highly regulated and we cannot fix our own rates in view of this sudden levy by banks. So our best option is to not accept cards," the manager at a Bengaluru petrol pump said.

sidy for investments in special economic zones, among other benefits.

Apple's products are manufactured in six countries, including Korea, Japan and the US. Earlier, the finance ministry in May had rejected relaxing the 30 per cent domestic sourcing norms as sought by the iPhone and iPad

maker as a pre-condition of bringing in FDI to set up single-brand retail stores in the country.

The company had sought exemption on the ground that it makes state-of-the-art and cutting-edge technology products for which local sourcing is not possible.

The government had also turned down the firm's proposal to import refurbished phones and sell them in India.

The company sells its products through Appleowned retail stores in countries like China, Germany, the US, the UK and France, among others. It has no whollyowned store in India and sells its products through distributors such as Redington and Ingram Micro.

The government has announced incentives to promote electronic manufacturing in India and reduce the import bill.

lost anonymity: Arun Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

New Delhi, Jan 8 : With doubts being raised about demonetisation eliminating black money, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said colour of funds has not changed by merely depositing them in banks as the money has now lost its 'anonymity' and can be identified with the owner. In a Facebook post titled 'Demonetisation - A look back at the last two months', he also said the period of pain and inconveniences is getting over and the economic activity is being restored.

Large amount of cash with banks will lead to lower interest rates, he further said.

"When 86 per cent of a country's currency, constituting 12.2 per cent of its GDP, is squeezed out of the market and sought to be replaced by a new currency, there would obviously be significant consequences of that decision," he said, adding that the queues outside the banks have disappeared and remonetisation has moved ahead.

"The period of pain and inconveniences is getting over. Eco-

nomic activity is being restored," he said. Jaitley said demonetisation required both courage and stamina. "The implementation of the decision carried pain. It can lead to short-term criticism and inconveniences. Drop in economic activity on account of the currency squeeze during the remonetisation period would have a transient impact on the economy."

"The fact that large quantum of high denominational currency has been deposited with the banks does not render this money to be legitimate cash. Black money does not change its colour merely because it is deposited in bank. On the contrary, it loses its anonymity and can now be identified with its owner," he said. The comments follow reports about an estimated 97 per cent of junked notes getting deposited in bank accounts, thus casting doubts on the effectiveness of demonetisation move in checking the black money menace.

The Revenue Department, he said, would be entitled to tax this money. "In any case, the amendment to the Income Tax Act itself provides that the said money, if voluntarily declared or if involuntarily detected, would be liable for differential and high rates of taxation and penalty," he said.

How this Emirati city plans to put Indians on cruise liners Abu Dhabi, Jan 8 : Traditionally, the well-heeled Indian would travel for leisure to destinations in Europe and South East Asia. However, in the last 18 months, there has been a big spurt in Indians travelling to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This has been primarily due to a stronger dollar (which means better currency exchange rates for tourists), falling oil prices and a rising supply of available hotel rooms.

"Proximity to India makes the UAE a good option for a short vacation good as a weekend getaway or even as a weeklong break. There are a variety of new attractions and experiences that have come up both in Abu Dhabi and Dubaimaking it a great option for repeat visitors," says Nancy Castelino, VP Marketing for Mercury Travels, one of the country's oldest travel services companies.

Typically, Dubai has attracted the lion's share of tourists flowing in to the UAE, but the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi is working hard to present itself as an alternative destination in the region.

Last year, a record three million tourists visited the Emirate, according to the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi). And this year, that number is expected to rise about 25%.

One of the countries the TCA is concentrating on is India.

"We have a history with India. Indians rank first on the list of guests in Abu Dhabi hotels. We're trying to attract more Indian consumers to the region," Saeed Al Dhaheri, Cruises Sector and city

How this Emirati city plans to put Indians on cruise liners. tour manager for TCA Abu Dhabi told timesofindia.com.

As Gerardo Lianes, the Executive Director of Destination Management, MIRAL pointed out: "India has a huge middle class and they want to see the world."

One of the fastest growing segments in tourism in Abu Dhabi is cruise tourism, which grew at more than 10 percent last year.

This Emirati city is positioning itself as a culturally authentic, family friendly destination for cruise passengers. While Indians make up the largest numbers in hotel occupancy, getting them on a cruise in the region has so far proved to be challenging.

This was one of the focal points of discussion at the recently concluded Seatrade Middle East Forum in Abu Dhabi. Of the more than 300,000 cruise tourists that passed through Abu Dhabi last year, a mere 9% were Indians.

"The region has much to offer travellers who are looking for something different. For many people, the Gulf's landscapes are yet to be discovered," says Darren Peisley, act-

ing CEO of the Hall Group.

The Arabian Gulf is the third most popular destination in the winter cruising market for Europe and the US - and now this alliance hopes to expand to new markets like China and India. Experts feel the region has remarkable diversity and the biggest challenge is to communicate that to the consumers, especially in newer markets.

Abu Dhabi is a key component of Cruise Arabia - the two other cities in the UAE being Dubai and Sharjah. The alliance also includes Oman, Qatar and Bahrain. A key attribute of this regional strategy is to differentiate the visitor experience not just in each of the countries but also at each port.

Abu Dhabi now boasts of the Arabian Gulf's only dedicated desert island cruise stopover - the Sir Bani Yas island. The cruise beach was formally opened in December 2016 and the island has already been voted the 'Word's leading sustainable tourism destination' at the World Travel Awards.

"Together with Abu Dhabi Ports and Etihad

Airways we have achieved growth through developing long-term partnerships and cooperation, which adds more value to the services and facilities we offer for tourists coming to the region," says Saif Saeed Ghobash, the director general of TCA Abu Dhabi.

