Monday,nov 2,2015

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GOOD NEWS The Eastern Today in Khonsa For Your Copy: HAKHUN DIAGNOSTICS

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Vol. 1

Issue 147

Price -

Dibrugarh, Monday, November 2, 2015

Pages- 12

Tourists enjoy with ministers as KNP is declared open

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State has 47 MLAs ‘and the Govt. is strong’. He revealed that those who form the dissident team are the ones who demand the minister chair of Home, PWD, Power, Finance and Education. Gadi also said he won’t mind sacrificing his minister’s berth if the situation so demands in order to protect the toppling of Chief Minister’s chair.

Contd. on Page 3

“Name me any sector where you find there is lack of performance from my side. You have full right to suggest and give opinions on my performance.”

Nabam Tuki

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Kena said that Congress is ready to come back in the centre and ‘Nabam Tuki will be the Chief Minister of Arunachal for the third term also’. “If Nabam Tuki resigns from the post of Chief Minister, the future of Arunachal is doomed,” the minister asserted. PWD minister Gojen Gadi said the Nabam Tuki team has 27 MLAs at present but the Congress Govt. at the

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The Nabam Tuki led-Congress Government celebrated completion of four years of government today. To mark this ceremony, a rally based on the theme ‘Arunachal Towards Progress’ was held at Kimin where a host of ministers, parliamentary secretaries, MLAs, district officials, gaon burahs

and around 2000 people witnessed the ceremony. While speaking on the occasion, the newly inducted ministers Phurpa Tsering and Jomde Kena expressed their full support and faith on the Nabam Tuki led-Congress Govt.

While attacking the BJP on the beef issue, Minister Tsering said, “I will not go to Pakistan, I will eat mithun, beef, yak, in Arunachal.” While Jomde

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ET Correspondent Itanagar, Nov 1

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Cabinet Minister expresses confidence on Nabam Tuki's leadership

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Jorhat, Nov 1: Monoj Jalan of Jalan Group, Dibrugrah and former chairman of NETA has been elected as chairman of NETA and Nipul Saikia of Rangajuli Group, Golaghat as vice-chairman of NETA. Meanwhile, Bidyananda Barkakoty has been nominated to the post of adviser of NETA filling in for founder chairman Mohan Lall Jallan who passed away on May 6th last who had served as the adviser of NETA for the past 32 years, informed Manisha Sharma, the Secretary of the NETA. (Correspondent)

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Retired forest guard

SP Numal Mahatta were present. At first, the Mihimukh Gate was declared open for Jeep Safari by the Forest Minister. Soon after, a tourist from Germany, Velaska was allowed to inaugurate the Elephant Safari by breaking a coconut on behalf of Forest Minister Mr Munda. Director NK Yadav said, "Today,

ET Correspondent Golaghat, Nov 1

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mere urban infrastructure upgradation mission. It is area based and intended to benefit all citizens of in and around Pasighat city. For success of SCM, we have to think out of the box and act smart accordingly," Moyong opined.

Contd. on Page 3

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paign” (CCC) in all municipal wards to interact with all city stakeholders, including residents, traders, professionals, and with all vulnerable sections of the society including socially, economically and physically deprived citizens. "Smart City Mission (SCM) is not a

Famous for the one-horned Rhino, the Kaziranga National Park Mihimukh entry gate was declared open by Forest and Environment Minister Etuwa Munda today. In the inaugural session, Bokakhat MLA Arun Phukan, Director N K Yadav, officer SK Gill and Additional

Correspondent Golaghat, Nov 1

Today, when everyone was enthusiastic about the opening ceremony of Kaziranga National Park, one former forest

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Sadak Suraksha Jagrookta Rally

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Hotel worker assaults women ET Correspondent Lakhimpur, Nov 1

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Contd. on Page 4

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"As per our own estimates small tea growers contribute about 45% of the total crop of Assam (Brahmaputra Valley) but due to erratic weather pattern the trend in 2015 shows a decline, so crop insurance scheme for the small tea growers will be launched very soon by the Tea Board of India," said Bidyananda Borkakoty, the chairman of North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) during the 17th Biennial General Meeting of the association at Kaziranga

near here today.

With regard to the status of tea for immediate declaration as the national drink of India, the association decided meeting the Prime Minister of India, Mr Narendra Modi over the issue. The NETA chief said, parliamentary standing committee on commerce led by MoS Shanta Kumar has already recommended tea to be declared as the national drink of India. While former President of India, late APJ Abdul Kalam during his address at World Science Congress at Tocklai in Jorhat, said, it will

be no exaggeration if we call tea the national drink of India.

The NETA chairman informed, India’s production in the year was 1207.31 million kg out of which Assam produced 61.97 million kg, while north India’s total production was 965.20 million kg out of which about 69% was produced by estate factories and 31% by bought leaf factories.

He said, declining production of the organized sector lowers prices and huge increase in cost of production has crippled the Assam tea industry.

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In a hotel in Lakhimpur called Nanda Kishore, one Babu Chetri, a hotel boy, has reportedly assaulted a young girl, an officer of a medicine company. The culprit is said to have entered her room No. 104 at 1 am at night on October 30 in a drunken condition. Shutting the door, he assaulted her with ill intentions while the girl escaped after fighting back. The next day, he started to blackmail her threatening to leak her photos snapped while bathing. Today, the girl lodged an FIR at NLP PS. Police arrested the culprit and sent him to jail.

Bijoy Shankar Handique Jorhat, Nov 1

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in

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old Lonkey village Khimyang circle.

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Kapsam Khimhun passed away on Saturday at the age of 55 at Longkey-Chingsa village in erstwhile Triap district, the

“The road accidents have become a major threat to human life and the disciplined driving is the only alternative to eliminate it on the roads,” said SP Sonepat, Abhishek Garg while flagging off a “Sadak Suraksha Jagrookta Rally” here today.

He listed several reasons including fast driving, drunken driving, violation of traffic signals, wrong side overtaking, etc. and cautioned that a small negligence could result in loss of human lives.

Crop insurance scheme for small tea growers soon, says NETA Chief

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Sachin Sehrawat Sonepat, Nov 1

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Kapsam Khimhun passes away

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is an attempt of the state Congress Government to mislead the people of the state and to divert the attention

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The Bharatiya Janata Party Arunachal Pradesh today in a release raised questions regard-

Itanagar, which it said is a sensitive and strategically important location. Meanwhile, the party questioned as to why the BJP state unit was dragged into the controversy adding that it

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ing the Green Field Airport while proposing either Karshinsa or Holongi as the site for the project with the view to facilitate air connectivity facilities at the state capital

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ET Correspondent Itanagar, Nov 1

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Arunachal BJP proposes either Karshinsa or Holongi for Greenfield airport

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Monoj Jalan, new NETA chairman

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Citizens consultation form is the foundation of the Smart City Proposals (SCP), said the overwhelmed MLA Kaling Moyong while addressing a mammoth gathering last

Truck accident Dibrugarh, Nov 1: A truck carrying jaggery fell off the Gammon bridge here at Dibrugarh at around 6 pm today. "The brakes failed when I tried to give a pass to another car", the driver informed. No one is injured. The truck was loaded with jaggery and was coming from Lanka, Nagaon.

(Correspondent)

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evening at the Daying Ering Higher Secondary School ground, Pasighat during the third day campaign of citizens consultation for Smart City Proposals. District Administration along with Municipal Council has been organizing “Citizen Consultative Cam-

Pasighat, Nov 1

Railway worker gone missing Rangia, Nov 1: One Krishna Ram Baro (57), a staff of Railway signal department Rangia Rail division has gone missing since Friday last from Pandu.

According to his son, Kuldeep Baro, his father went to Pandu Railway storeroom on duty to bring battery for his office.

After loading the battery on a mini truck suddenly, he went missing from the storeroom.

An FIR has been lodged at Jalukbari police station by the office staff but no information has been received as of today.

Mr. Kuldeep Baro urged the public to inform Jalukbari Police station or contact 9707703664 in case of any information in this regard.

(Tapas Samaddar)

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Public participation is key to success of Pasighat Smart City Proposal: Moyong

2 Pulsar bikes stolen Golaghat, Nov 1: In a sensational theft incident, two Pulsar bikes have been stolen.

In the evening time, the first pulsar bike belonging to one Kaushik Gohain bearing number AS05D9714 was stolen from near State Bank of India and another pulsar bike belonging to Haren Phukan bearing number AS05E1235 was stolen from the Tetlitol region (1/2 km from town) at around 6 pm. The incidents have created sensation in the town.

(Correspondent)

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ET CAPSULES

Kathin Civor Dana and prayers at Bana Vihar, Diyun

Thousands watch Amur Falcons at Umrangso Anup Biswas Umrangso, Nov 1

Thousands of people from various parts of the state and from the neighbouring states watched lakhs of Amur Falcons visiting Umrangso during the Falcon Festival on October 31 and November 1.

Amur falcon is a small raptor of the falcon family, it breeds in south eastern and

northern china before migrating in large flocks across India and over the Arabian sea to winter in South Africa.

Umrangso is an industrial town in Dima Hasao district of Assam, India. It is located at the border areas of Assam and Meghalaya states, some 112 km from Haflong, the District headquarters of Dima Hasao district of Assam.

Earlier these birds were being killed for consumption

but following the initiative taken by the Forest Department of Dima Hasao and several NGOs including Blue Hills Society, the killing of these birds has come down and the people became more interested in watching their arrivals.

Keeping this in mind, first ever falcon festival, the biggest festival in Dima Hasao, Contd. on Page 3

Chakma community along with other guests from different communities celebrated their largest religious festival ‘ Kathin Cibor Dana’ at Bana Vihar, Diyun. See news at page 3

Related News at Page 4 Poi Potwa marks end of Satang Potwa Kathin Civara Dana Utsav celebrated at Margherita

Suspected dacoit lynched by villagers Kabir Mondal Tura, Nov 1

A suspected dacoit was chased before being caught and lynched by the irate mob near the village of Gangnang Raksam under Bajengdoba Police Station in North Garo Hills (NGH) at around 11 am on Saturday morning. The

dacoit, who incidentally is also a resident of the village from where he was chased, is suspected to be a part of a group of dacoits that had been spreading terror through their activities. The killed dacoit has been identified as 28 year old Kobising Sangma. Sangma is Contd. on Page 3

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PAGE 2

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2

Ultra nabbed in Diphu Sushanta Roy Diphu, Nov 1: In steppedup operations against underground ultra outfits, police and Indian army arrested one youth with grenades and another believed to be linkman of KPLT (Karbi Peoples Liberation Tiger) in separate incidents in the district yesterday. According to information received Kheroni police of West Karbi Anglong district and CRPF arrested Dhan Timung (25) from Deuri Tiniali village, while he was traveling in a motorbike. Police has

claimed that Dhan Timung is closely associated with many higher-ups of KPLT. Police is quizzing Timung after taking police remand. In a separate operation Indian army and Delai police arrested Denial Terang from 10 mile general area of Delai, police has recovered 3 grenades and one pulsar motorbike from him and one student’s identity card.

Police has registered 39/ 2015 case under various sections of IPC. Police has taken his remand from Diphu court today.

Wild growth that looks like human hands Kabir Mondal Dhubri, Nov 1: A wild growth that looks like human hands was found in the house of Mazar Ali of Kharuabanda village under South Salmara Police Station of Dhubri district, attracting the attention of the people of the area who rushed to the spot to see it. Ali cut down nut

(tamol) tree in his house where this wild growth came up and it seems to a colourful mushroom resembling human hands, a local villager said. A source in the village alleged that Ali was demanding Rs. 10 from visitor who thronged his house to see this nature’s freak.

Govt transfers Tihar's 26 women nurses after molestation New Delhi, Nov 1: Delhi government has transferred 26 women nurses posted at Tihar prisons hospital following a complaint by a doctor that she was molested by an inmate, a move that has not gone down well with the nurses. The nurses have called for revoking the transfer, saying if they are not safe inside one of the largest prison complexes in South Asia where else they would be. Delhi government's Health department transferred 26 women nurses posted at Tihar's health care facility to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital. These nurses will replaced by 26 male nurses of Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, according to an order issued by Superintendent (HR-Nursing).

The move comes in the wake of a woman doctor's allegation that she was molested by a convict at the prison hospital. However, the government move has drawn the ire of women nurses posted at Tihar, who said that if they are not safe inside the largest complex of prisons in South Asia, where else they will be. In a letter to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the nurses had demanded that the transfer orders should be revoked. "If women are not secure inside Tihar prison health care centre, which is the largest complex of prisons in South Asia, where in national capital they will be. "At a time when everybody is talking about women em-

powerment, such steps would shatter their confidence so that they never stand up against the atrocities they are subjected to," the letter said adding that the transfer orders should be revoked. "Transferring the woman nurses is not the solution.It is the responsibility of the government to provide us security and safety and with such moves, it is running away from its responsibility," said a senior nurse. The security of women staff, including doctors and nurses, at Tihar prisons recently came under scanner, after a doctor working there approached the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) levelling allegations of sexual harassment against an inmate.

2 more dengue deaths in Bengal, toll 8 Kolkata, Nov 1: The toll due to dengue in West Bengal has climbed to eight with the death of a youth and a five-year-old child, an official said on Saturday. "We received a report of a death of a youth at a

private hospital in Kolkata on Friday and today (on Saturday) we are reporting the death of a five-yearold child at the B.C. Roy Hospital. The toll has gone up from six to eight," state's director of health

services Biswaranjan Satpathy told the media.

Over 3,600 people were affected by dengue this year, he said. Most of the cases were reported in the middle-age group, he added. (Agencies)

Economists discuss ways to boost economy of North East ANI Itanagar, Nov 1: Constant deliberations between academia and bureaucrats would augur well for a fast progressing Arunachal Pradesh, said Chief Minister Nabam Tuki, while advocating that the Rajiv Gandhi University, a repository of knowledge, should act as a think tank in policy formulation. Addressing economists of the North East region at the 17th annual conference of North Eastern Economic Association (NEEA) at the Rajiv Gandhi University near here, Tuki, who was the chief guest, said the state is going through a massive transition.

Connectivity being the catalyst for development, he said the 1,600-km TransArunachal Highway would be completed by 2017. He said that over 529-kilometers of rural roads has been built and efforts are on to introduce fixed wing aircraft service as the Ziro, Pasighat, Tezu and Mechuka airports would be operational next year. Besides listing his government's achievements in health and tourism, health and agri-allied sectors, and other initiatives to generate employment through subsidized state flagship schemes and special economic zones in the foothill areas, Chief Minister Tuki said the 14th Finance Commission has given a higher fiscal input of 72.5

Five hurt in police firing in Imphal Imphal, Nov1: At least five persons sustained bullet injuries when a police team opened fired at a Lagau (dice gambling game) following a confrontation at Lairikyengbam Leikai in Imphal East on Friday night.

The injured persons, identified as L Romesh (29), S Tomba (54), K Babu (35), L Rajesh (24) and Y Thoi (20), have been hospitalized at JNIMS hospital, Imphal. Most of them were hit by bullets on their legs.