The Sir Bani Yas beach is expected to attract more than 60,000 passengers from 39 stopover cruise line calls in its first season alone.

The opening of the new integrated cruise terminal in the heart of Abu Dhabi last year has also contributed to the growth of cruise ship arrivals. The terminal has exclusive check-in facilities with Etihad Airways and has increased access for passengers to visit mainland attractions like the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, which is a mere 20 minutes drive, or to the Saadiyat cultural district that will see Louvre Abu Dhabi opening later this year.

Indian travel services are now increasingly promoting Abu Dhabi as a tourist destination, especially for those travellers who have been to Dubai and want a holiday a short flight away. The number of tourists from India visiting the city has grown by about 30 per cent each year. Abu Dhabi is especially attractive as it is a 4-hour flight from Delhi or Mumbai and the national carrier Etihad Airways has partnered with Jet Airways to have connecting flights to all major Indian cities.

"It has all that Dubai has to offer in terms of the hotels, shopping, excursions etc. and lots more like the Abu Dhabi Grand

Prix, the Ferrari World, the Falcon Hospital etc.

And if one still wants to go across to Dubai, them it's only a short ride away. Moreover, the quality is as good and the rates are lower, hence that makes it very attractive for travellers.

In addition, a large number of holiday goers to Dubai also include Abu Dhabi and Yas Island as a day trip or an overnight stay destination," said Nancy Castelino, VP Marketing for Mercury Travels.

Abu Dhabi is also gaining popularity as a destination for weddings and for school and college reunions, as it is well connected with India, Europe and the United States.

Castelino says the cruise market is gaining popularity and there are many more people opting for cruises. The bug bear customers would prefer if cruises start from India. And that is something the cruise line companies agree with.

"The Indian subcontinent will be a big port of call for Cruise Arabia, especially the European cruises. We can go and do longer itineraries and further go away from the region into the Indian Ocean sector," said Chris Coates, the commercial director of Cruise and Maritime Voyages, to timesofindia.com.

Christopher Allen, Vice President of one of the largest cruise companies, Royal Caribbean concurs but says challenges exist:"India was critical to expanding the itinerary to 12-14 days. It expands the breadth and marketability for the region.

Challenges of infrastructure exist and that needs to improve"

Reduce scrutiny assessments to slash litigation: CBDT panel PTI New Delhi, Jan 8 : Scrutiny assessments that entail a topto-bottom analysis of a taxpayers' I-T transactions should be "reduced significantly" for a period of three years, a committee constituted by the CBDT to cut down litigation issues between the taxman and the assessee has suggested.

In its report submitted to the policy-making body of the IT department, the committee has also recommended that the number of such scrutiny cases

given to each Assessing Officer (AO) should be "capped" in order to make them more effective for the department and less cumbersome for the taxpayers at large.

"Reduce scrutiny assessments significantly for a period of three years to give primacy to litigation management during this period.

"Cap the number of annual scrutiny cases per AO. The cap be kept low to allow reasonable time for enquiries and assessments," the committee said in the report as part of

Reduce scrutiny assessments to slash litigation: CBDT panel.

"immediate measures" required to reduce litigation in the department.

The seven-member committee, headed by Commissioner of Income Tax (Legal and Research) Sunita Bainsla, had submitted its report to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) last year in September, which has been made public now.

Top sources in the department said with demonetisation throwing a big challenge before the taxman where numerous cases could be scrutinised for

suspect black money cases, the CBDT is expected to consider the views of the panel for framing latest rules for bringing future cases under scrutiny given there are new and smart tech tools to probe such instances now.

The report, while suggesting the future "roadmap" has added that "the workload of assessment should not be allowed to be increased over a pre-defined number of cases for any AO. Hence, fresh scrutiny assessments for a year should be

limited based on the number of already pending cases with an officer.

"This will allow for more time for evidence gathering and writing of orders."

The tax department has said that it only brings about 1 per cent of cases, out of crores of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) filed, under the scrutiny assessment procedure in an year and has even started a pilotproject to conduct this procedure online.

Scrutiny is undertaken when the taxman suspects that the

ITR filed does not reflect the true picture of an entities' income as compared to his expenses and matches certain other red flags decided by the CBDT every year based on the current and expected economic activity in the current fiscal.

The procedure entails furnishing of a number of records by the taxpayer to the AO that consumes more time and resources than a normal ITR filing and this subject has also led taxpayers to raise concerns of harassment and corruption in the past. .

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JANUARY 9

INTERNATIONAL

P10

Mutinous soldiers free Ivory Coast defence minister

Historic Cyprus peace in balance at Geneva talks

AFP Bouake (Ivory Coast), Jan 8 : Mutinous soldiers released Ivory Coast's Defence Minister Alain Richard Donwahi after detaining him for two hours in a tense standoff over pay.

Donwahi, who flew into the west African country's second city Bouake earlier yesterday in a bid to defuse an escalating crisis, was whisked out on a plane from the local airport shortly after his release, an AFP photographer said.

President Alassane Ouattara had announced a deal to end the dispute yesterday evening following talks between Donwahi and the soldiers, who took control of Bouake early Friday.

But angry troops rejected the terms of the agreement, firing Kalashnikov rifles and heavy weapons outside local government offices where they were meeting to block

Coast's Defence Minister Alain Richard Donwahi.

Donwahi and his team from leaving.

Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer, has been rocked by two days of unrest after soldiers seized control of Bouake's streets early Friday, firing rocketlaunchers and terrifying residents, in a mutiny that spread to other cities in-

cluding the economic capital Abidjan.

The soldiers are seeking bonuses, pay rises, housing and faster promotion.

Bouake was the headquarters of an armed rebellion that broke out in 2002 and split Ivory Coast in two until 2011, sparking a decade of clashes and crises.

Trump's aide accused of plagiarism

Donald Trump.

PTI Washington, Jan 8 : US President-elect's top national security communications adviser Monica Crowley has been accused of plagiarising large sections of her 2012 national bestselling book criticising President Barack Obama's administration.

The review of 48-year-old Crowley's book, "What The (Bleep) Just Happened," found upwards of 50 examples of plagiarism from numerous sources, including the copying with minor changes of news articles, other columnists, think tanks, and Wikipedia.

Crowley plagiarised large sections of her 2012 book, a CNN KFile review has found.

The New York Times bestseller, published by the HarperCollins imprint Broadside Books, contains

no notes or bibliography.

Crowley, a syndicated radio host, columnist, and, until recently, a Fox News contributor, will serve as Trump s senior director of strategic communications for the National Security Council.

Trump's transition team said, "Monica s exceptional insight and thoughtful work on how to turn this country around is exactly why she will be serving in the Administration.

"HarperCollins one of the largest and most respected publishers in the world published her book which has become a national bestseller. Any attempt to discredit Monica is nothing more than a politically motivated attack that seeks to distract from the real issues facing this country."

In the book, Crowley lifted an entire section on Keynesian economics from

the IAC-owned website Investopedia., the report said.

In one instance, Crowley lists a variety of so-called "pork" items she claimed were part of the 2009 stimulus package. Many of the instances were copied wholesale from a conservative list of pork barrel spending, with some items dating back to the 1990s. Most of the copied instances were listed on a website for a podiatrist dating back to 2004, it said.

A section on organised labour appears largely copied from a 2004 article by the libertarian think tank the Mises Institute. Another portion of her book on torture is copied from a Fox News article.

Crowley also lifted wordfor-word phrases from the Associated Press, the New York Times, Politico, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, the BBC, and Yahoo News.

Crowley has been accused of plagiarism before. In 1999, Slate reported a column by Crowley in the Wall Street Journal mirrored a 1988 article in Commentary, the neoconservative magazine, the report said.

"Had we known of the parallels, we would not have published the article," a Journal editor s note said at the time. Crowley denied the charge at the time, saying, "I did not, nor would I ever, use material from a source without citing it.

Dutch police seize MH17 crash debris from reporter AFP The Hague, Jan 8 : Dutch police have taken from a journalist items, including possible human remains, which he found at the crash site of flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine, prosecutors said today.

Freelancer Michel Spekkers was met by police as he returned to Schiphol airport late yesterday after visiting the region and writing an article about his discovery at the site.

The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 passenger jet was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur killing all 298 on board, most of them Dutch citizens.

A Dutch-led criminal investigation concluded in September that a BUK missile, transported from Russia, slammed into the plane after being fired

from a field in a part of war-torn Ukraine then controlled by pro-Russian rebels. But it stopped short of saying who pulled the trigger.

Prosecutors said in a statement today that Spekkers had "refused to hand over photographic and film material from the crash site" when he arrived at the airport near Amsterdam.

The material including "various bags with metal parts and an object which may be human remains" would now "be examined as soon as possible."

Spekkers said in a Tweet late yesterday he had arranged to "voluntarily" hand over the items, but in the end there was "a total seizure" of his possessions including his camera, telephone and laptop.

He wrote in the daily Noordhollands Dagblat

he decided to visit the crash site during a trip to Donetsk for a documentary about daily life there, after being told that debris was still strewn around the area.

He described seeing things lying in the snow -- including a piece of bone -- saying he had videoed everything, labelled some of it and placed it into sealed ziplock bags.

Writing in the Dutch provincial daily, he said he had "an uncomfortable feeling of helplessness", wondering why such items were still there, and whether Dutch authorities would have left the site like that had the crash happened on Dutch soil.

He decided to bring back "a small number" of things in the hope that "there may be some answers to outstanding questions.

The current mutiny appears to have been spearheaded by former rebel fighters who have now been integrated into the army.

Shortly after Donwahi's release, troops lifted the barricades that had blocked entry to Bouake since Friday, and the automatic rifle fire that had rattled all through the previous night and into yesterday fell silent.

Neither Donwahi nor the mutineers made any comment as the minister was released. Donwahi and his aides headed straight to the airport and their plane took off immediately, an AFP photographer said.

Ouattara had given no details of the deal offered to the mutineers, saying in a brief televised announcement earlier that it took into account "the demands relating to bonuses and improving the living conditions of soldiers".

"Having given my agreement, I ask all soldiers to

go back to their barracks to allow decisions to be carried out calmly," he added.

In Abidjan, national television reported earlier that shots had been fired at the northern Akouedo barracks, as soldiers put up barricades in the bustling commercial hub that is home to the presidency, government and parliament.

Troops closed off a major junction nearby, leaving the surrounding roads gridlocked, although images broadcast on national television showed traffic returning to normal.

Schools and businesses remained shut yesterday in Bouake, where the unrest erupted early Friday when troops broke into a weapons depot, arming themselves with rocketlaunchers and other weapons mounted on pickup trucks before attacking police posts, manning strategic junctions and putting up barricades.

Mexico, US sign framework on electricity grid AP Mexico City, Jan 8 : US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz was in Mexico to sign a framework agreement on principles aimed at building the kind of cross-border electricity market with Mexico that the United States already has with Canada.

Moniz said yesterday the potential for a mutually beneficial relationship is there. Wind turbines in Mexico's Baja California peninsula have already sent some power to U.S. markets.

"Mexico has excellent renewable resources, and on the southern (US) border, those states all have ambitious renewable targets," he

worlds apart on the most crucial sticking points such as property, territorial adjustments and security.