The incident occurred last night around 9.30 pm when a police team who came on a DI Tata dispersed the people gathering at the Lagau after snatching the dices. Reports said that when the police personnel were about to leave the place after seizing the dices, one of the persons involved in the gambling requested the police to leave behind the dices. When the personnel refused to do so, there erupted a heated argument resulting to the personnel resorting to firing guns toward the person. He was hit by a bullet on his leg. Following the firing, local people rushed towards the police compelling the police personnel opening firing towards them before leaving the spot with the vehicle they come with. In an unrelated violent incident, a hand grenade suspected to have been hurled by militants exploded at the house of the doctor who is serving as chief medical officer, Chandel district in Imphal this early morning, around 3 am. No one was injured in the blast. (Agencies)

percent as against 57.5 percent set during the 13th Finance Commission, while the state would get a higher share of central taxes. The state being a late starter has crossed the initial hurdles and has proposed a Vision for 2030 by then the state would undergo a sea change in allround development. Professor Barbara Harriss-White, Professor Emeritus of Oxford University, UK, who has indepth working experience in Indian economics, and who visited Arunachal Pradesh in 2007, observed that the labour market and health, themes of the conference, are vital for India's growth. She raised six vital questions in her paper - Middle India and Urban-Rural Development: Four Decades of Change giving enough materials for serious thought. What is the informal economy? About 93 percent of all livelihoods and over 60 percent GDP, 40 percent manufactures exports come from unregistered sources, covering many sectors from agriculture to the Border Roads Organisation labour force working in Arunachal which come under informal economy. Contact labour, illegal labour, women working in paddy fields etc are all part of Indian economy, making India's informal economy much larger than that of the other BRICS nations (Brazil,

Russia, China and South Africa). On the myth about informal economy, she said that "unemployed labour is without security system, which exists in the Indian capital.

This was taught in 1970 when the concept of informal economy evolved. What is difference between formal and informal economy? It exists side by side without which the economy cannot exist," Professor White said as guest of honour. The paradox in India's informal economy, which raises questions on the issue of work and well-being, mostly the labour and contracts, which do not come under the purview of the law, consists of 60 percent GDP, three-fourths of formal or regulated economy.

It may be outside the state but not out of global economy, she argued. Why the labour laws need reforms if those cannot be enforced? There are 44 to 64 labour laws, which need to be simplified to be more protective. Selfemployed people are sized labourers. But the informal economy contributing to the wellbeing cannot be denied, she supplemented. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan would benefit the poor section, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister's insurance policy is a very good example for the welfare of the masses; she said and concluded her address by linking the elephant

statue with a howda in Oxford University to the roaming elephant herd of Arunachal. Highlighting the theme and the objectives, NEEA president Professor Sundarja Borbora of IIT-G underscored the importance of good governance with accountability, transparency and citizenry participation which are vital for eradicating poverty and ensuring good heath to the people. The good governance was born out of frustration of developing countries, he said while quoting World Bank definition - "By adding together all the incomes in the economywages, interest, profits, and rents or by adding together all the expenditures in the economy- consumption, investment, government purchases of goods and services, and net exports (exports minus imports)". Citing the development index that placed Gujarat at the top and NE states of Meghalaya, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, ranked among the last three scoring less than five percent in overall implementation of the action plan so also in bottom in corruption index painting a gloomy picture, he hoped for a changed governance or good enough governance for a much desired turn around.

Vice Chancellor Professor Tamo Mibang, in his address, highlighted as to how

the economy of the region was dependent on labour and their health. Citing the vast land resources of USA, which was exploited by imported labour, the secret of development, he said, "We have completed 68 years as an independent nation, but confront many problems.

How to address the ILP and demographic issues?, he asked. Insurgency and shutdown culture in Brahmaputra Valley have been hampering development so also AssamArunachal-MeghalayaNagaland inter-state boundary problems. He stressed on peace as a prerequisite for development of the North East, and exhorted economists to influence policy makers for finding lasting solutions to these problems. NEFA born in 1997 is a non-political NGO working with a national perspective, said NEEA secretary Indranil Bhowmik of Tripura University, adding anyone interest in economic affairs is welcome.

The two-day conference has been organised by the economics department of the Rajiv Gandhi University, whose head, Dr. Ranjana Upadhya, and School of Social Sciences Dean, Professor S.K. Nayak, addressed the gathering, including delegates from various parts of India, noted economist and 13th Finance Commission member Professor Atul Sharma, faculty and students.

List of hospitals in Dibrugarh with contact details & phone numbers, Assam Aditya Diagnostics & Hospitals Bordoloi Avenue, Paltan Bazar, Dibrugarh - 786005 Phone Numbers: 0373 - 2302219, 2302225

G M Hospital

Shrishti Hospital & Research Centre Paltan Bazar, Dibrugarh - 786 005 Phone: 0373 - 2300024, 2302099

AMC Road, Jalan Nagar Dibrugarh - 786 005

Archana Trauma & Orthopaedics Hospital

Brahmaputra Diagnostics & Hospital

Paltan Bazar, Dibrugarh - 786 005 Phone: 0373 - 2302100, 2302099

Near Indian AirLines City Office Paltan Bazar Dibrugarh - 786 005 Phone Numbers: 0373 - 2303476

Assam Medical College

Marwari Arogya Bhawan Hospital Paltan Bazar, Dibrugarh Phone: 0373 - 2302872, 2302051

Graham Bazar, A.T. Road Dibrugarh Phone: 0373 - 2322547

Jalan Nagar, Dibrugarh - 786 002 List of Phones numbers: Emergency Room : 0373 - 2300627 Labour Room: 0373 - 2300022 Drug Deaddiction Centre: 0373 - 2302952 Community Medicine: 0373 - 2302994 RIA Centre: 0373 - 2302093

Sanjivani Diagnostic & Hospital

Dr. Pawan Bajaj's Skin Clinic

Aastha Hospital

Paltan Bazar, Dibrugarh Phone: 0373 - 2303448, 2303458, 2301904

Sankardev Hospital Mancotta Road, Chowkidinghee Dibrugarh Phone: 0373 - 2327717, 2327715, 2326960

Paltan Bazar, Opposite Aditya Hospital Dibrugarh

Dr Damani's Nursing Home Near Circuit House, Dibrugarh Phone: 0373 - 2300928, 2302873

Sivasagar Commerce College Principal Dr Soumar Jyoti Mahanta written book "PRAGYAR SANDHANAT " released by chief guest of Sivasagar book fair -2015 Anatar Silpi SYED SADULLAH with invited guests during a programe organised

by NGO 'KHUJ" today . Pic - Firuz Ahmed

ASTRO FOR YOU Today you are going to have a great time, but only if you plan out the right things. At the work place it will be business as usual with its highs and lows.

But make some good plan for the evening and you will be surprised. Try something romantic.

A good day for money and love. A quality, professional approach will help you shine out in business today. Be it launching a product or marketing it, you will win yourself hearts, smiles and a bundle of green. Let the leader in you take over during the day and the lover in you return by night.

A hectic and busy day awaits you. You need to think about how, where and in what proportion to concentrate your energies upon the numerous jobs thrust upon you. You will be able to succesfully complete your tasks in the later half of the day.

Your attempt to come out winners after vanquishing your competitors will shock/confound your rivals. The loved ones will realise your affection. You will clear your way through unfavourable terrain. Your positive approach will win over many admirers. Ganesha’s total grace is on you.

You will be in the mood to express your thoughts and opinions unabashedly today. You will try your utmost to make gains in your profession. You will be able to clear off your debts. You should make the most of this beneficial time to end your financial troubles.

You are bursting at the seams with the creativity bubbling within you. However, you will find yourself struggling more than usual in dealing with the challenges at work. There are some monetary benefits on the cards. Take good care of your health.

Today you will like to do something special in a subject that interests you.

Past incidents or memories will flash in your mind. You will be able to tell what is in your heart and mind to a special person.

Today, you may be at your creative best and encourage various forms of arts.

If the passion grows, you may even consider taking lessons in classical music or dance. Love is in the air during the evening.

A day where your thoughts will be inclined towards God and divinity. Don’t ease those purse strings easily too. At work, rise to the occasion and take charge. Your superiors will give you a pat on the back. Romantic escapades will be marked by rude health — as if you mind!

Occasionally, you will throw your weight around, and dominate others. After the first half of the day, may take some extra classes to brush up your skills and enhance your personality. Everything is not as good as it may sound. Be ready to receive some bad news today. If you aren’t mentally prepared for it, you may find it difficult to accept the news.

Hurry, splash on some Giorgio or curl your tresses! The spotlight is on you today, and you don’t want a drab work jacket to take away the shine. You remain brilliant, both on the personal and professional fronts. Your rivals will envy your easy charm.

You need to be extremely careful when planning out your activities for the day. For the slightest mistake could bring all your efforts to naught. Treading carefully and cautiously is advisable, when it comes to work-related matters, to avoid falling into traps. You will be more dependent on luck today. In times of great difficulty, you will find that god lends a helping hand.

PRASAR BHARATI (India's Public Service Broadcaster) ALL INDIA RADIO : DIBRUGARH (M.W.529.1m/KHz567 F.M. 101.30 MHz) Phone No.-03732325456 E-mail -dibrugarh@air.org.in Facebook Page-All India Radio Dibrugarh Programme Highlights

2-11-15 (MONDAY) 5-35 A.M-Bhaktigeeti (Devotional Songs) 6-10 A.M-Swasthya Charcha (Health Programme) 6-15 A.M-Classical Music 7-15 A.M-Aajir Dinto (Morning Information Service) 7-30 A.M-Geetanjali (Assamese Modern Song) 8-35 A.M-Surar Panchoi (Composite Programme of Assamese Film Songs) 9-05 A.M- Antara (Composite Programme of Hindi Film Songs) 12-05 P.M-Ramdhenu (Request Programme of Hindi Fim Songs) 1-10 P.M-Troops Programme 2-30 P.M-Western Music Programme 3-45 P.M-Programme in Miju Mishmi 4-05 P.M-Programme in Khamti 4-25 P.M-Programme in Wancho 4-45 P.M-News for Arunachal Pradesh 5-00 P.M-Programme in Idu 5-20 P.M-Programme in Tangsa 5-40 P.M-Programme in Nocte 7-15 P.M-Yuvavani (Youth Programme)-"Prerona"(A Live Phone-in Programme on Skill Development).Subject-Fashion Technology and Designing , Expert-Saroj Ahmed 8-00 P.M-Drama 9-30 P.M- Mandakini 10-00 P.M-Classical Music Sd-/H.O.P

PAGE 3

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2

AAK to conduct its general conference at Pangin in February Spl Correspondent Pasighat, Nov 01: In an executive board meeting of Adi Agom Kebang (Apex body of Adi literature) held at Siang Guest House here on 30th October 2015 last, it was unanimously decided to conducts its general conference at Pangin, Siang District during February next year.

In a press statement this evening, Maktil Apum, Asst. General Secretary, AAK said that the meeting was attended by all advisory board members, executive body, district coordinators of AAK and all Adi intellectuals including school teachers. The meeting was chaired by Nalong Mize, advisory board mem-

ber and Mr. Taring Tabi was appointed as Chief Coordinator of the general conference 2016, said AAK in a release. According to sources, there has some mix-consensus and differences among AAK and ABK members upon ratification to use Roman Script for Adi language (colon in place of double

vowel) and the possible declaration of the same during ABK Mechuka Conference beginning from November 11 next has prompted this decision from AAK who has been using double vowel in the textbook being read as third language in various Adi dominated schools already from last some years.

Meghalaya Chief Minister meets Union Home Minister ET Correspondent Shillong, Nov 01: Chief Minister, Dr Mukul M Sangma today met Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh at the latter’s residence to discuss the sensitive matter of assent of the Governor to the two Bills passed and submitted by the two Autonomous District Councils of the Khasi Hills and the Jaintia Hills and other issues pertaining to the State.

In an official statement here on Sunday said that the Chief Minister apprised the Union Minister briefly of the background of the matter stating that with a view to address the vacuum created by the order of the Hon’ble High Court dated December 12 last year to the effect that the Headmen/Traditional institutions did not have the power or authority to issue residential certificates or no objection certificates for sale/transfer of property, opening of bank accounts etc unless such powers are vested in them under a statute or rules, the State Government after consultation with various legal experts

had promulgated an Ordinance, taking great care to ensure that the promulgation of the Ordinance did not affect the authority or encroach into the jurisdiction of the Autonomous District Councils. He said that the interim arrangement was urgently required at that juncture to take care of the urgent and genuine needs of the common citizens.

He also told the Union Minister that subsequently the two District Councils had enacted their own legislations on the matter, the Khasi Hills Autonomous District (Village Administration) Bill, 2014 and the Jaintia Autonomous District Council (Establishment of Elaka and Village Election, Appointment, Powers, Functions and Jurisdiction of Dolloi/Sirdar and Waheh Shnong) Bill, 2015 which were submitted to the State Government for obtaining the assent of the Governor. He further informed the Union Minister that few provisions in those Bills which were found in conflict with the provisions of the Constitutions and

other Central and State laws were discussed with the concerned District Councils and accordingly had carried out appropriate modifications in the Bills.

The Bills with the opinion of the Advocate General were recommended by the State Government to the Governor for his assent. He said that the Governor has referred these Bills to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) seeking their advice on their constitutional validity. He further informed that the perceived delay in the grant of assent to the said Bills has caused a fair amount of apprehension and anxiety among the traditional institutions questioning the intentions of the Government and the association of Headmen has launched an agitation demanding immediate assent of the Governor to the Bills.

The Chief Minister sought the personal intervention of the Union Home Minister so that the two Bills are examined quickly and the considered views of the Ministry are conveyed to the Governor of Meghalaya on utmost priority in order

to enable him to take early decision on the matter of grant of assent to these Bills so that the institutions can once again work as partners with the Government in maintaining law and order and bring in peace and harmony in the State.

Dr Mukul Sangma also discussed law and order related issues with a special focus on the pending proposal of the State Government for upgradation and strengthening of police stations in the militant infested areas of the State and the interstate border areas in phases.

The Chief Minister also stressed on the need to revisit the management of the international border, which will require comprehensive and integrated measures to be put in place by the Government of India and the State Governments so that our international borders in North East do not remain porous.

The Hon’ble Home Minister assured the Chief Minister that appropriate action will be taken in respect to these issues on top most priority.

Mahakathin Civor Dana celebrations at Diyun ET Correspondent Diyun, Nov 1: Bana Vihar Jyotsnapur, Diyun, Arunachal Pradesh celebrated Mahakathin Civor Dana celebrations on 31st October and 1st November, 2015. Buddhist devotees among others from all the surroundings villages gathered for a two-day programme of celebrations of joy, happiness, compassion and loving kindness.

Thousands of devotees with zest and enthusiasm cooperated with one another towards its grand success. A massive pandal was constructed for better organisation of the devotees and for the purpose of weaving the sacred robes to be offered to the head monk of the temples venerable Nandapal Mahathera and the gathering of Buddhist monks (Sangha).

165 groups of weavers with groups of six to seven women especially from Chakma Buddhists wove the holy robe called “Kathin Civor” within 24

hours, to be offered to the head monk. The committee of the celebration invited local teachers, head men, social workers and all devotees to attend it. The Chakma religious devotee workers contributed continuously with patience and endurance to make it suc-

cess. The head monk venerable Nandapal Mahathera gave a valuable fruitful discourse to the huge gathering. The five precepts or panchashila were administered to the devotees. The main message of this great celebration is to earn merit and virtue through the

Kathin Civor holy robe offered to the holy gathering of the Bhikku Sangha.

Local leaders such as Ramesh Deori and Lajala Singpho and Nido Taru, a representative of Hon’ble Parliamentary Secretary, Shri Nikh Kamin attended the grand celebration.

Swachh Bharat Mission(G) reaches Katang, New Kothin and Doidam Gram Panchayats

Avalanche in Congress bastion Sushanta Roy Diphu, Nov 1: With the possibility of early assembly election looming large BJP has stepped up its aggressive campaigning in tribal Karbi Anglong.

After largely dominating Diphu and Bokajan Assembly seats, Howraghat considered as the strongest bastion of Congress in the district dominated by Khoro Sing Engti, Hill Areas Development Minister of Gogoi cabinet for last 15 years, seems to be at risk.

Sum Ronghang, the other strong man of the same locality who joined BJP deserting Congress last year alleging dynastic politics and financial sleaze of

Khoro Sing Engti is leading the BJP blitz from the front along with retired IAS officer Lonki Phangso the aspiring BJP nominee from Howraghat.

With a view to challenging the Congress boss, a public meeting was held at the Bakong Bithipi primary school yesterday where 65 leading citizens and Congress office bearers of Bakong Tisso village, Thong Timung village, Santi Rongpi village and Mon Tisso village formally joined BJP. The large traditional vote banks of Congress breaking away from the party to add to the enlarging saffron contingent led by Budhaswar Bey is being expected.

The newcomers in the BJP largely blamed Khoro Sing Engti for his "family centric narrow politics, corrupt administration and lack of development" for abandoning Congress. Retired wily bureaucrat of Assam government Lonki Phangso the aspiring BJP nominee from Howraghat who attended the mass joining programme as invited guest analytically explained the rural spectators how for a prolonged period leaders of ruling Congress party "siphoned off the public fund" allocated

by Central government against Job Card and IAY housing schemes, branding Khoro Sing Engti as most corrupt

minister and insignificant person of Assam cabinet Lonki Phangso called on the people of Howraghat to back BJP to oust the "dishonest and crooked" Congress from Howraghat. Lonki Phangso mentioned that the Irrigation department has fraudulently diverted Rupees 3.39 crore against a nonexistent scheme in Kania Rongpi village of Howraghat. In the meeting many young leaders of BJP welcomed the Congress supporters but clearly mentioned that no corrupt leaders of Congress or executive members of Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council will be allowed to join BJP.

Thousands watch Amur Falcons at Umrangso Contd. from Page 1

has been organized at Umrangso by Blue Hills Society in association with Wildlife Trust of India, Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), Dima Hasao Forest Department, Dima Hasao District Administration on 31 October and 1 November, 2015.

On October 31, the event was attended by Devender Kumar, IAS, Addl Chief

Secretary govt of Assam and OP Pandey, IFS, Chief Conservator of Forest and other officials from Dima Hasao District Administration.

On November 1, S Viswasrao, Commander 22 Sector, Bikash Brahma, IFS, PCCF, Sri Borsing Bey, AFS, DFO, SA Division, Tunu Langthasa, DFO, FRS division and Anup Biswas, Senior Journalist attended the event as the Chief Guest and guests

of honour respectively.

They gave away the prizes to participants of drawing and painting competition held in connection with the Falcon Festival.

Talking to this correspondent, Bikash Brahma, IFS PCCF said this phenomenon of visiting Amur Falcons at Umrangso has come to the notice of the Forest Department three years back only and they are constantly trying to protect them from being killed.

Apart from deploying protection forces they are holding meetings, seminars and the Festival like this year to create awareness among the public. Jaitholal Hojai, Range incharge Garampani Range talking to this correspondent said, “We are spending sleepless nights to protect these winged guests who take rest in our place during their migration period for at least up to November 20 adding more attraction for the tourists towards Umrangso.”

Arunachal BJP proposes either Karshinsa or Holongi for Greenfield airport Contd. from Page 1

of the people from the infightings within the Congress party. According the state BJP, there are disproportionate claims of land compensation by ruling govt. leaders at the pro-

posed green field airport at Hollongi despite the fact that the proposed land for green field airport at Hollongi was allotted for the rehabilitation of the Chakma refugees by the Union Home Minister, govt of India during the early sixties. However, the BJP

Arunachal Pradesh said it is unaware of the opinion of the leader of opposition, Shri Tamiyo Taga as it appeared in some of the leading dailies, suggesting upgradation of Lilabari Airport in Assam.

The BJP release stated that “The state BJP stands for Pan-Arunachal and all round

Socio-Economic development of Arunachal Pradesh and for upholding the popular principles of “Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas” under the committed, dynamic and visionary Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi and National President, Shri Amit Shah.”

Khonsa, Nov 1: PHE & WS Division, Khonsa reached Katang, New Kothin and Doidam Gram Panchayats of Tirap Districts for implementation of Swachh Bharat

Mission(G) respectively on 28th, 29th and 30th October 2015. After a series of awareness programmes in the GPs, all the villagers have unanimously passed a resolution to make their

GPs open defecation free (ODF) through building and use of sanitary toilets in the households and their social institutions. The ‘Swachata pledge’ administration and ‘Signature

drive’ were the key highlights of the programe, informed Executive Engineer Binken Nomuk, PHE & WS Division, Khonsa. Altogether 800 persons took part in the programmes. (DIPRO)

Cabinet Minister expresses confidence on Nabam Tuki's leadership Contd. from Page 1

He said this matter is being taken seriously and gave assurance that present govt. will not collapse at all. All together 23 out of 27 Congress MLAs includ-

ing the CM attended the programme. Chief Minister Nabam Tuki in his speech said, “Name me any sector where you find there is lack of performance from my side. You have full right to suggest and give opinions

on my performance.” He mentioned about the awards received by the State based on different kind of performances.

He stressed on working together as a team. LED Te l e v i s i o n s w e r e d i s -

tributed to 536 Gaon Burahs present in the c e r e m o n y. L o c a l c u l tural troupes including the band display from ITBP were presented performances during the programme.

Public participation is key to success of Pasighat Smart City Proposal: Moyong Contd. from Page 1

While seeking maximum participation in CCC, the MLA urged all the elected leaders and senior members of the society to guide like torch bearers and the young generation in particular to put forth their grievances and suggestions to make Pasighat smart and beautiful with availability of all smart amenities like 24x7 potable water and power supplies, traffic management for vehicular and pedestrians, shopping complex, amusement parks, crowd pulling tourism infrastructures, robust IT connectivity along with educational hub and international standard health services without disturbing the ecological balance. Taking privilege, he also highlighted

about various ongoing development projects like constructions and maintenance of township’s road network, water tank project at High-region, improvement of power supply etc. the MLA inaugurated “Massive Signature Campaign” and SCM Theme Song conceived by All India Radio, Pasighat on the occasion. Earlier in his keynote address, Deepak Shinde, ADC cum MEO spoke at length on SCM. He asserted that “Smart City Proposal” would be citizen oriented and the bottom-up planning based on citizen participation would be evolved based on extensive consultations with them. According to Shinde, central government authorities are closely monitoring all developments broadly assessed for the extent and quality of citizen participa-

tion and their economic and environmental impacts.

These would be evaluated in the second stage of City Challenge competition. “After securing place in the top hundred cities in the first phase, it is time to get a place in the top twenty to ensure central funding through the Smart City Challenge which is tougher than the earlier process. Resource person Narmi Darang, Associate Professor through powerpoint-presentation also discussed in detail about “mygov portal” of the Central Government for citizen consultation. He informed that PMC has created Various competitions like essay, logo, tagline with exciting cash prizes are being conducted to gather public opinions based on consultations and their economic an environmental impacts. He also

appealed to general public to participate in these competitions as it is being monitored

by Central Government and more participation shall ensure more marks for Pasighat in Smart City Challenge. ZPC Kaling Dai, PMC Chief Councilor Denong Tamuk and Dy. Chief Councilor Kaling Darang also spoke and shared their views. Trio appealed the citizens to participate in all activities wholeheartedly and to extend their fullest cooperation to the administration true spirit to translate the mission into reality. They expressed confidence that the urban landscape of Pasighat being connected with road, rail, air and waterways can be treated favourable to make the centurion town for better living and effective engine for economic growth and revenue generations. (DIPRO)

Kapsam Khimhun passes away Contd. from Page 1

He was the second son of renowned head Gaon Burah Late Mikdong Khimhun who had donated the land for establishing a Higher Secondary School in Kharsang. In 1983, he

got admission in class XI in government Higher Secondary School Changlang. He secured distinction marks in Classes XI and XI. He was also an active student leader during his student days and later became president of All Tirap Stu-

dents' Union. He also became the General Secretary of Changlang Higher Secondary School. He was born on June 7, 1960. He studied at Ramkrishna Mission from Classes I to X. He was excellent in academics as well as in extracurricular activities.

He had a knack for playing Cricket and was a born athlete. He was an outspoken and bold person. He had a charismatic personality. He was a practical joker and satirist. He is survived by his wife Mrs. Wihong Khimhun and five daughters.

PAGE 4

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2

Governor flags off 'Run for Unity' in Shillong ET Correspondent Shillong, Nov 1: Along with the rest of the country, on the occasion National Unity Day, a Run for Unity was organized by the District Administration, East Khasi Hills in collaboration with MAA on 31st October, 2015 in Shillong. The Run was flagged off by Meghalaya Governor, V Shanmuganathan from the State Central Library premises, Shillong. The National Unity Day is celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sardar

Vallabhbhai Patel.

Addressing the gathering before flagging off the run, Meghalaya Governor, V Shanmuganathan said that the main purpose of observing National Unity Day is to instill the spirit of oneness and unity amongst the people of India. India is a land of unity in diversity and many a great people have fought for Her freedom, he added.

He further said that the purpose of observing the day is to create awareness about the

contribution of Sardar Patel during India’s Independence Movement and towards ensuring national integration in India. He also said that Sardar Patel, who is also known as the ironman of India was instrumental in facilitating merger of princely states, to create a modern India, just after independence.

V Shanmuganathan also led the gathering in taking the National Unity Pledge to dedicate oneself in preserving the unity, integrity and secu-

rity of the nation and to strive hard in spreading the message among the fellow countrymen.

Participants from many walks of life took part in the Run for Unity. Later, Meghalaya Governor distributed cash prizes to the winners. Additional Chief Secretary, KS Kropha, Deputy Commissioner, East Khasi Hills District, PS Dkhar, Superintendent of Police, M Kharkrang and other Government officials were also present during the inaugural programme.

Public repair Tetela PWD road Dalim Phukan Morigaon, Nov 1: The PWD road from Tetelia to Kumoi Chariali which is a link road to Jagiroad-Morigaon state highway is in a dilapidated condition. It has been hampering the communication system from Greater Tetelia to Morigaon district head-

quarters for the last 6 months. Tetelia is a tribal belt in Morigaon district having 2 lakh population which has no proper communication system. Though the state PWD is said to have earmarked Rs 3 crore to construct the road to Kumoi last year, the condition of the

road has remained unchanged. Finding no alternative, the local people today repaired the road at several places. Irate people alleged that due to the apathetic attitude of the PWD authority, the people of Tetelia have been facing tremendous hardship in their day to

day lives. Criticizing the local MLA's role in this respect the local people alleged that MLA, Morigan Jon Jonali Boruah never comes to their rescue in times of distress. She only comes when the Assembly Election knocks on the door, they alleged.

Margherita MLA concerned over extortion demands ET Correspondent Margherita, Nov 1: Pradyut Bordoloi Margherita 124 LAC legislator expressed concern over the increasing extortion demands by some extremist groups at Margherita. Today at a press meet held at Hotel Royal Treat, Pradyut Bordoloi 124 Margherita LAC legislator, Tinsukia

District Congress Committee General Secretary, Prabin Rajkhowa and Margherita Town Committee, former Chairman Saroj Roy were present.

Pradyut Bordoloi said that at Margherita many businessmen and small tea growers have been receiving extortion demands from some extremist groups and that "We are

trying hard so that the District Administration and Intelligence Department are able to tackle the growing extortion demands as soon as possible". Further, he said, "I have been taking initiatives towards the betterment of greater Margherita society. From the MLA LAD fund, I have constructed the

statue of Veer Birsa Munda at Margherita Congress Bhawan and when I was the Industry Minister of Assam, I facilitated the Multi Disciplinary Skill Development Training Centre at Jaya Nagar; these shall be inaugurated on 1 November, 2015 by our Honourable Chief Minister of Assam, Tarun Gogoi."

Rangia street play on electoral roll

Balancing dissidence

Tapas Samaddar Rangia, Nov 1: As per directions of the Chief Election Commission, the district election officer Rangia organised street plays at various locations of Rangia and Kamalpur constituency today. According to the election officer, Mriganka Chowdhury, the street play was staged by Nataraj Natya Gosthi Rangia. The play highlighted the ongoing process of electoral roll like inclusion and exclusion of name, correction of name in a very nice manner through dramatic expressions. The artists involved were Amar Nath, Achyut Das, Rijumani Nath, Banjit Kalita and child artist Jayanta Das.

ET Correspondent Guwahati, Nov 1: In an attempt to balance dissidence among the Congress MLAs and pacify them, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has taken the decision to appoint former Assam cabinet minister and se-

nior congressman, Ardhendu Kumar Dey as Chairman, Assam Minority Development Council (Cabinet rank).

The swearing-in ceremony will be held at CM’s conference room at Assam Secretariat, Dispur at 11 am.

India needs to target 9-10% growth: Jaitley Mumbai, Nov 1: Finance minister Arun Jaitley recently said India needs to aim for 9-10% growth to create capacity in manufacturing and services sector to absorb 20% of the population presently engaged in agriculture. According to Jaitley, the savings from the drop in global oil and commodity prices provides an opportunity to give the additional push to infrastructure. Speaking at an event organized by the Confederate of Real Estate Developers Association of India on, Jaitley said that a silent revolution was taking place in the form of suburbanization. "The whole idea of suburbanization was that around cities big and small, the real estate industry had started buying land and developing affordable housing where aspirational youth

MOVING ON AND PLANNING AHEAD Arun Jaitley recently said India needs to aim for 9-10% growth to create capacity in manufacturing and services sector to absorb 20% of the population presently engaged in agriculture.

According to Jaitley, the savings from the drop in global oil and commodity prices provides an opportunity to give the additional push to infrastructure.

The finance minister said that the government had moved ahead on addressing problems of the steel sector and got highway projects moving.

The next area of focus would be the power sector. and families from rural areas were going to migrate."

The finance minister said that although agriculture contributed only 15% to the economy, 55% of Indians were dependent on it for living. He said that education and the spread of electronic and digital media were increasing the aspiration of people in rural areas, for whom new cities and new

Farmers protest in connection with KGP Expressway Sachin Sehrawat Sonepat, Nov 1: Under the banner of Bhartiya Kisan Sangh, hundreds of the farmers including women of six villages in the district whose land had been acquired for construction of KundliGaziabad-Palwal (KGP) Expressway today organized a protest march (Chetna Yatra) from Beeswan Meel to Rajiv Gandhi Education City near Rai on GT road. Carrying placards and raising slogans against the government, the participants were demanding compensation equal to the compensation paid to the farmers of Uttar Pradesh for KGP and to the farmers of Sonepat paid for the construction of Kundli-Maneshar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway. Talking to media persons on the occasion, state general secretary of the Sabha, Virender Singh alleged that before coming to power at the Centre, senior BJP leaders including Nitin Gadkari and Sushma Sawaraj met the farmers staging dharna at Beeswan Meel and promised that if BJP came to power, there would not be any discrimination with the farmers. “But now without accepting the demands of the farmers, the government has scheduled the visit of Prime Minister, Narender Modi on November 5 in the district for launching of new projects including laying stone of the KGP,” he said and announced if the farmers’ demands were not accepted by November 4, they would oppose the PM’s visit.

suburbs were the destination.