"I will be surprised if there is a comprehensive agreement given the difficulties," Andreas Theophanous, head of the Cyprus Centre for European and International Affairs, told AFP. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded the island in response to an Athens-inspired coup seeking union with Greece.

It has always been agreed that some of the territory currently controlled by the Turkish Cypriots will be ceded to Greek Cypriot control in any peace deal.

Turkish Cypriots made up just 18 per cent of the

island's population in 1974, but they currently control more than a third of its territory.

Just how much and which land they should give up has hampered four decades of peace talks.

Years of inter-community violence, which culminated with the Turkish invasion and subsequent declaration of a republic on Cyprus' northern third, saw thousands from both sides flee their homes -- and they remain displaced to this day.

The territory issue is so vital because both Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci will have to sell any final agreement to their respective sides via twin popular votes.

Airport gunman charged, US seeks death penalty

said.

Mexico has also started relying on imports of U.S. natural gas to run cleaner electrical generation plants.

"You'll probably see more renewables flowing north ... and more gas flowing south," Moniz said.

Mexican Energy Department officials said the new framework would be overseen or implemented by the NERC, The North American Electric Reliability Corporation.

The NERC is a nonprofit international regulatory authority that focuses on maintaining the reliability and security of the bulk power system in North America.

Mexicans march against gas price hike, little looting

Mexicans march against gas price hike, little looting.

AP Mexico City, Jan 8 : Looting has largely subsided in Mexico following a 20 per cent hike in gasoline prices, but protests are continuing.

The Interior Department reported that more than 1,500 people have been detained for looting or disturbances nationwide since protests began early in the week.

It is unclear how many have been charged. Hundreds of stores were

AFP Nicosia, Jan 8 : Rival Cypriot leaders resume UN- brokered peace talks in Geneva tomorrow billed as a historic opportunity to end a decadeslong conflict on the divided island, but the outcome is far from certain.

Both Turkish- and Greekspeaking sides concede all key issues remain unresolved but the UN is pulling out all the stops to get a deal over the line.

"It is a real possibility that 2017 will be the year when the Cypriots, themselves, freely decide to turn the page of history," United Nations envoy Espen Barth Eide said in his New Year's message.

But some experts believe that Geneva is a disaster waiting to happen because Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders are still

looted, mainly on Wednesday and Thursday. Police protection of stores has been stepped up since.

The federal police reported continued protests, and some highway blockages, yesterday.

Thousands of people marched down main avenues in the western city of Guadalajara yesterday to protest the increases, which are part of a government effort to deregulate fuel prices.

Airport gunman charged, US seeks death penalty.

AP Fort Lauderdale (US), Jan 8 : The Iraq war veteran accused of killing five travellers and wounding six others at a busy international airport in Florida has been charged and could face the death penalty if convicted.

Esteban Santiago, 26, told investigators that he planned the attack, buying a one-way ticket to the Fort Lauderdale airport, a federal complaint said.

Authorities do not know why he chose his target and have not ruled out terrorism.

Santiago was yesterday charged with an act of violence at an international airport resulting in death which carries a maximum punishment of execution and weapons charges.

"Today's charges represent the gravity of the situation and reflect the commitment of federal, state and local law enforcement personnel to continually protect the community and prosecute those who target our residents and visitors," US Attorney Wifredo Ferrer said.

Authorities said during a news conference that they had interviewed roughly 175 people, including a lengthy interrogation with the cooperative suspect, a former National Guard soldier from Alaska.

Flights had resumed at the Fort Lauderdale airport after the bloodshed, though the terminal where the shooting happened remained closed.

Santiago spoke to investigators for several hours after he opened fire with a Walther 9mm semi-automatic handgun that he appears to have legally checked on a flight from Alaska. He had two magazines with him and emptied both of them, firing about 15 rounds, before he was arrested, the complaint said.

"We have not identified any triggers that would have caused this attack.

We're pursuing all angles on what prompted him to carry out this horrific attack," FBI Agent George Piro said.

Investigators are combing through social media

and other information to determine Santiago's motive, and it's too early to say whether terrorism played a role, Piro said.

In November, Santiago had walked into an FBI field office in Alaska saying the US government was controlling his mind and forcing him to watch Islamic State group videos, authorities said.

"He was a walk-in complaint. This is something that happens at FBI offices around the country every day," FBI agent Marlin Ritzman said.

On that day, Santiago had a loaded magazine on him, but had left a gun in his vehicle, along with his newborn child, authorities said. Officers seized the weapon and local officers took him to get a mental health evaluation. His girlfriend picked up the child.

On December 8, the gun was returned to Santiago.

Authorities would not say if it was the same gun used in the airport attack.

Gunmen kill four in Mexican hotel AFP La Paz (Mexico), Jan 8 : Gunmen burst into a hotel in the popular Los Cabos resort area on Mexico's northwestern Pacific coast, killing three men and a woman, authorities said today.

The killings took place in a small hotel in San Jose del Cabo, one of the towns referred together as Los Cabos. The area

is especially popular with American tourists visiting for sun and surf and sand.

Authorities in Baja California Sur state said the three men were found dead in the room, and that the woman was severely wounded and died en route to a hospital.

There was no motive given for the crime, but Mexico's violent crime rate is high and the Pa-

Image for representational purpose.

cific coast area has seen a lot of bloodshed as rival drug cartels fight for dominance.

The government says that since 2006 more than 170,000 people have been killed in Mexico and more than 28,000 have been reported missing in the federal crackdown on drug trafficking. The data does not indicate which cases are related to organized crime.

cmyk

cmyk

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JANUARY 9

P11 Serie A: Tonelli hits dream Renegades look to get back to winning winner on debut for Napoli ways against unpredictable Sixers

Milan, Jan 8 : Lorenzo Tonellicompleted a dream debut for Napoli by hitting a last-gasp winner in a 2-1 defeat of Sampdoria on Saturday that closed the gap on leaders Juventus to four points.