"We need, therefore, to make sure that our economy grows and gets out of the slowdown situation which it was in a couple of years ago," said Jaitley. The finance minister said that the government had moved ahead on addressing problems of the steel sector and got highway projects moving. The next area of focus would be the power sec-

tor. Pointing out that problems for the power sector stemmed from the failure of distribution companies (discoms) to charge market rates, Jaitley said, "Banks cannot indefinitely fund state discoms for their political reasons. Not only do discoms owe money, the power producers also face stress because nobody is willing to buy power." (Agencies)

Semsonsing Ingti memorial statue foundation stone laid ET Correspondent Bokajan, Nov 1: The Karbi Anglong district unit of AJYCP today laid the foundation stone for erecting the statue of the legendary and iconic figure of Karbi nationalism Semsonsing Ingti to commemorate his intense commitment and contribution towards the upliftment of this community. Many local dignitaries graced the occasion with their presence and applauded the effort of the student organisation in paying tribute and due recognition to the great soul who took up

Central team inspects Golaghat Civil Hospital ET Correspondent Golaghat, Nov 1: A fourteen member team comprising of health officials of the central government and state government today visited the Kushal Konwar Civil Hospital in Golaghat. This Common Review Mission team inspected and reviewed the infrastructure and medical services in the hospital.

The team shall prepare and submit a report based on their inspection to the central government. Kushal Konwar Civil Hospital has been in the news for several reasons like hygiene, lack of medical facilities, misconduct of staff, etc.

But surprisingly today an opposite scenario prevailed in the hospital premises during the central team's inspection. The entire hospital was clean and hygienic and the doctors were wearing white coats which was rarely seen at the other times. Some intellectuals have opined that the authority concerned should conduct surprise visits.

a resident of Bolonpang under the same Police Station and was chased by residents of his own village who suspected him of being a part of a dacoit gang that had

been looting villagers as well as kidnapping and engaging in extortion activities. The body of the lynched dacoit was later handed over to the police by the villagers.

Sangma is also suspected to have been party to two mur-

ET Correspondent Guwahati, Nov 1 : Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi mourned the death of freedom fighter Deben Das. Das died at a city hospital yesterday. In a statement here today, Chief Minister Gogoi said an era has come to an end with the passing away of freedom fighter Deben Das. “Das’s contribution to the freedom struggle and his role as a social activist will be remembered for generations to come. An epitome of simplicity, he was imbued with the spirit of social service,” he added. Gogoi while conveying his sincerest condolences to the members of the bereaved family prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul.

ders, one of 50 year old Mingwan G Momin of Raksam Geang and another unidentified man from a nearby village. The police of North Garo Hills (NGH) district are looking into all angles into the killing.

Sadak Suraksha Jagrookta Rally Contd. from Page 1

“Road traffic is increasing day by day and the people should make safe

driving a habit in their life,” he exhorted. The rally comprising hundreds of volunteers from voluntary organizations and educa-

tional institutions, started from PWD rest house and after passing through different areas in the town terminated at the railway road.

guard was reeling under nostalgia after having retired from his service of 34 years. Abdul

Poi Potwa marks end of Satang Potwa ET Bureau Itanagar, Nov 1: Poi Potwa was celebrated today at Theravada Buddhist Vihara Itanagar to mark the end of Satang Potwa. This festival is generally celebrated to pay homage and reverence to Bhikkhus by the devotees. The tun patesha (celestial tree) ceremony remained the most special occasion of the day. A procession with the celestial tree decorated with different denominations of money, other materials and flowers was carried out around the Theravada Buddhist Vihara by the lay devotees with pious and devotion to earn merit. The celestial tree and its carrier are made well in advance for the devotees to decorate it and carry in and around during the procession. The procession was carried out by every mem-

Mazid Ali said, "Today I am departing from my children with whom I have spent more than half my life and was attached with them so in-

ber with recitation of religious chants and beating of drums and cymbals. The decorated tun patesha along with Sang-kaan (yellow monk’s robe) will later tomorrow be handed over to the Bhikkhu Sangha in a simple but impressive function in morning. There is no specific day to observe the tun patesha ceremony

tensely that I cannot hold back my tears."

Seeing former colleagues in uniform, he could not keep back his tears.

and Theravada members usually fix the ceremonial day just after the celebration of Satang Potwa (end of rainy retreat).

Added attraction of the day was the illumination of candle in Vihara (Temple), preparation of local traditional sweets and community feast.

Kathin Civara Dana Utsav celebrated at Margherita

ET Correspondent Margherita, Nov 1: Danauttam Utsav 'Kathin Civara Dana Utsav' was celebrated today with great devotion and joy at Margherita Buddha Vihara.

The programme started with the hoisting of the World Buddhist Flag by

Sanganayak Gunawante Mahathera, and then World Peace Procession was taken out in which more than 2000 Buddhists took part.

Thereafter, installation of the Buddha Statue, observation of Panchasila/ Sanghadana, offerings of 'dana' to Bhikkhu Sangha,

lunch for guests and devotees, Dhamma Sabha followed with many distinguished Buddhists having been felicitated. Afterwards, it was followed by Kathin Civara Dana, illumination of lights and candles which concluded with a cultural programme.

Bhikkhu Gyanawada, head monk of Margherita Buddha Vihara said that with the support from Buddhists and other distinguished personalities of Margherita, Danauttam Utsav "Kathin Civara Dana Utsav" programme was celebrated with great enthusiasm. Buddhist monks from Dibrugarh, Chabua, Tinsukia, Digboi, Ledo and from other places of Assam attended the programme at Margherita Buddha Vihara premises.

Crop insurance scheme for small tea growers soon, says NETA Chief Contd. from Page 1

Worker wages constitute 60% of total cost of production and the hike of rupees 43 per day in the cash wage over a period of three years with effect from January 2015 has brought a huge impact on cost.

During his speech, Mr. Borkakoty announced that crop insurance scheme for small tea growers will be shortly launched as per information received from Tea Board of India regional office at Jorhat.

During the 17th biennial general meeting of the North Eastern Tea Association, Mr. Amuleek Bisral,

founder CEO of Chai Point spoke all about his doing for tea what starbucks did for coffee; selling tea online throughout the country across three metropolitan cities like Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi NCR about 1,50,000 cups of tea every day. He said, just one and the half years into the business and with talented alumni from IIM, ISB, IITs, Chai Point is all about to double its sale of cups of tea.

On the other hand Ramesh Chand Agarwal, CEO of Mohani Group of Companies spoke about the Indian Tea Market and Global Tea Scenario.

Mohani Group is the fourth

largest tea producing company in the India, says that Assam and Kenya tea bags most wanted in Kazakhstan, US and Pakistan.

He said quality could be improved more then the support could be more from tea producers like us.China had complained for Assam tea that it need to grow more to go for the global sector at very small contries like Herzegobina to go global. To mention Mohani Tea Group the largest tea company in North India and leader in private level tea supply in India, catering to majority of national and international retailer etc.

Tourists enjoy with ministers as KNP is declared open Contd. from Page 1

Retired forest guard Contd. from Page 1

ing the society.

"Semsonsing Ingti is termed as the 'Architect', 'Founder' and 'Father' of

Assam CM mourns death of Deben Das

Suspected dacoit lynched by villagers Contd. from Page 1

the cudgels against all forms of oppression and subjugation and tried to do away with all evils plagu-

Karbi Anglong and is also the first graduate from the hill district. He brought the age of educational enlightenment amongst his community who were then indifferent to the subject. He also served as Inspector of School under the colonial administration and was a great social and economic reformer who must be cherished amongst the upcoming generations and must not be left to be relegated to oblivion."

Said Jitu Phukan, District Secretary, AJYCP.

four ranges Kohra, Bagori, Agartoli and Burapahar were opened for tourists. This time, there is a provision for more than 350 jeeps and 50 Elephant Safaris while the security and hospitality aspects for

both Indian and foreign tourists have been enhanced. We are expecting more than 2 lakh foreign tourists this year." A foreign tourist from Germany named Velaska said, "I am the blessed one to get the prestigious opportunity to inaugurate the Elephant Safari as well as enjoy

rides with the Ministers."

A couple from England, Sally Alford and Cornwall said, "India is superb and so is Kaziranga." Tourists from Germany, England, South India, Delhi, etc. were seen enjoying and eager to view the Rhino, Deer, Wild Buffalo, Snakes, Tortoise and other species of birds and animals.

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2

Death of 9 protesters in CCpur Jt meeting breaks deadlock Imphal, Nov 1: A joint meeting of the Joint Action Committee Against Anti-Tribal Bills, Inpis/ tribe leaders and the State Government representatives held today in the office of the Superintendent of Police, Churachandpur agreed that the State Government will perform Hiamkhaam ( pre-requisite tribal customary practice for resolution of conflict) at the earliest (preferably on November 2, 2015). In the meantime, the date and time for talks may be finalized for resolution of the ongoing impasse, con-

veyed a joint press statement issued by LM Khaute, Addl. DGP(L/O), JC Ramthanga, Principal Secretary (Home), H Mangchinkhup, chief convenor JAC, John Pulamte on behalf of Inpis/ tribe leaders and Paul Lalchhanhima, convenor/ asstt. secretary, JAC In fulfilment of the prerequisite set by the Joint Action Committee and with the objective of bringing about an early solution to the current impasse, the meeting resolved that the State Government will perform Hiamkhaam at the earliest, added the joint press statement. (Agencies)

Benreului Nkwa Kohima celebrates Lamsimngi festival Kohima, Nov 1: Lamsimngi , the premier festival of the Zemes was celebrated by the Benreului Nkwa Kohima at Theunuo park Meriema on October 31.

Lamsimngi is the most importance festival celebrated by the Benreume and the significance of the festival is the rekindling of relationship between parents and their married daughters, siblings, nieces and with the whole community.

Lamsimngi was cel-

ebrated with great pomp and gaiety showcasing cultural dance, narration of folk tales by elders and traditional songs presented by the Benreu youth followed by traditional games. Cash awards were presented to students who excelled in their academic performance.

The programme was chaired

by Kangzangding Thou and pastor Haisuing Haikam of Zeme Baptist Church invoked blessings for the programme. (Agencies)

PAGE 5

REGION Biharis are brilliant, hard working, they deserve better, says PM Modi Madhubani, Nov 1: Praising Biharis as innovative, hard working and resourceful, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday vowed to build a resurgent Bihar if his party comes to power and said that the people of the state deserve better. While campaigning in Bihar's Madhubani district, Modi underscored the need for change and said that his party will create better facilities for improved health care, particularly for the eld-

erly, better education and employment. Modi said that it is possible because the people of Bihar are "brilliant, innovative, hard working, action oriented and resourceful people".

He expressed hope that the NDA will win twothirds majority in the elections. Modi on Sunday continued his campaigning even as polling in 55 constituencies of the state as part of the fourth phase progressed. Pointing at the sorry state of affairs in the state, Modi

asked "Lalu ji and Nitish ji have ruled Bihar for 25 long years, but what they have given to the people."

He said that he was sad-

dened of the fact that a large section of the people in Bihar still don't know how to sign. "Some women from Karpuri vil-

lage sent me a memorandum. Nobody is ready to listen to these people in Bihar Govt, they had to come to PM," he said.

Modi said that the large gathering at his rally in Madhubani is a testimony of people's support for BJP. "I need your support to fullfill your dreams.

Therefore vote for BJP and we will make this happen," he added. "The atmosphere in Bihar indicates people want change.

People are seeing NDA as a ray of hope," he said, urg-

BJP, RSS have 'pre-planned strategy' to divide India: Manik Sarkar

Agartala, Nov 1: Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar has called the current atmosphere of intolerance in the

country a 'pre-planned strategy' of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological mentor Rashtriya

Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to divide the nation. Addressing a gathering in Agartala during the distribution of free housing among the urban slum dwellers, Sarkar alleged that the Centre was accountable to the RSS more than the people of the nation.

"The RSS is the heart of the BJP... The government at the Centre is run by the RSS. The ministers are not accountable to the citizens of India rather they are accountable to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and other lead-

ers," he said. "You are watching what is happening after the new government has come into power. An unruly state of affairs has started in our country," he added.

Sarkar expressed his disappointment over the RSS questioning the lifestyle of the people of the nation. "Sports, music, writing and in every aspect we can see that the people with communal ideology are targeting the weak... What is happening?" he asked the gathering. "Actually, these are pre-planned strategy to

divide us and break our unity. India's specialty is unity among diversity where we shall find Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists and Christians but we shall be united in spite of religious differences. Our cultural heritage is an outcome of various religious beliefs, but they are trying to attack this ideology," he added. Sarkar alleged that the BJP and RSS are hell bent on dividing the country by talking of amendments in the reservation policy and demanded a clarification in this regard. (ANI)

Apex CSOs host pol discourse Imphal, Nov 1: A oneday political discourse on the peace accord signed between the Government of India and NSCN-IM was held today at Indian Medical Association (IMA) hall, Lamphelpat here under the aegis of AMUCO, CCSK and UCM. The political discourse was jointly presided by AMUCO president Dr Y Mani Khu-man, CCSK president Advocate P Arjun and UCM president Johnson Elangbam.

Although representatives of seven political parties and leaders of several civil society organisations were present at the convention, Indian National Congress and Naga People's Front stayed

away from the discourse.

Giving key-note address of the discourse, UCM general secretary YK Dhiren said that the three CSOs have been organising a series of such public and political discourses in collaboration with many other likeminded CSOs with a view to study collectively the possible impacts of the framework agreement on Manipur's future and at the same time consolidate unity among different ethnic communities. The framework agreement signed on August 3 this year between GoI and NSCN-IM after the two parties signed a cease fire pact in 1997 only multiplied people's anxiety apart from diver-

IED recovered near CRPF Headquarters in Imphal

Saradha accused minister walks out of hospital

Imphal, Nov 1: A highly explosive IED weighing around five kg was recovered from the foot of an electric post just 100 meters away from the CRPF Headquarters here.

The people detected the IED during their morning walk. The bomb squad team later took the IED for disposal at a safer place.Further details to follow. (ANI)

Missing children found Dimapur, Nov 1: Three school children, who had gone missing in Kohima on Friday, have reportedly been found and reunited with their families. Students of class four, St. John School, Merhulietsa, the three boys did not return after they had gone out for lunch break.

Kohima police PRO Atu Zumv端 told Nagaland Post that missing children were found Saturday morning. PRO also said all three of them were found at a paddy field in Para Medical by the residents of the colony. (Agencies)

Kolkata, Nov 1: A day after he was granted bail in the multi -crore Saradha scam, West Bengal Transport Minister Madan Mitra on Sunday walked out of the state-run SSKM Hospital here. Mitra, arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for his alleged complicity in the Saradha scam, was on Saturday granted bail by a city court. Discharged from the SSKM Hospital, Mitra was taken to his city residence in an ambulance where hundreds of his supporters and party activists welcomed him.

"This is a victory of truth," Mitra said after reaching home.

Arrested on December 12 last, Mitra spent most of his time in the VVIP ward of the hospital after his initial CBI custody. According to a re-

sifying people's speculations about possible solutions. Today's discourse is specifically organised for different political parties so that they can put forward their positions clearly to public on the vexed issue, Dhiren said.

Speaking on behalf of CPI Manipur State Council, L Sotinkumar asserted that the party would oppose any political manoeuvre to disintegrate Manipur just as Lamyanba Irabot opposed and rejected the idea of creating Purvanchal Pradesh. He suggested that peasants and workers should also be invited to such crucial conventions. As the contents of the framework agreement are still kept

port by the Alipore Correctional Home, Mitra spent less than 50 days in jail since he was remanded in judicial custody on December 19.

The CBI, which opposed Mitra's bail in court, repeatedly pointed out to his continuous stay at the SSKM Hospital to buttress its claim about the minister's influence. The opposition pointed fingers at the hospital authorities for discharging Mitra. "All these days, the doctors said he was too ill to be kept in jail and Mitra continued to enjoy life in a cosy VVIP ward. It's not even 24 hours since he got bail and the same doctors discharged him. This is nothing but mockery of law and justice," Communist Party of IndiaMarxist leader Sujan Chakrabarty said.

(Agencies)

a closely guarded secret, it is only natural for the people to make different speculations about the agreement's possible impacts on the integrity of Manipur. Pointing out that both the hills and the valley are inalienable parts of Manipur, Sotinkumar declared that CPI would never remain silent to any challenges to the integrity of Manipur.

NCP State secretary Y Iboyaima remarked that the term 'Naga accord' is a misnomer as the agreement was signed between GoI and NSCN-IM, not with all the Naga communities. As the State of Manipur was never consulted or given any information by either of the two parties before the agree-

ment was signed, the State need not interfere. But any challenge to the integrity of Manipur should be fought back in befitting manner.

NCP would never shy away from joining any mass movement which is basically aimed at safeguarding the integrity of Manipur, Iboyaima said.

MPP Youth Front president Machang Soibam

said that the foremost agenda of MPP is safeguarding the integrity of Manipur. MPP would never accept any attempt of GoI to appease NSCNIM by re-drawing the political boundary of Manipur. Political leaders of India have been following a divide and rule policy which they inherited from British colonial rulers. This

has negated the very essence of democracy, Machang asserted. JD-U Manipur president M Tombi, BJP Manipur Pradesh spokesman Prof S Tiken, CPI-M State Secretariat member Ksh Shanta and All India Forward Bloc State general secretary Khomdram Gyaneshore too spoke at the convention. (Agencies)

Govt treads cautiously on GNLA demand No trace of abducted chokpot bdo Shillong, Nov 1: As the whereabouts of Chokpot BDO Jude Rangku T Sangma, kidnapped by Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) militants five days ago, still not known, the Government is adopting a cautious approach on the issue of the demand of GNLA to suspend the operations against the militant outfit as a pre-condition for the release of the official.

It was on October 27 that GNLA abducted the BDO and a day after, the militant outfit, while claiming responsibility for the abduction, said that the reason was that the officer had blamed the outfit and the politicians for the delay in the implementation of projects

and withdrawal of funds worth over Rs 40 crore.

Later, the GNLA set suspension of the anti-insurgency operations for the month of November as a condition for the release of the BDO. A senior Home department official said on Saturday that the primary concern of the Government is to ensure the safety of the officer. He also said that in this context, the Home department does not wish to make any statement which may worsen the situation. The Chief Secretary Barkos Warjri also echoed the same recently as he did not want to make any comment on the demand of the GNLA, while indicating that the Government

was making efforts to ensure the safety of the BDO. However, sources said that the Government is in a dilemma as it cannot immediately stop the operations against the militants and the same time does not want to see that any harm is done to the officer by the militant group. Meanwhile, a senior police told a news agency that inputs suggested that the official is safe and is being held captive in Meghalaya.

He said that police had no information if the rebels had contacted Sangma's family members for ransom. Various pressure groups and political parties including the United Democratic Party and the National

People's Party - have condemned the kidnapping and demanded immediate and unconditional release of the official. Meanwhile, the officers and staff of West Garo Hills district administration has made an appeal on Friday for the safe release of kidnapped Chokpot BDO on the occasion of Rashtriya Sankalp Diwas (National ReDedication Day) to commemorate the death of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. They also got together to pray for the safe and unconditional release of the BDO and expressed their solidarity with the family of the officer.

(Agencies)

ing people not to allow jungle raj (lawlessness) in the state by discarding the coalition of JD(U) and RJD. He said that the 4th phase of Bihar elections will break all records as there is high turnout of voters. On Sunday, 27.77% polling recorded till 11 am for the 4th phase and the voter turnout recorded till 10 am was 18.97%. The caste factor is expected to play a crucial role to seal the fate of political parties.

(Agencies)

Bihar polls: 35.68 percent turnout till 12 p.m.

Patna, Nov 1: A voter turnout of 35.68 percent was recorded till 12 p.m. on Sunday in the ongoing fourth phase of the five phase Bihar assembly elections.

Voter turnout of 40.03 percent was recorded in West Champaran District, 37.84 percent in East Champaran, 32.09 percent in Sheohar, 31.33 percent in Sitmarhi, 36.97 percent in Muzaffarpur, 35.58 percent in Gopalganj and 31.24 percent in Siwan. A total of 776 candidates are battling for 55 seats across seven districts of West Champaran, East Champaran, Sheohar, Sitamarhi, Muzaffarpur, Gopalgunj and Siwan. Over 1.20 lakh jawans of security forces have been deployed and security forces staged a flag march in sensitive areas to instill confidence among electorates. Polling time in 43 constituencies is 7 am to 5 pm, while in four Naxal-affected constituencies, it will conclude at 3 pm and in eight constituencies at 4 pm. (ANI)

'Frustrated' Congress sensing defeat in Bihar: BJP New Delhi, Nov 1: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday alleged that the comments being made by the Congress leaders reflect the frustration of the grand old party as it looks forward to its impending defeat in the Bihar Assembly polls. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patralashed out at Congress presidentSonia Gandhi's 'India's unity in diversity in danger' remark. "Sonia ji saying that there is divisive policy in the country going on only shows the frustration of the Congress Party.

The impending defeat of the Bihar election which even the Congress has palpated is the reason why we are seeing such utterances and frustration from the Congress quarters," Patra told ANI. Patra further said the reality is that the Congress, which is contesting on 41 seats, would even fail to open its account this time.

The Congress president had yesterday said India's history of unity in diversity was in danger due to communal ideology and the "incidents of hatred" in the country were the outcome of the "planned conspiracy". "The country's honour is at stake as India's glorious history of unity in diversity is in danger due to some communal ideology," she said while addressing the 29th 'Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration' function. "The 'incidents of hatred' were inspired by the narrow mindset.These have not come up suddenly, but are a planned conspiracy," she added. (ANI)

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2

RSS slams accusations of involvement in Dadri Ranchi, Nov 1: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Sunday rubbished accusations of involvement in the Dadri lynching case and alleged that desperate attempts were being made to put the organisation 'in the dock'.

"See we are in the society for more than 90 years. No one has ever raised the question of intolerance. In reality, we condemn these incidents. These types of incidents are never good for the society," RSS general secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi told the media here.

"It is necessary to do into the depth of these incidents. However, it is not right to connect RSS with these incidents as whenever an analysis was made, the truth about the events was revealed and it was found that the RSS has no connection with them," he

added. "It is an attempt by the forces to put RSS in the dock by linking the organization with incidents like Dadri. We have always been condemning these incidents as they are nowhere suited in the healthy democracy," he further said. RSS's All India Prachar Pramukh Manmohan Vaidya had earlier said that the incident could have happened because of fringe elements. He said it is an isolated incident and should be seen in isolation. Vaidya said one should wait till a proper inquiry is conducted instead of levelling allegations. Vaidya's remarks came on the backdrop of allegations by some quarters that the RSS was behind the incident. 50-yearold Akhlaq was lynched by a mob for allegedly storing beef at his residence in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, last month. (ANI)

West Bengal minister gets bail in Saradha Chit Fund Scam Kolkata, Nov 1: The district and sessions judge at the Alipore Court on Saturday granted conditional bail to West Bengal Transport Minister Madan Mitra on personal bond of Rs. 2 lakh in Saradha Chit Fund Scam after over 11 months of custody. Madan Mitra was arrested by the CBI

on December 12, 2014 in connection with the multicrore Saradha Chit Fund Scam. He was suffering from several diseases and was admitted to a hospital for a long period during his jail custody. The court also granted bail to Sandhir Agarwal, another accused in the case, on personal bond of Rs. 3 lakh. (ANI)

Rijiju's remark on Nehru will send `wrong message` to people: Congress Jaipur, Nov 1: Congress MPNinong Ering on Sunday condemned Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju's unwarranted remark on first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and said that the statement aimed at gaining political mileage would send a very wrong message to the nation.

"Whatever Kiren Rijiju is saying, it's his personal view. The Congress Party

has made innumerable sacrifices from the day it came into power. I am disappointed with what he is saying, considering the high esteemed person he is," Ering told ANI. "The statement that he has made will send a very wrong message to the people. No one can forget the sympathy and the concern that was there in the heart of whole Gandhi family and

ment on the parole issue. He said Jain had come to the LG Office with files of AAP leaders for withdrawal of cases pending against them and sought clearance by hand.

The OSD said, during the meeting, Jung asked Jain to follow the office procedure.

During the meeting, the LG also wanted to know about the status of parole of

Jabong appoints Sanjeev Mohanty as new CEO New Delhi, Nov1: Leading online fashion retailer, Jabong, has announced that it has appointed Sanjeev Mohanty as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director on the firm. His appointment will be effective from early December 2015. Mohanty has over 20 years of leadership experience in the fashion industry, primarily at Benetton India where he worked for over 11 years including eight years as Managing Director. Prior to his role at Benetton India, Mohanty worked at Madura Garments as General Manager and Brand Head for SF Jeans and at Levi Strauss as Product Manager for the topwear category. He studied at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, where he pursued a Masters degree in Apparel Marketing & Merchandising, Fashion & Retail Marketing. Global Fashion Group (GFG), the parent company of Jabong, CEO Romain Voog, expressed delight at Mohanty's appointment, saying that he had strong leadership skills and deep understanding of fashion.

"We are delighted to have Sanjeev spearhead the development of Jabong as CEO. His strong leadership skills and deep understanding of fashion and the Indian consumer, coupled with the continued commit-

ment from GFG's shareholders, will allow Jabong to further strengthen its position as the leading online fashion destination in India," Voog said. Meanwhile, Mohanty said that he was excited to enter the rapidly growing online commerce sector, and there could be no better opportunity than Jabong, given its scale and consumer brand recognition.

"The company is uniquely positioned as India's only large and independent online fashion marketplace, and we have identified a number of growth drivers that will allow us to deliver an unparalleled experience to delight our customers and suppliers," he added.

Lorenzo Grabau, Chairman of GFG and CEO of Investment AB Kinnevik, the largest shareholder of GFG, said, "India is a hugely exciting market and GFG's shareholders and management remain committed to building Jabong to the benefit of its customers, employees and partners. We look forward to supporting Sanjeev as the company starts a new chapter this Diwali." Earlier this year, Jabong was found to have the leading website awareness among all online fashion stores in India according to a survey by Nielsen, a leading global information and measurement company that provides market research and insights in more than 100 countries. (ANI)

Nehru family, especially for Arunachal Pradesh," he added. The MP from Arunachal Pradesh stressed that it was wrong to compare Nehru with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as the former had a huge respect for the 'Iron Man'. "If Rijiju is making such comments for taking political mileage then I think it is wrong," he said. Rijiju had yesterday criticised Nehru

for letting the people of northeast down during the 1962 India-China war, while accusing the Congress Party of forgetting true heroes like Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Subhash Chandra Bose.

"It's a matter of regret that our Prime Minister left us (let us down). Patel united the country; the other Prime Minister (Nehru) left the country, surrendered

Jaitley slams 'obstructers', says India remains 'highly tolerant society' New Delhi, Nov 1: Reiterating the government's stand that 'intolerance' was not on the rise in the country, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday asserted that India remains a highly tolerant and liberal society. Jaitley accused the obstructers of 'wanting to project India as an intolerant society'.

"There are many who have never intellectually accepted the idea of the BJP being in power. This obviously includes the Congress, many left thinkers and activists.

Over decades they have practiced ideological intolerance towards BJP. They wish

to project India as an intolerant society but the truth is otherwise," Jaitley said in his Facebook post. Hitting out at the Opposition, Jaitley added that their intolerance

Chautala's parole: L-G yet to take decision New Delhi, Nov 1: Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung is yet to take a decision on the file related to the parole of former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala, said Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to LG Ajay Chaudhary on Saturday. Chaudhary said the LG office had received the file of parole from the Delhi Home Department on Wednesday, and it would be considered on merit. As per law, the LG is the competent authority for taking final decision on granting or rejecting the parole applications. On the accusation of putting pressure on Delhi Home Minister Satyendar Jain by the LG, Chaudhary said there was no question of putting pressure on the Delhi Govern-

PAGE 6

Chautala which is pending with Home Department. He said LG had only suggested to the Home Minister that the file of parole should be processed on merit without any political consideration.

He said Jain has "distorted the facts" and "used the occasion to politicise the issue" at his unsuccessful attempt to push through withdrawal of cases against AAP leaders including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Meanwhile, the Delhi government has accused the LG Office of selectively omitting crucial facts about the parole application of Chautala and the pressure exerted on the Delhi government for helping him. On the allegation of the LG office about withdrawal of cases against

AAP leaders, the Delhi Government in a press release said compoundable cases against political leaders and workers are withdrawn only on the recommendation of four member committee headed by the Principal Home Secretary.

The Committee recommends that the cases are fit for withdrawal and the final decision is taken by the judiciary. The release also said the city government is actively considering a proposal to decentralise the entire process. Under the proposal, a committee will be formed under each of the eleven revenue districts. It will be chaired by District Magistrate, DCP, Chief Prosecutor, while SDM, headquarters, will be the members of the Committee .(ANI)

Iranian-American reportedly arrested in Tehran Tehran, Nov 1: Iran arrested an Iranian-American while he was visiting the country this month, several U.S. news outlets reported, a detention that would bring to five the number of Americans detained or unaccounted for in the Islamic republic. Siamak Namazi, a Dubai-based businessman with dual U.S. and Iranian citizenship, was detained while visiting relatives in Tehran, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing unnamed sources.