Napoli looked to be heading for only a share of the points at the San Paolo stadium when Manolo Gabiadini came off the bench to hit a late leveller after Elseid Hysaj's own goal gave a dogged Samp a surprise 1-0 lead on the half hour.

But Tonelli, making his first start for Napoli since arriving from Empoli six months ago amid the absence of Algerian Faouzi Ghoulam at the Africa Cup of Nations, sparked wild celebrations in the fifth minute of added-on time when he fired Ivan Strinic's cutback from the left past keeper Christian Puggioni and into the roof of the net.

Napoli's 11th win of the season closed the gap on Juventus, who host Bologna on Sunday, to four points although the champions will also have a game in hand following their recent commitments in the Italian Super Cup final, which they lost to AC Milan in Doha.

Napoli dominated throughout a tactical but entertaining encounter but were kept on a tight leash in attack by Samp defender Vasco Regini, who first stopped Jose

Callejon on the run before cutting out Dries Mertens' ball for the Spaniard minutes later.

Regini came to the rescue again with a timely interception on Lorenzo Insigne's searching ball for Callejon at the far post, the Spaniard tumbling to the ground as Puggioni came out to smother.

Napoli suffered a scare soon after, a rooted Pepe Reina watching on as Ricky Alvarez's free kick shaved post and crossbar after Tonelli's foul on Dennis Praet.

Sampdoria rode their luck before Patrick Schick got past his marker on the right and was given enough space to run in and deliver a cross that came off the chest of Hysaj and into the Napoli net.

Sampdoria striker Luis Muriel replaced Fabio Quagliarella shortly after the restart and was a constant thorn in the side of the Napoli defence.

The visitors, however, were stunned when Matias Silvestre, who earned a caution earlier, saw red for obstructing Reina on the hour, although it took Napoli some time to capitalise on their advantage.

On 68 minutes Mertens spurned a great chance for the leveller when he hit wide from Callejon's delivery and the Belgian came close soon after with a header that crept

wide.

Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri introduced Gabbiadini for Jorginho with 19 minutes left and was rewarded soon after when the lanky striker tapped home Callejon's cut-back from close range after a Insigne's long ball over the defence.

It gave Napoli momentum, but it took the hosts until six minutes from time for their next real chance, Gabbiadini's angled strike from Insigne's smart noddown finding the legs of Puggioni at the near post.

But the hosts kept up the pressure and were rewarded when Tonelli arrived just in time to meet Strinic's superb cutback with a confident strike.

Earlier a late penalty from veteran striker Massimo Maccarone condemned struggling Palermo to a 1-0 defeat at Empoli.

Palermo coach Eugenio Corini is the club's third this season having been appointed to help stave off the growing threat of relegation.

But three weeks after a dramatic 4-3 win at Genoa ended a run of nine consecutive defeats, the Sicilians sunk to a 13th defeat of the season that keeps them third from bottom and now seven points behind Empoli, who sit fourth from bottom.

Sean Abbott has been one of the standout performers for Sixers. of the batting order has failed to deliver so far.

They haven't been able to strike up big scores and that has hurt the team as well. After losing their last match to city rivals Melbourne Stars, they have made three changes to their side for the clash against Sixers. Sri Lankan all-rounder Thisara Perera, left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty and batsman Tom Beaton have been included in the side for Marcus Harris, Trent Lawford and Nathan Rimmington.

Similarly, Sixers will also be bolstered by the return of their international stars - Nathan Lyon, Steve O'Keefe and Jackson Bird. With the match set

to be played at the iconic Sydeny Cricket Ground, this will be Renegades first match away from their home city this year.

Even as Sixers have shown the potential to be an extremely dangerous side, they have also shown the tendency to self-destruct. What has worked in their favour so far is that they have won the toss in four of the five matches, and got the opportunity to chase every time. They are yet to be tested as an outfit on whether they are capable to defending totals.

The fortune has been the exact opposite for the Renegades as they won the toss only once - a

match in which they opted to chase and won.

When: Sydney Sixers vs Sydney Thunder, Match 21 at 07:10 PM Local (1:40 PM IST) Where: Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Team News: Sydney Sixers: Nathan Lyon, Steve O'Keefe and Jackson Bird will retun from international duties and join the Sixers squad for the home game.

Melbourne Renegades: Following the defeat against Melbourne Stars in the last match, Renegades have made three changes to their squad for their first match out of the city. Thisara Perera, Xavier Doherty

and Tom Beaton have been included in the side for Marcus Harris, Trent Lawford and Nathan Rimmington.

Squads: Melbourne Renegades: Aaron Finch, Tom Beaton, Tom Cooper, Xavier Doherty, Callum Ferguson, Brad Hogg, Sunil Narine, Peter Nevill, James Pattinson, Thisara Perera, Matt Short, Chris Tremain, Cameron White Sydney Sixers: Moises Henriques, Sean Abbott, Jackson Bird, Doug Bollinger, Johan Botha, Ben Dwarshuis, Brad Haddin, Daniel Hughes, Michael Lumb, Nathan Lyon, Nic Maddinson, Steve O'Keefe, Will Somerville

Kuznetsova opens Sydney defence with win, seeds withdraw

Conte wants 10 years at top - just don't tell his wife

Anderson, Williamson set up series whitewash

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New Delhi, Jan 8 : Bangladesh came close but couldn't evade a 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand as they lost the third and final Twenty20 International by 27 runs at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Sunday (January 8). Soumya Sarkar (48) and Tamim Iqbal (24) gave the 195-run chase a brisk start before the visitors ran out of steam and could only manage 167 for 6 as Ish Sodhi pulled things back with figures 2 for 22.

Having gone 18 games across formats without a win in New Zealand ahead of this game, Bangladesh looked desperate to turn things around in the final T20I. Set a steep mountain to climb, they weren't afraid to chance their arms and put the New Zealand bowlers under pressure. Sarkar started flaying the bowlers in the first over before Tamim joined forces to collect two boundaries off Ben Wheeler in the third over.

However, the left-handed Tamim took one chance too many and fell to Trent Boult.

Trying to pull a short ball, he top edged the delivery to Colin de Grandhomme at deep midwicket to fall for 24.

But Bangladesh had amassed 52 in the first five overs to set the base for the chase.

Sarkar continued to punish the bowlers before the hosts pulled things back with some tight bowling. De Grandhomme and Ish Sodhi collaborated to stop the boundary flow, by bowling 14 consecutive balls of which no boundaries were scored, before the latter got rid of Sarkar. The left-hander was beaten for pace and top edged an attempted sweep back to the bowler. With momentum on their side, and the scorecard reading a healthy 84 for 2 after nine over, all Bangladesh had to do was drive the advantage home.

Sabbir Rahman and Mahmudullah sparkled briefly while Shakib al Hasan (41) tried his best to get the team over the line.

However, they couldn't replicate the efforts of the openers in what turned out to be another morale-sapping defeat.

Earlier, it was Kane Williamson and Corey Anderson who revived the New Zealand innings after a mid-innings wobble. Put

in to bat, the hosts made a steady start with Williamson and Jimmy Neesham opening the batting.

The latter took a liking the Bangladesh's opening bowlers and milked a few boundaries before his promising innings, which yielded 15 off 12, was cut short by Rubel Hossain. The pacer struck another telling blow when he dismissed last game's centurion Colin Munro, for a duck. Twin blows had pegged New Zealand back before Mosaddek Hossain got rid of Tom Bruce to leave them in a precarious situation at 55 for 3 after ten overs.

Bangladesh's ability to close out games has been one of the factors that has let them down so far on this tour. As wickets came, the runs dried up. However, Anderson and Williamson collaborated to stitch an 124-run associaition for the fourth wicket in 12 overs and propel their team to a daunting target.

They slammed 139 runs in the last ten overs with the carnage starting in the 11th over. The duo was proactive and picked up 48 runs in the next four overs.

Kuznetsova plays shot at Sydney International final.

Sydney, Jan 8 : Svetlana Kuzne tsovaopened the defence of her Sydney International title with a comfortable 6-1, 6-4 victory over Irina-Camelia Begu on Sunday as the Australian Open warmup event suffered a pair of big-name withdrawals.

The Russian fifth seed started strongly by winning 10 of the first 11 games and after her Romanian opponent rallied in the second set to tie it up at 4-4, Kuznetsova broke again in the ninth game and served out the victory in 77 minutes.

"I started the year quite good with the feeling," the 31-year-old double Grand Slam winner told reporters.

"Sometimes the results don't go together with whatever you feel. But I feel very good for the start of the year, and for me it's a very nice feeling.

"I never thought of defending my title or something like that. It's just another tournament - the title I have at home and no-one will take it away from me. This is another year and another opportunity to play."

Kuznetsova will next

face the winner of the match between local favourite Sam Stosur and fellow Russian Anastasia Pavlyu chenkova.

Elsewhere, Canada's Eugenie Bouchard, a former Wimbledon finalist, also won her opening match with a 7-6(1), 6-2 first round win over China's Zhang Shuai.

However, fourth seed Karolina Pliskova, who will climb to world number five following her Brisbane title win on Saturday, will not be able to aim for back-toback victories after she

pulled out of the event with a left inner thigh injury.

The Czech was joined on the sidelines by Ukraine's world number 14 Elina Svitolina, who withdrew citing a viral illness.

"I've had constant headaches for the last two days and unfortunately in today's hot weather it got even worse when I was warming up and my body wasn't ready to compete," Svitolina, who was seeded seventh, said.

With the Australian Open tennis starting in a week's time in Melbourne, French woman Alize Cornet also decided against risking a sore back and pulled out of the Hobart International, which she won last year.

Cornet was the runner-up in Brisbane after going down 6-0, 6-3 to Pliskova in the final.

"I am very sad I am not being able to play the tournament at Hobart this year," she said in a video message on Twitter. "It was meaning a lot to me to come back here and defend my title but I have to be reasonable.

"My back is not doing great and I have just one week to get ready for the Australian Open. I hope I can make it on time."

AFP London, Jan 8 : Chelsea coach Antonio Conte wants to stay in top-flight management for at least another decade, but worries his wife might have other ideas.

The Italian, who has guided Chelsea to pole position in the Premier League, says the likes of Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and current Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger have set the benchmark for management.

"You are talking about two monsters, two great managers," Conte said.

"I hope to have, not completely their career, but 10 years, yes. It's enough for me. Twenty more years? Now I'm 47.

I prefer that my wife (Elisabetta) doesn't listen to this."

"But in the moment that football is not in our life, I think probably we die."

Chelsea, five points clear in the Premier League, play Peterborough in the FA Cup third round on Sunday looking to bounce back from seeing their 13-game winning run in the league come to an end on Wednesday at Tottenham.

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Napoli's Lorenzo Tonelli celebrates after scoring the second goal.

New Delhi, Jan 8 : If patterns are anything to go by, Sydney Sixers are bound to lose their Monday's (January 9) clash against Melbourne Renegades. It's been that sort of a campaign for the former Big Bash League champions.

While everything clicks brilliantly in one match, nothing seems to go right in the next. There has been constant chopping and changing, and the unit looks far from settled despite winning three of their five matches so far this season, and being placed third on the points table, only two points behind toppers Brisbane Heat.