The Washington Post also reported his detention, citing a family friend who spoke on condition of anonymity. The Post reported that it wasn't clear what Namazi is alleged to have done. Namazi would be the first U.S. citizen reported to have been detained in Iran since this year's announcement of an international agreement on Iran's nuclear program. Reports of Namazi's capture came ahead of Friday's multinational meeting in Austria about how to pursue peace in war-torn Syria. The United States invited Iranian officials to that meeting -- a rare case of diplomatic interaction between the nations. U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry, a Texas Republican who chairs the House Armed Services Committee, on Friday lamented Iran's participation in the meeting, in part because Iran is holding American citizens. He said it gives "the Iranians greater respectability on the (world) stage while they're holding hostages as political leverage." The National Iranian American Council, a Washington-based advocacy group, said Thursday it was troubled by reports that Namazi was detained. "NIAC is very concerned by the continued detention of multiple Iranian-Americans by the Iranian government, and is deeply troubled by the reports that Mr. Namazi may also have been detained," the group said on its website. (Agencies)

extended to not accepting an alternative ideological pole and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been the worst victim of this ideology since 2002. "Their strategy is twofold. Firstly, obstruct Parliament and do not permit reforms which will bring credit to Modi Government.

Secondly, create, by structured and organized propaganda, an environment that there is a social strife in India. Perpetrators of this propaganda never allowed alternative viewpoints to grow in either universities, academic institutions or cultural bodies that they have con-

trolled," Jaitley said. Branding the Dadri lynching case as a 'stray' incident, the Finance Minister said it was both unfortunate and condemnable, adding that the guilty will be taken to task.

Jaitley emphasized that India remained a highly tolerant and liberal society and the cultural values had imbibed co-existence. "India has repeatedly rejected intolerance. It does not respond to provocations. It is, therefore, incumbent upon every well-wisher of India and the present Government to make sure that no action or statement of his provides

a tool in the hands of those who want to obstruct India's growth story," Jaitley said.

"The obstructers have a simple plan - if they can't fight politically, they fight with hostile propaganda," he added.

Jaitley had earlier expressed his displeasure over the government being accused for intolerance in the country and disapproved the move of the creative personalities and literary icons to return their awards branding them 'rabid antiBJP elements' and their protest a manufactured rebellion. (ANI)

Doubts rise over ISIS involvement in Russia plane crash

London, Nov 1: Russian and Egyptian authorities have not confirmed the involvement of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the crash of Metrojet's Airbus A-321, which killed over 224 passengers, mostly Russians. Earlier, an Egyptian extremist group affiliated to ISIS claimed the responsibility to bring the plane down. However, Russia's transport minister Maksim Sokolov has stated that ISIS claims 'can't be considered accurate'.

Egyptian army spokesper-

son Mohamed Samir is also doubtful about the claim and said that presently there is no proof of ISIS involvement in the crash, despite whatever their statement state, The Guardian reported. The cause of the crash can only be determined when the Civil Aviation Authority in coordination with Russian authorities completes its investigation, he added. The investigation team has recovered both the black boxes of the 18-year-old plane and the investigation has begun to

find the true reason behind the crash. The investigators are focusing on the possibility of the technical failure that caused the plane to crash.

They are also checking fuel samples from the last refuelling stop. A source in the Sharm el-Sheikh airport stated that the crew of the A321 had appealed to the airport's technicians over 'engine start failures several times over the past week', the national daily reported.

Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi expressed condolence to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during their telephonic conversation. Putin promised maximum participation of Russian specialists in the investigation into find the cause of the crash. On Saturday, Metrojet's Airbus A321 travelling from Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt to Russia's St Petersburg, carrying 224 passengers including flight crew crashed in a mountainous area of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, killing all aboard. (ANI)

Chhota Rajan arrest: Six-member team arrives in Bali Bali, Nov 1: A special sixmember joint team of the CBI, Delhi Police and Mumbai Police arrived in Bali,Indonesia today to seek the deportation of arrested underworld don Chhota Rajan. The special team is carrying all the relevant documents needed

for Rajan's deportation including his crime history and a court warrant against him. First Secretary Consular at the Indian embassy in Jakarta, Sanjeev Kumar Agrawal, earlier today met Chhota Rajan and had a lengthy discussion. Rajan, one of India's most wanted

criminals and a leading figure in the Mumbai underworld, was arrested on October 24. Rajan is wanted for at least 68 cases in Mumbai alone, including over 20 murder cases and other serious offences under MCOCA, POTA and the Arms Act. (ANI)

the country," he said at a function organised by the BJP on the occasion of Sardar Patel's birth anniversary celebrations in Hyderabad. Rijiju further said that most people were even kept in dark about October 31 being the birth anniversary of Patel by the Congress during its regime at the Centre. He termed it an 'injustice' and a 'big sin' against the 'Iron Man' of India. (ANI)

Samajwadi Party corporator shot dead in Lucknow Lucknow, Nov 1: Unidentified men shot dead a Samajwadi Party (SP) corporator in Lucknow on Sunday. The corporator Atul Yadav was immediately admitted to the trauma centre here. "He had come to attend the funeral ceremony of Putana Devi, where he was shot by unidentified people in his head," said a police official. "We will do the required investigation in the matter," he added. (ANI)

Sikhs protest in Jantar Mantar over violence against community New Delhi, Nov 1: The Sikhs from various states gathered at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to protest against various incidents of violence against the community.

The protesters put forward three major demands of providing justice on- 1984 riots, recent desecration of Guru Granth Sahib pages and Sikh prisoners who have completed their sentence and are not being released.(ANI)

SIMI activist Abu Faisal awarded life imprisonment Bhopal, Nov 1: A Bhopal Court on Saturday awarded life imprisonment to SIMI activist Abu Faisal in connection with the murder of Special Armed Force (SAF) constable Ghisiram Yadav at Khandwa in 2009. The court had on Friday held Faisal guilty of murder, criminal conspiracy, unlawful activities and illegal possession of arms in this case.

In a broad daylight murder, Faisal, Aijazuddin and Mohammed Aslam had shot dead the constable in Khandwa and minutes later killed two more people. Aijazuddin and Aslam were killed in an encounter in Telangana in April this year. Faisal was also the mastermind of jailbreak in Khandwa after which six SIMI activists escaped in October 2013. (ANI)

RSS expresses concern over growing population of non-Indian religions Ranchi, Nov 1: Expressing concern over the growing population percentage of the non-Indian religions, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Saturday said that the comparative study between census of 1951 and that of 2011 had revealed 'worrisome' facts. "The previous government did not make 2011 census public, but this government has made it public. People studied it, analysed it, and after a comparative study, they found that there are lot of things in it which are worrisome.

The percentage of the

(people of) Indian-origin religions - Hindu, Buddhist, Jainism and Sikhs- is reducing in the last 60 years. In 1951, the population percentage of Indian-origin religions was 88%, which is now 83%," senior RSS leader Krishna Gopal told media here. "The population of Muslims is on a rise.

In 1951, the population of Muslims was 9.8%, in 2011 it is 14.3 %. So, the population of people of Indian-origin religions has reduced by 5% but the population of Muslims has risen by 5 %," he added. Gopal further said that in the border ar-

eas the population of Muslims had grown fourfold. During the three-day Akhil Bharatiya Karyakarini Mandal (ABKM) or Working committee meeting here, the RSS also passed a resolution on "Challenge of imbalance in the population growth rate". According to the latest census data, the Muslim community registered a moderate 0.8 per cent growth in the 10 year period between 2001 and 2011, while Hindus population showed a decline by 0.7 percent during the period. (ANI)

DIBRUGARH, M0NDAY, NOVEMBER 2

NEIGHBOURS

Publisher of secular books killed, 3 wounded in Bangladesh Dhaka, Nov 1: A publisher of secular books was hacked to death and three other people wounde d in fresh attacks in Bangladesh's capital that were claimed by Muslim radicals, and a human rights group called on the government to urgently protect freedom of expression.The latest violence on Saturday followed the killings of four atheist bloggers this year, while the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for three other attacks.Two of the new victims had published works of Bangladeshi-American blogger and writer Avijit Roy, who was hacked to death on the Dhaka University campus while walking with his wife in February.The local Islamist group Ansarullah Bangla Team had claimed responsibility for the blogger killings and

recently threatened to kill more bloggers.Another militant group, Ansar alIslam, the Bangladesh division of Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent, issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attacks on publishers Faisal Arefin Deepan and Ahmed Rahim Tutul, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist online postings. The claim of responsibility could not be independently verified.Amnesty International called on the Bangladesh government to "act urgently" to ensure the protection of others in the country, calling the attacks" a deliberate assault against freedom of expression."The body of Deepan of the Jagriti Prokashoni publishing house was found inside his office following the second of Saturday's attacks, senior police of-

ficer Shibly Noman said.Earlier in the day, publisher Ahmed Rahim Tutul and two writers were shot and stabbed by three men in the office of the Shudhdhoswar publishing house, said police officer Abdullah Al Mamun.Police chief Jamal Uddin Meer said the assailants then locked the wounded men inside the office before escaping. "We had to break the lock to recover them," Meer said.The two writ-

ers were identified by police as Ranadeep Basu and Tareque Rahim. All three of the victims were hospitalized, and Tutul was in critical condition, Meer said.Ansar al-Islam accused the "secular and atheist publishers" of putting out books by blasphemers that dishonored the Prophet Muhammad, and threatened more attacks.Bangladesh has been rocked by a series of attacks this year claimed by Islamic ex-

tremists, including the blogger killings and, more recently, the killings of two foreigners - an Italian aid worker and a Japanese agricultural worker. An Oct. 24 bomb attack on thousands of Shiite Muslims in Dhaka killed a teenage boy and injured more than 100 other people.The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attacks on the two foreigners and the bombing, but Bangladesh's government has rejected that the extremist Sunni militant group has any presence in the country.The government has instead blamed domestic Islamist militants along with Islamist political parties - specifically the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its main ally, Jamaat-e-Islami - for orchestrating the violence to destabilize the already fractious nation.

(Agencies)

Sri Lanka and India to free all fishermen and their boats this week

Colombo, Nov 1:Sri Lanka and India are set to release all the 156 fishermen along with their 75 boats under their custody this week.Diplomatic

SLC governing body election in January Colombo, Nov 1: The elections to appoint office-bearers to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) will be held in the first week of January, Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera has said.The SLC has been run since March this year by an interim committee appointed by the government. The ICC has taken exception to this and demanded that democratically elected governing body be appointed with minimum delay.The new government, which was elected in January, said elections were postponed as the government wanted to probe alleged corruption in the SLC under the previous administration.The government demanded that SLC pay the dues that remain outstanding to the government institutions.Jayasekera's predecessor, Navin Dissanayake, had appointed a four-member probe committee to investigate accusations.

The report has been handed over to Jayasekera. (Agencies)

sources said that, as a gesture of goodwill, Colombo and New Delhi have decided in principle to release all the fishermen they have arrested and the boats that were

seized for fishing on the wrong side of the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) that separates the two close neighbouring countries.The fishermen and their boats to be set free comprise 120 fishermen from Tamil Nadu and their 72 boats, and 36 Sri Lankan fishermen the Northern Province and Negombo and their three boats.The Tamil Nadu fishermen are being held in Jaffna, Point Pedro and Mannar, while the Sri Lankan fishers are in custody in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu

and Andhra Pradesh.The five Sri Lankan fishers in custody in Andhra Pradesh and the two in Tamil Nadu have already been let off by the courts, and are awaiting repatriation.The 29 Negombo fishers were nabbed by the Indian Coast Guard along with their two boats and 700 kilogrammes of sea cucumbers while fishing near India's Lakshadweep Island, are currently lodged in a Mangalore prison in Karnataka state.The court in Mangalore is

Clashes claim 11 lives in Pakistan provincial elections, Army called in Islamabad, Nov 1: Army troops were called in at a district in southern Pakistan after clashes between political rivals claimed 11 lives on Saturday, officials said. Several others were injured when activists of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Functional fought face to face in Khairpur district of Sindh province, where the PPP rules.The fight took place after the first round of local government elections were held in a relatively peaceful atmosphere in parts of Sindh and eastern Punjab province.

However, the bloody

clashes occurred shortly over claims of fraud by rivals. Army troops were deployed at the request of the local administration to maintain peace in the area, a senior official in the area said. Polling was also suspended after the incident, election officials said. All

major political parties took part in the elections for the first time in the country's history. Local elections were previously held on a non-party basis. There were minor incidents of scuffle also in Punjab province, according to police.

(Agencies)

likely to let them off any time this week.Once all the Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen and their boats are let off by the courts, their respective Coast Guard vessels will ferry them upto the IMBL and handed over to the other side.After the courts complete their task, it will depend on the weather conditions in the Palk Straits. Diplomats of both countries expect the fishermen to be back with their families well before November 11 for Deepavali, the famous festival of lights. (Agencies)

PAGE 7

South China Sea disputes increasing demand for U.S. security presence: Pentagon chief Osanairbase , Nov 1:South Korea Disputes over territory in the South China Sea are causing countries in the region to increase their demand for an American security presence, the U.S. defense chief said today. A U.S. warship sailed within 12 nautical miles of one of China's man-made islands in South China Sea on Tuesday in the most significant U.S. challenge yet to territorial limits Beijing claims around the Spratly archipelago. The move triggered an angry rebuke from Beijing and a warning that a minor incident in the area, which is one of the world's busiest sea lanes, could spark war if the United States did not stop what it called "provocative acts.""The attention to disputed claims in the South China Sea, the prominence of those disputes, is having the effect of causing

many countries in the region to want to intensify their security cooperation with the United States," U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter told reporters on his way to South Korea.Carter said discussions at an upcoming defense summit in Malaysia would include developments in the South China Sea, "the most notable of which in the last year has been the unprecedented rate of dredging and military ac-

tivity by China."Carter is due to arrive in Seoul later on Sunday and is scheduled to hold talks with South Korea's defense chief on Monday, focused on the allies' response to North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.He later flies to Malaysia for the meeting of Southeast Asia defense ministers, which China's Defense Minister Chang Wanquan is also due to attend. (Agencies)

Karuna again blames LTTE leader for defeat Colombo, Nov 1: Vi n a y a g a m o o r t h y Muralitharan alias Karuna Amman, who was Special Commander of the LTTE in the eastern Sri Lankan districts of Batticaloa and Ampara, says that the rift between him and LTTE S u p r e m o VelupillaiPrabhakaran took place in December 2002 when the Tiger chieftain accused him of "betrayal" of the kind Mahendrarajah alias Mahatthya was accused of in the early 1990s and executed. Prabhakaran was livid with Karuna for persuading his chief negotiator, Anton Balasingham, to sign the December 5, 2002 "Oslo Declaration" which had committed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to "exploring the possibility of finding a political solution based on a federal structure within a united Sri Lanka."At a stormy Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's Central Committee meeting at

Kilinochchi later in December, Karuna owned that he persuaded a reluctant Balasingham to accept the Norwegian Government's draft declaration while other members of the LTTE delegation were either noncommittal or suggested consultation with Prabhakaran before signing.Defending his action, Karuna said that he supported the signing of the Declaration only to "save the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam from isolation" in the international community which had become hostile to armed movements following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack in New York."Prabhakaran was a good man, but he had no knowledge of globalization," Karuna told media."At the special Central Committee meeting at Kilinochchi, Prabhakaran tore a copy of the Oslo Declaration to bits and accused me of selling out the struggle for Tamil Eelam. I tried to explain to him

that the Declaration had only said that the two sides would explore a federal solution, not accept it. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam could always quit the talks if these were unsatisfactory, I submitted. But my arguments fell on deaf ears.""However, the real sting was in Prabhakaran's charge that I had betrayed him as Mahatthya (his Deputy) did earlier. This hurt me deeply, because unlike Mahatthya, who was planning to kill Prabhakaran, I was only trying to save him and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam," Karuna said.Sensing trouble, Karuna asked the European ceasefire monitors to urgently send a helicopter to fly him to his base in Batticaloa. "Once in Batticaloa, I refused to answer summons to come to Kilinochchi, knowing full well what would happen if I did," Karuna told media. (Agencies)

Myanmar gov't, armed groups agree on some post-ceasefire steps Yamgon, Nov. 1 : The Myanmar government and eight ceasefire ethnic armed groups out of 15 have agreed on some postceasefire steps for adherence by both sides until 30 days after the signing of the Nationwide Ceasefore Accord (NCA), according to an official report today.It was agreed at the three-day first meeting of their Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee at the Myanmar Peace Center here which ended on Saturday.An official of the Myanmar Peace Center said setting the exact boundaries of each side's territory and having monitoring mechanisms can

reduce the risk of recurring conflict between signatories of the two sides.The mechanisms will allow both sides to deal with possible clashes during the transition period before the monitoring process comes into effect, he added.The committee set Nov. 16 to hold their second meeting in Nay Pyi Taw.The Myanmar government and the eight ceasefired ethnic armed groups have formed two joint committees as part of the implementation of the NCA following their signing on Oct. 15.The two joint committees are Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee, which is to prevent

recurrence of armed clashes, and the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee, which is to facilitate political dialogue .Both sides also agreed to strive for enabling other remaining armed groups which have not signed the NCA to take part and complete the peace process.The two sides were set to draw up a political framework within 60 days after the formal NCA signing and start a political dialogue within 90 days.The eight signatories of the armed groups are Kayin National Union (KNU), Kayin National Liberation Army (KNLA)Peace Council, Pa-O Na-

tionalities Liberation Organization (PNLO), All Burma Students'Democratic Front (ABSDF), Chin National Front (CNF), Arakan Liberation Party (ALP), Democratic Kayin Buddhist Army (DKBA) and Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) / Shan State Army-So u t h ( S S A - S ) .

(Agencies)Meanwhile, the eight ceasefired ethnic armed groups and the remaining nonceasefire groups are due to meet in Pansai, northeastern Shan state later on today to discuss their future deal with the government.(Agencies)

Loan deal for Pokhara airport likely by Nov Nov 1, 2015- China has informed Nepal that the loan agreement for the proposed regional international airport project in Pokhara is likely to be concluded by November, a Finance Ministry official said. At the request of Nepal government last August, China had agreed to provide nearly a third of the loans to finance the project at zero interest it needed to complete some due procedures. Prem Upadhyay, under-secretary at the Finance Ministry, said

the Chinese side had informed them that a proposal on providing interestfree loan had been sent to the Chinese Finance Ministry for approval. "The loan approval process is almost complete." The northern neighbour had also conveyed the message that the interest-free loans could be converted into grant in the future, according to the government officials. The China Exim Bank has agreed to provide a soft loan totalling $215.96 million to the government to build the

new airport at Chinnedanda. The proposed site lies 3km to the east of the existing domestic airport. The government had planned to start the loan negotiations on June 9, but they were postponed due to the April 25 earthquake. The Finance Ministry had formally requested the bank for a soft loan last November. The credit request followed the Cabinet nod on October 27, 2014 to construct the much-delayed project with the Chinese funding.

The airport project has been on hold for 40 years.

The ministry had initially expressed reservations about the project's cost and termed it "unrealistic".

However, it was convinced after a high-level panel formed by the Tourism Ministry consisting of experts from the Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk showed that the project would cost over $216 million. On May 22, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan) had awarded the construction contract to China CAMC Engineer-

ing. The airport will be built under the engineering procurement and construction (EPC) model. The EPC contract binds the contractor to deliver the project at the stipulated time at the predetermined price regardless of any possible cost overruns. Caan had invited bids for the project on February 9, 2012. The airport project has been on hold since July 2012 after the lowest bidder China CAMC quoted a price of $305 million, which was 85 percent higher than the government's estimate.

The government had expected the project to cost around $166 million. Subsequently, in January 2013, China CAMC wrote to the Tourism Ministry expressing its willingness to build the project at the government-estimated cost. In 1975, the government had acquired more than 3,106 ropanis of land for the planned airport. As per the feasibility report, the airport will accommodate medium category jets like the Boeing 757 and the Airbus 320. As Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, the

country's sole international airport, has reached its saturation level, the government has also been upgrading Gautam Buddha Airport in Bhairahawa to an international airport. The airport is expected to come online

by December 2017. The government has also started promoting the two new airports. The government had allowed UAE carriers to operate 70 flights per week to each airport during the ICAO Air Services Negotiation Event held Turkey's Antalya two week ago.

PAGE 8

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2

Diplomatic Dialogue in the Internet Age Electrictiy to Bangladesh by January India will start transmission India will start transmission of fresh 100 MW electricity from Tripura to Bangladesh by January and the government-owned company is working round-theclock to erect the transmission line by December as per an official statement.

The decision was taken following a three-day (October 26-28) meet in New Delhi of the Indian and Bangladesh officials, Tripura State Electricity Corporation Limiited (TSECL) Deputy General Managar said that the Indian government-owned Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) working round-the-clock to erect the 47 km transmission line from western Tripura to southern Comilla (in eastern Bangladesh) by December this year.

The PGCIL initially would invest Rs.250 crore to set up the 400 kv (kilovolt) double circuit transmission line and subsequently the Bangladesh government would reimburse the cost.

Electricity-starved Bangladesh will begin receiving 100 MW of power from Tripura to meet the energy crisis in the eastern part of the country. The 100 MW power will be in addition to the 500 MW Bangladesh already receives from the West Bengal and a like amount that is on the cards from the state, as the two neighbours enter a new phase of bilateral cooperation for regional benefit.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the power supply from Tripura with his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina during Dhaka-visit last June. He had declared that India would enhance the supply of power to Bangladesh from the existing 500 MW to 1,100 MW. Also while erecting new power transmission lines from (western Tripura's) Surjyamaninagar power grid to Comilla power grid (in eastern Bangladesh) to supply the electricity, human habitations, forests and other vital installations would be avoided.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar had earlier said that after completion of a new 101 MW gas-based power projects at Monarchak (10 km from the Bangladesh border) in western Tripura, at least 200 MW of power would be surplus in Tripura. The central governmentowned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has commissioned its biggest ever 726 MW commercial power project at Palatana, 60 km from Agartala, while the state-run North East Electric Power Corporation is setting up a 101 MW project at Monarchak in western Tripura, 70 km from Agartala.

The gas based Palatana project, which supplies power in seven of the eight northeastern states, is a hallmark of the cooperation between India and Bangladesh, which ensured the smooth passage of heavy project equipment and turbines to Palatana through its territory by road and waterways from Haldia port in West Bengal.

India had begun supplying 500 MW of power to Bangladesh in 2013 after the government-run Bangladesh Power Development Board and India's NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVN), a subsidiary of NTPC, signed a deal Feb 28, 2012, following an agreement signed during Hasina's visit to New Delhi in January 2010

India Welcomes Geeta's Homecoming The now famous deaf and mute woman Geeta, who was separated from her family 15 years ago, has finally returned to her homeland India. Geeta landed in Delhi from Karachi to find a warm welcome from not just near and dear ones but also Indian and Pakistani officials and media people who have been broadcasting her story to the entire country for the past weeks.

Geeta finally got the emotional reunion that she had been hoping for, for the past few weeks, when her family was finally located, with the help of Indian and Pakistan High Commission.

A frightened, lost and visibly shaken Geeta was taken in by Bilquees Edhi of Edhi Foundation, one of Pakistan's biggest social welfare organizations. She lived there for over a decade and was treated with immense love and care.

Geeta had managed to identify her family with the help of both the Indian and Pakistan High Commission. According to the External Affairs Ministry, Geeta's family members are natives of Saharsa village in Bihar. She has recognized her father, siblings and step-mother in a photograph that was sent to her by the Indian High Commission Diwali has knocked early this year on Janardhan Mahato's doorstep, as he claims that the atmosphere is festive in and around their home. After all it's not every day that your long lost daughter returns home in a grand manner like this. Mahato claims that Geeta is his long-lost daughter Heera. He said Heera was lost in a fair in Ludhiana.

This girl has managed to do the impossible; to be able to get India and Pakistan to agree on something, is no mean feat. This is reason enough to believe that beneath the labyrinth of years of unnecessary cultivated and propagated hate, we are all still human beings with a heart. That the political agendas and personal views of the leaders of both the countries aren't what the people stand for. It isn't like all Pakistanis are terrorists and that all Indians are blindly antagonistic to Pakistan; some of us, in fact, most of us, are tired of the war that no one is ever going to win!

That Geeta wasn't shunned for being an Indian, but instead loved and cared for by our friends across the border goes a long way to show that love and peace shall always triumph hate, but only if we let it.

It is time to back the tradition of "penned conversations."

Emanuel Pastreich I cringe every time I witness a group of experts from across Asia gather for an international meeting. They may be government ministers, or professors, or businessmen; the situation is the same.

They shake hands awkwardly, exchange light pleasantries in broken English, and then quickly break off the conversation and scuttle away from each other.

Although the plane tickets and hotels required to bring these experts together are expensive, there is little, or no, serious dialogue between them - in spite of the remarkable amount of know-how that they have to share. Sadly, in most cases, they will leave the expensive events organized by government, or industry, the same way that they came: as mutual strangers. The gatherings over expensive meals will lead to no commitment for future cooperation, or even awareness of the wisdom and knowledge belonging to the others at the event.

If the representatives from across Asia who attend international summits and conferences could actually speak seriously with each other at any length, there would be an immense amount that they could learn from each other. For example,

they might learn about how their peers in other countries are using innovative new administrative strategies that they could adopt. Or they might learn how new technologies used in manufacturing vastly improve productivity.

But that depth of exchange will never come from the brief introductions over wine that normally take place.

We must create, and in a sense engineer, an environment wherein exchanges are coaxed along and encouraged to flower into a meaningful dialogue.

We can take some steps towards that goal. For instance, experts from different countries could form teams and engage in various activities that will encourage them to loosen up and get to know each other. Unfortunately, it is often assumed in Asia that one must drink alcohol to relax and get to know each other. Nothing could be further from the truth. You can climb a mountain, bake a pie, or sing songs together as a means of establishing a relaxed and inviting environment.

But the greatest potential for a deeper exchange of ideas and suggestions for future cooperation does not even require meeting in person, although personal meetings can encourage personal rela-

tions. Online written exchanges (chatting with intent) could afford the greatest opportunities.

In many cases, written exchanges with individuals one has never met can produce better content and deeper exchanges than actually meeting someone in person.

The key for success is to create an environment for these Internetbased discussions that is free from distractions and in which the significance of the dialogue remains preeminent in the minds of the participants. Unfortunately, most online exchanges are exchanges and the product is correspondingly limited.

But if we take a few steps to make participants aware of the significance of the "chat" we can create something more significant.

It is a great irony that in spite of ICT technology, there was a deeper discourse between leading intellectuals in China, Japan and Korea back in the 18th century than there is today. At that time "penned conversations" (orbitan ??in Chinese) were carried out in literary Chinese between those who met at diplomatic gatherings.

Similarly, letters on the most important issues

of diplomacy, society, philosophy and literature were exchanged in the pre-modern period, displaying a remarkable attention to detail and involving creative thinking about how to solve problems. As research by Professor Jung Min of Hanyang University has shown, the intellectual engagement between major intellectuals in the 18th and 19th centuries in East Asia was more profound than it is today.

Until the 20th century, educated people in East Asia knew classical Chinese well and were capable of carrying on extremely sophisticated conversations in that language. Today, many educated people in East Asia have a good knowledge of English, but they do not necessarily have the command of the language sufficient to engage in a detailed conversation.

Therefore, we need to create an environment wherein the important figures from Korea, China,

Japan, the United States, and elsewhere, engage in serious online discussions that are mediated by high quality translations that ensure that they can communicate unimpeded about serious topics. What that means is this: If three experts from Korea, China and Japan start an online discussion about a given topic, their posts are translated within a few minutes by professional translators into the two other languages and then posted on the pages that the other experts are using.

As a result, online discussion in three or more languages is possible in one's own language with people one would otherwise never have had a chance to know.

We need to create a constant dialogue between experts in Korea, China, Japan and United States, and elsewhere, in which they exchange their opinions in written form with each other and en-

gage in a discourse that is aimed at the long-term improvement of our society. These online "asynchronous symposiums" can be held over a period of a week, and in some cases the content can be published as articles or reports for the general public.

One additional benefit of this feature is the potential to include real policymakers in the debate. Often diplomatic events are dominated by English speakers, not political heavyweights. An asynchronous symposium offers the potential to create an environment in which the major political or policy heads have a chance to engage in a thoughtful written conversation.

If these asynchronous symposiums catch on, we can expect an ongoing online, written communication between policymakers in China, Korea, Japan, the United States, and elsewhere in the future that will serve as the source for longterm meaningful cooperation.

A new form of scholarship and diplomacy may emerge from this development, which transforms existing ICT technology into a serious tool for ongoing debate on critical issues by reviving the tradition of the "penned conversations" from Asia's past.

India to Lease Another Nuclear Submarine From Russia New Delhi and Moscow are slated to sign a contract in December.

Franz-Stefan Gady The Indian Navy will lease another nuclear-powered submarine from Russia, TASS reports. The 10year lease agreement will likely be signed at the Russian-Indian summit in December, according to a source at India's Defense Ministry.

India's Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar will meet Russia's Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu next week in Moscow to discuss details.

"Parrikar will hold talks on this strategic project with his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoigu. After the ten-year contract is signed another two or three years will be required for upgrading the submarine in keeping with

India's requirements," the source told TASS. The Russian submarine likely to be handed over to the Indian Navy will be the Kashalot K-322 nuclear-powered attack submarine (NATO classification Akula II-class), a ship that has served in Russia's Pacific Fleet since early 1989 and is currently under repair.

The 8,140-ton Kashalot has a submerged speed of 30 knots and an operating depth of 530 meters.

It holds a crew of 73 and is equipped with four 650 millimeter and four 533 millimeter torpedo tubes.

According to the website RusNavy.com, the submarine achieved a Russian navy record in the summer of 1991 by trailing foreign submarines

for over 14 days without interruption.

The likely transfer date of the Kashalot will be in late 2018, given that it will take approximately three years to modernize and test the boat, as well as to train an Indian submarine crew for it.

The Kashalot would not be the first Russian submarine to enter the service of the Indian Navy. "If the contract is signed, it will be the third Russia-built submarine handed over to the Indian Navy," a Russian military source at the Russian embassy in New Delhi explained to TASS. "For the first time India leased a Russian nuclear submarine for

ten years back in the early 1980s. In 2012 the Indian Navy leased Russia's K152 Nerpa submarine of project 971. This is a customary and well-tested way of cooperation by our countries in the militarytechnical sphere."

The K-152 Nerpa, rechristened INS Chakra, was inducted in March

2012.

The Indian Navy's first indigenously developed ballistic missile nuclear submarine (SSBN), INS Arihant, the lead vessel of the Indian Navy's future fleet of four (some media reports say five) Arihant-class SSBNs, is based on the Russian Project 971 Akula Iclass nuclear-powered at-

tack boats.