Three players have stood out for them - Sean Abbott (12 wickets at 7.84 runs per over) in the bowling department, and Daniel Hughes (155 runs) and Sam Billings (127 runs) in batting. Riding on their success, the team has secured the three wins. The rest have been largely on and off, making Sixers one of the most unpredictable sides in the competition this season.

Melbourne Renegades, on the other hand, have been a far more experimental outfit, none more fancier than opening the innings with Sunil Narine.

The move has paid off well so far, but remains to be seen for how long the experiment with the West Indian works at top of the order.

Cameron White has clearly stood out in the batting order with some consistent scores this season. But with the rest

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DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, JANUARY 9

P12 FA Cup: Olivier Giroud strikes late as Arsenal edge past Preston

Olivier Giroud scores Arsenal's second goal in their English FA Cup third round match against Preston at Deepdale January 7, 2017.

Preston, Jan 8 : Arsenal were forced to stage a second half fightback to secure a 2-1 win at Prestonon Saturday that extended Arsene Wenger's record of never having lost in the FA Cupthird round.

Wenger's side suffered an early shock at Deepdale as Callum Robinson put the Championship side on course for their first victory over the Gunners since 1960.

Arsenal were fortunate to be only one goal down at the interval, but they produced a much-improved second half showing.

Aaron Ramsey got the equaliser less than a minute into the second half and Olivier Giroud completed the comeback in the final minute.

Preston, buoyed by a fervent home crowd, took the lead after only seven minutes to ensure a pulsating cup tie.

Aiden McGeady showed neat footwork in midfield, dragging the ball back and spinning to create space to beat his marker before slotting a pass inside Nacho Monreal for Jordan Hugill.

McGeady was ushered off the ball by Monreal but it broke kindly for Robinson, who took advantage of some leisurely defending to pounce on the ricochet and steer past the on-rushing David Ospina.

Despite fielding a strong side, Wenger must have been disappointed to see his side struggle to cope with the early pace being

Mohammad Hafeez included in Pakistan's ODI squad

Mohammad Hafeez was overlooked in the original squad after a lacklustre show in the domestic one-day cup.

Mumbai, Jan 8 : Mohammad Hafeez has been added to the Pakistan's One-Day International squad for the fivematch series in Australia, the Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed on Sunday (January 8). The allrounder has been included after a request from captain Azhar Ali and coach Mickey Arthur.

"The selection committee headed by Inzamam-ulHaq today received a request from Pakistan team management comprising coach Mickey Arthur and captain Azhar Ali for sending Mohammad Hafeez to Australia for the ODI series," the board said in a release. "The selection committee has decided to accept the request of the team management and chairman of the PCB has approved the same. Hafeez will join the team shortly as the 16th member in Australia."

Hafeez, who has now been cleared to bowl by the In-

ternational Cricket Council, was overlooked in the original squad following a poor run in domestic cricket where he scored 248 runs at an average of 31 in the one-day cup. He was dropped from the squad after the series in England last year and didn't feature in the series against the West Indies, New Zealand and the Tests against Australia.

Pakistan play the first ODI in Brisbane on January 13 before heading to Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Adelaide for the remaining games. They lost the preceding three-match Test series 0-3.

Pakistan ODI Squad: Azhar Ali(c), Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Mohammad Rizwan, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali, Rahat Ali, Mohammad Irfan, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Hafeez.

set by Simon Grayson's team.

Indeed, the only surprise of the opening half was that Arsenal were not trailing by more than a solitary goal.

On 22 minutes McGeady again found space behind the defence to play in Hugill whose cross was met by a strong Robinson header, needing a block from Shkodran Mustafi to deny a goal.

Seconds later, it was Robinson's turn to be the creator, crossing low from the right for the unmarked Hugill who somehow failed to make contact in front of an open goal for what would have been a certain second.

By the time the excellent McGeady crossed from the left and full-back

Marnick Vermijl arrived unmarked to volley wide, the Arsenal supporters behind that goal were beginning to voice their disapproval.

Giroud had Arsenal's first meaningful chance on the half-hour, glancing well wide from Ainsley Maitland-Niles' cross, but at least there were signs of Arsenal life.

In quick succession, Lucas Perez and Ramsey should have done better as they tried to walk the ball into the net, only to be blocked by whole-hearted Preston defending.

Giroud chipped across the face of goal when he might have shot, while Perez launched a powerful header that was well held by Chris Maxwell.

Still, there were warning

signs for Wenger as a Mustafi error allowed Gallagher a chip which cleared the goalkeeper and was bound for the net until Monreal made an appearance to clear.

Wenger must have delivered a half-time team talk of some impact because within 55 seconds of the restart his side was level.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain launched the attack down the left and, after picking out Alex Iwobi in the Preston area, the ball was worked to Ramsey who struck an unstoppable shot past Maxwell from 18 yards.

Giroud was also handed a chance, from Granit Xhaka's well-judged 65th minute free-kick, but only managed to head directly at Maxwell under pressure from more dogged Preston defending.

And Mustafi was also denied by Maxwell, with a far more impressive reflex save, from a nearpost snapshot following an Arsenal corner.

Not for the first time this season, it was the often maligned Giroud who came to Arsenal's rescue with another late goal, this time in the 89th minute when he forced home from six yards after Perez managed to clip the ball back from the byline.

To complete what had become a satisfactory afternoon for Wenger, the Arsenal manager was able to bring on England forward Danny Welbeck for the final seven minutes for his first appearance since damaging knee ligaments eight months ago.

Lack of funds puts IndiaBangladesh Test in a spot Hyderabad , Jan 8 : The beleaguered Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is facing a new problem with the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) stating its inability to host the India-Bangladesh Test citing lack of funds, according to a report in The Hindu.

Following the limitedovers series against England, that concludes on February 1, India are set to take on Bangladesh in a one-off Test at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal, Hyderabad from February 8. With the HCA now indicating that it may not be able to play host the five-day game, BCCI has been put in a dicey position.

The Supreme Court, in October, had ordered the Indian cricket board to halt all fundings to its state associations until the latter adopted the Lodha panel recommendations in toto.

The apex court later allowed the disbursal of funds for the smooth functioning of the India-England series.

With the Lodha committee implementing administrative reforms in the functioning of the BCCI, including the recent removal of several office bearers, there is plenty of confusion surrounding the Indian cricket board.

The Supreme Court, which removed BCCI president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke on Janu-

MS Dhoni an inspirational captain, loved playing under him: Michael Hussey

File photo: Mike Hussey Chennai, Jan 8 : Records and titles speak volumes about the greatness of MS Dhoni, the leader, at least in limited-overs cricket. But there is more to Dhoni than captaincy and cricket. In an interview post the 2011 World Cup triumph, Dhoni had said: "I have three dogs at home. Even after losing a series or winning a series, they treat me the same way. Getting up quite late in the morning, going to clean my bikes, spending some time with my family and friends, going out for rides with my friends and having lunch or dinner at a roadside hotel - that's my favourite time-pass."

Australian legend Mike Hussey, who has played

under the leadership of Dhoni in Chennai Super Kings, said one of Dhoni's greatest qualities as a skipper was that he made his players "realise" that cricket was "not the most important thing" in a person's life.

"Dhoni was an inspirational leader and I loved playing under him. He gave the players perspective and made them realise that though cricket is important, it is not the most important thing in a person's life," Hussey told TOI on Saturday.

'Mr Cricket' Hussey added: "He has helped the Indian team to so much success in all forms of the game, but an even better person with a great family. His calmness...he had this

amazing ability to help players relax, enjoy the game and not put too much pressure on themselves, which is not that easy in a place like India where cricket is a religion." The 41-year-old Hussey has played under three very successful captains - Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Dhoni - for different teams.

"They all led according to their personalities and were all very good in their own ways," Hussey said.

The Aussie mentioned that Dhoni has stepped down from captaincy only after leaving Indian cricket in a strong position. "He obviously thinks this is the best time for the team and for Indian cricket to move on."

Novak Djokovic ends Andy Murray's 28-win streak in Qatar triumph Doha, Jan 8 : Novak Djokovic brought world number one Andy Murray's 28-match winning streak to an end in Doha on Saturday to retain the Qatar Open title in a three-set thriller.

Serb star Djokovic won 6-3, 57, 6-4 in a high-quality, actionpacked match between the two best players in the world lasting almost three hours.

It is Djokovic's 25th career victory over Murray and puts down an early-season marker against his great British rival, before the Australian Open later this month.

"Definitely one of the best ways to start a year," Djokovic said immediately after his victory.

"I had three or four match points in the second set, he turned it around and I thought: Wow! I hope this isn't payback time!

"He was close... all the way to the last shot you never know with Andy," added Djokovic who was penalised a point in the second set after destroying his racquet as the tension mounted.

Despite going into the third set showing signs of frustration and weariness, Djokovic was able to claw away any momen-

tum Murray had to secure his second successive title in Qatar and the $209,665 first prize.

A break of Murray's serve in the seventh game of the final set -- when the Scot looked most likely to win -- proved decisive.

Serving for the match, Djokovic secured the title on his fourth match point, having squandered three in the second set when Murray astonishingly recovered from 5-4 down and 40-15 to win three games in a row and force, at that point, an unlikely deciding set.

It was Murray's first competitive defeat since losing to Juan Martin del Potro in the Davis Cup back in September.

In a typically cagey start between the pair, Djokovic landed the first blow with his only break point of the first set.

In the eighth game of the opener, he came back from 4015 down to win four consecutive points and break Murray's serve.

Then, in the seventh game of the second set Djokovic broke Murray again despite falling over and banging his head during one rally.

It seemed to be the decisive blow, but Murray would not be easily brushed aside, rallying to take the game into the decider.

Murray said he was "obviously disappointed" to lose but was not too downbeat.

"I think physically it was a good test to start the year," he said.

He added that he lost having failed to capitalise on his chances.

"I had a break point at 3-2. In the last game I had love-30 on Novak's serve and played a couple of loose shots. I think I had the first break point in the first set as well, didn't get it.

"He had one and took it, that was the difference this evening."

Saturday's match was the first meeting between the pair since Murray beat the Serb at the ATP World Tour Finals in London in November, snatching Djokovic's number one ranking in the process.

It was also the 20th time Djokovic has beaten Murray after winning the first set.

Despite the defeat, Murray retains his world number one ranking.

Bangladesh have never played a Test in India. ary 2 owing to the Indian cricket board's reluctance and inability to implement the recommendations made by the Lodha panel, stated that a committee of administrators will be appointed on January 19 to oversee the business operations of the BCCI. Rahul Johri, the BCCI CEO, who is currently in charge of daily operations, is likely to approach the Lodha committee to put forth HCA's current predicament.

Meanwhile, The Hindu also reported that the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) has informed the BCCI that it would not be able to host two four-day matches between India and England's Under-19 teams

in February. The four-day games were scheduled for February 13-16 and February 21-24 in Chennai but TNCA has expressed its inability to host the games due to "domestic programs" scheduled during that period.

"At the outset we thank you for allotting the IndiaEngland Under 19 matches to Chennai between 13th and 16th February and 21st to 24th February 2017.

However, we regret to inform you that we are unable to host the matches at Chennai due to various domestic programs scheduled during the period," stated a letter from TNCA to the BCCI.

Novak Djokovic.

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