As I reported before, readiness rates within the Indian Navy's submarine fleet are below 40 percent. On paper, the fleet currently consists of 15 boats: nine Russian SSK Kilo-class (Sindhugosh), four locally-built SSK U209Shishumar-Class, the leased INS Chakra SSN, and the INS Arihant.

Irresponsible Utterances

Sir, To choose ministers for the ministry from amongst the elected M.L.As is the prerogative of the Chiefminister. The Chief-minister has to shoulder the responsibility of the omissions and commissions of his ministers. Chief-minister, while choosing ministers should exercise utmost caution. In the previous Tarun Gogoi led ministry, some ministers, Nilamoni Sen Deka, Akon Borah, Rajib Lochan Pegu to name a

few irreparably damaged their departments, putting a stigma on the ministry. All these ministers earned notoriety by their corruption. In the present ministry, too, there are some incompetent ministers whose irresponsible utterances on some occasions in the public meetings make the people of Assam hang down their heads with shame. It is only the vicissitude of some M.L.As once loyal to Himanta Biswa Sarma who had to be brought to the Chief-minister's fold. In the process some incompetent M.L.As too could find their way into the ministry. One such cabinet minister, who recently was in the news when his secretary (Additional Chief-Secretary) Ms. T.Y. Das, I.A.S. had to write to the Chief-secretary to post her elsewhere, being unable to bear the bullying attitude of the said minister of irrigation. This time, in a public meeting in Abhayapuri the said minister uttered some obscene words while spewing venom against his former mentor Himanta Biswa Sarmah, Hagrama, Chandan Brahma and Prafulla Kumar Mahanta. Mean while, we saw many acrimonious exchange of words among the rival members of the opposite party, but never like the one uttered irresponsibly by Chandan Sarkar. Mr.

Sarkar, perhaps did so for winning the favour of the Chief-minister in a show of sycophancy.

Yours etc.

Ashok Bordoloi Dibrugarh

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

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

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One Man Created A Forest In Assam, Now A Whole Community Is Fighting To Protect It Shaheen S. Ahmed nature lovers and the gloA half an hour drive from Jorhat town in Assam takes you to the sleepy village called Kokilamukh. Nestled on the banks of the mighty Brahmaputra, the village functions as the access point to people living in the middle of the river on sandbars, or saporis as the Assamese call them.

A half an hour bhut-bhuti (or crude steamer) ride from the banks of Kokilamukh village leads to one of the biggest sandbars called Aruna sapori. The "riverscape" is punctuated by several sandbars with wild vegetation and foliage, but largely uninhabited. Aruna sapori lies between the mainland and one of the largest river islands in the world, Majuli.

Aruna sapori captured popular imagination of

bal media recently because of Mulai Kathoni or Mulai's Forest. Mulai Kathoni is often regarded as the world's only human-made forest created

by Jadav Payeng, a local resident. Way back in 1979, Payeng started planting trees on this barren sandy land, starting with bamboos. For the last 30 years, he has been planting one sapling every day and using indigenous methods to create the forest, including releasing red ants into the soil, which he transported from his village to the forest. Ants, along with earthworms and termites, work on the soil, and increase its fertility.

Mulai Kathoni today covers an area of 1,000 hectares (ha). The forest now has a wide variety of trees including arjun, teak and bamboo.

Payeng's ecological

Ananya Baruah Chaudhuri...a woman of substance Dr.Mriganka Chaliha Ananya Baruah Chaudhuri, a native from Assam became the faculty advisor for NE students, Hindu College in 2011 and has been actively working for it since then. She organised the 1st NE Fest called NeTym' 2012 and have even invited Falguni Rajkumar as the Chief guest. Rajkumar is the 1st IAS officer of Meiteti community, Manipur and belongs to the royal family if Manipur. He was an exHinduite passing out in English literature in 1969.

He was the Member Sec-

travaganza of all the NE states were exhibited including the attires and garments followed by the unique dances of each state. It also had an academic background with a national seminar the theme being "Exploring the Unexplored NE: What lies ahead?" The most important effort of Ananya of all has been her personal commitment to bring NE to the mainland. And she even succeeded to venture to highlight Sri Sri Sankardeva because she thinks that if we want to make NE inclusive we have to highlight classical figures of NE. According to

legacy is being carried forward by the Mishing community, a riverine plain tribe of Assam.

Belonging to the IndoMongoloid family, the Mishing are the second largest group of Scheduled Tribes in Assam.

They are also nomadic, setting up their habitations wherever feasible.

This search brought the current inhabitants to Aruna sapori in the 1970s. The sandbar was almost barren then, and it is due to Payeng's efforts that the island now sustains a rich bio-diverse ecology.

The forest hosts rich fauna, which includes a large number of rare migratory birds including pelicans, Himalayan Griffon vulture, Brown roofed turtle, sambar deer, wild pig, pythons and cobras. Even the Royal Bengal Tigers from the neighbouring

Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary have made Mulai Kathoni their home. Payeng also created a 50-m riverine canal. The canal, which is about 2.13 m deep, serves as a water source for wild animals and cattle.

Sustaining Culture The forest that Payeng created is now a wholesome ecosystem. There are around 600 Mishing families living on the island. They do not stay in one village, but live in clusters called chubas.

There are seven chubas located on the edge of Mulai Kathoni. Each chuba comprises 10-12 huts, and they are named after the titles of the local residents.

The Mishings have built their lives around the new forest. So much so, that they live in elevated bamboo huts called saang ghors, which have

been adapted to suit the topography of the land and also to protect themselves from floods.

Floods, in fact, are a huge threat to the forest, bringing with it a host of problems, including soil erosion. When floods inundate the Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary, animals find a refuge in Mulai Kathoni. Floods not only inundate the Mishing settlements, but also bring the threat of epidemics.

The Mishing community conserves the rich forest ecology, despite having little access to basic amenities. There is no access to electricity in Mulai Kathoni, not even a primary healthcare centre. In case of a health emergency, the nearest hospital is in Jorhat, which is half-an-hour by boat and another half-anhour by road.

Mishing's new home has both advantages and disadvantages. In 2008, el-

ephants attacked the villages and destroyed the houses. This prompted many residents, including Payeng, to move to the mainland. Poaching is another threat. In 2013, a rhino was poached at Mulai Kathoni. After this incident, the residents have become more aware of the need to conserve the ecology of the forest. "In 2014, we formed 10 ecoconservation units and 33 search lights were distributed to the residents," says Palash Goswami of Seven Look, a local nonprofit, which is one of the few organisations working with the Mishing community. When poachers attacked last year, they warded them off.

They also informed the state Forest Department and mobilised themselves against future attacks.

"There is a threat to rhinos in this forest. Lack of

electricity works to our disadvantage and to the advantage of the poachers," rues Swapan Saikia, divisional forest officer, Jorhat. "If Mulai Kathoni is categorised as a reserved forest, it would help in protecting the forest and the community around it too," he adds.

In June 2015, the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) in association with Europ채eische Tierschutzstiftung (ETS), Seven Look and the Forest Department of Assam distributed 25 solar lanterns to help villagers.

WTI is also planning to install solar street lights later this year after the monsoon. But no one is sure as to how long the Mishing community will continue to stay on Aruna sapori. The powerful Brahmaputra can swallow the forest any time.

Still, the Mishings are putting up a brave face.

What's It Like Come From A Family Of Established Musicians? Singer Armaan Malik Answers Kruti Joshi Albums don't get promoted in the right manner in India. They don't get the right exposure that they need," singer Armaan Malik said during an interview.

The 20-year-old singer hails from a musical family who've had their feet cemented in Bollywood for about 50 years. Malik is the nephew of wellknown music director Anu Malik and the son of music producer Daboo Malik. The next-gen of the Malik family is no stranger to the industry as well. Armaan's brother Amaal Malik is the mastermind behind recent hits including, Jai Ho's title track, Khoobsurat's Naina, and Hero's 'Main Hoon Hero Tera'.

But having a sibling in the same line means they are more susceptible to being stereotyped, Malik revealed.

"My dad always felt that we both have a talent in something else apart from each other. My brother is really great at composing and I am good at singing.

So he wanted us to have an artistic liberty to work with everyone that we want to - because if you are a duo there are many avenues that get closed for Amaal and me."

"As a duo, I won't be able to sing with other composers because I am attached with Amaal. My dad's ideology from the very beginning was that we should be two separate artists, but of course, collaborate on tracks."

Despite coming from a well-established musical

family, Malik started off his career via a reality show.

"I did Sa Re Ga Ma Pa at the age of 10 and post that I started getting a lot of offers for films like Bhoothnath, Taare Zameen Par. I did that with the intention to dismiss the belief that people from the film industry usually don't participate in reality shows because they are too scared to compete with the rest of the country."

A breeze of western music flavour has swept the local music scene in the last two decades. Inarguably, rap music has been one of the fastest to gain momentum in India, evident by the popularity of artists such as Yo Yo Honey Singh and Hard Kaur. After a phase of bad music, the industry

has bounced back "for the better,"according to Malik.

"In between there was a very bad phase where we were just hearing a lot of item songs and dance songs, which didn't make sense at all. But now is a good time because 2012onwards there was Aashiqui [2]. The album had brilliant music. After that, I think, many people focused on getting great music out - because that would pull in the audiences to see the movie. Music has become such an integral part of the movie business or the film line."

The aim is to create music that is still heard by generations to come. "If you pick up a Mohammad Rafi or Kishore Kumar song from 60s or 70s you still hum them or sing them.

That's what should happen

with today's music down the line. That's the effort we all are making to make music even more melodious and yet have a new sound, that contemporary sound that everyone is looking for."

On where he thinks the Bollywood music is headed, Malik replied, "A lot of EDM is coming in. I think it's going to change

because right now there is saturation happening. The same club hits are coming again and again, the same beat, the same voices, same lyrics, nothing new.

There are a lot of western influences in Indian music.

That's what's widening the audiences because Bollywood music can then be heard everywhere outside India."

As A Former Journalist And Current Researcher, I'm Appalled At Media's #OccupyUGC Agenda Shaheen Ahmed retary of PM, Manmohan Singh. Besides the presence of such a great personality, the fest had the release of the first NECell Magazine called Rainbow Rhapsody.

Besides all the serious elements, the fest also had cultural festivals from all the 8 states of Northeast India across including fashion shows, exhibitions and food carnival of all these states.

Above all the fest showcased the rich culture of NE India to the mainland India. It also had a National Seminar where Manimugdha Sharma and Mrinal Talukdar of DY365 Media were invited as chairpersons and the theme was "Media of NE and The Way Forward".

Mrs. Chaudhari also took in great initiative in organising the NeTym' 2013 and that too in a much larger and broader platform. She invited Arnab Goswami, Chief Editor of Times Now as the Chief Guest and he himself is an Ex-Hinduite, passed out in 1992, with honours in Sociology. Binalakahmi Nephram, another NE activist too was invited. Guest of Honour was Mr.Manikya Pradyot Debbarma, the present Maharaja of Tripura. Many cultural activities were presented with Lou Majow doing the Rock Band round. The food ex-

Mrs.Chaudhari, papers like Philosophy and History have the scope and so we must work in this area. In a recent meeting with the sitting MPs of all the states if NE, in August this year she had vehemently stood for this very moment and uttered her concern in the presence of Kiren Rijiju, Sarbananda Sonowal among others. Her point was appreciated and noted.

All these efforts have borne fruit as the Delhi University Press has been working at a feverish speed to edit the History books of Delhi University to give place to our Guru Sankardeva. Her idea has been executed.

There have been many people across academia, law, medicine and others who had hols the same thought of view. So, the many unheard voices have been finally heard. Her recent contribution was in helping students of Political Science Honours to help them organise a National Seminar on 15th October' 2015 with distinctive voices of Samujjal Bhattacharjee, Rita Choudhury among others. The foreign nationals issue of Assam was discussed at length.

Thus it can be said that people like Ananya Chaudhari have been putting in all their efforts to bring the culture and traditions of NE India to an international level.

I do not even want to start on how vicious the atmosphere has turned today. How dissent is being literally choked and broken down with lathis and bullets. But this is a piece on some concerns that I feel on howjournalism, that last bastion of free and fair expression, has gone down the capitalist's dog's throat. For the last one week, students from all across the country and especially from the prestigious JNU in Delhi, have risen in strong protest against the arbitrary and entirely anti-student diktats of the current regime. The UGC or University Grants Commission decided sometime in October that they are going to discontinue the non-NET Fellowship for MPhil and Ph.D research scholars. These fellowships were available to scholars across central universities. Now, we all know how the last 8 days have panned out. What I am angry about is not just such a pro-capitalist move by Modi government which is aimed at breaking the back of research in India, but also at the brutality of the state

in handling the protesters.

The students were lathi charged not once but twice in a week's span. The latest one was on the evening of 27th October. This was brutal. Hordes of policemen and women descended down on the students and beat them up, many were detained as well with threats of charges being pressed.

Under such circumstances, what do we find?

An absolute silence by the mainstream media, save for one or two token pieces hidden within the reams of the paper. Indian Express carried one piece but lay more emphasis on the fact that the Delhi Police shamelessly and brazenly lied about this brutality (this violence has been captured on video by many). That was no reporting per se. The reporter ought to have verified the facts with the students, carried photos in print and videos on the web and accosted the police. But no. The largest daily The Times of India carried one small, dry piece in between the paper surrounded by ads.

Perhaps I shouldn't have expected much in any case. But what has got me raging mad is the big article in The Times of In-

dia published on 29th October on page 6 about the protests.

The article is big enough to carry a collage of photos as well as the small capsule Times View where the paper gives its opinion (wanted or unwanted). Instead of saying a word of support on the scores of students who have been protesting through democratic means demanding what is their right, the mighty paper instead focuses on 'graffiti' on the metro station's walls! The paper writes that this is 'vandalism'. This piece is undoubtedly one of the laziest and most twisted piece of reporting a news event I have read till now.

There is no question about the pro-state position of the paper, but to not just ridicule a legitimate stu-

dent movement but in fact surreptitiously attempt to derail the movement is what must be resisted and such attempts must not be brushed aside. The media, including the print, no matter how much one may castigate it, still is a strong means to mobilise public opinion and support. For a movement like ours, we also need the public to understand the nitty-gritty and support our resistance.

This article was nothing but an insidious attempt at raising middle class and bourgeoisie concerns about the 'city's beautification'. I am reminded of such attempts during the CWG in 2010 when the aesthetics of the city mattered more than the homeless. ToI's report was nothing but harking back to such sentiments to

delegitimize the Occupy UGC movement. As a former ToI journalist and as a current MPhil researcher, I am thoroughly appalled at the low levels that this paper has stooped to further the government's and the capitalist agenda.

At the heart of the movement is the question of privatization of education which will lead to thousands of students being deprived of their right to education. Perhaps the paper also needs some reminders on protest movements from across the world - how graffiti has played a major role. Also, the dialectics of art on the streets is interesting to note here. Street art that is 'sanctioned' now by the state and done aesthetically by artists are applauded by the bourgeoisie. These kinds of art which have become the de rigeur in a city like Delhi since the past few years often lack a political meaning or statement. In fact an S.T. Art Festival is also organized in Delhi in a huge way with corporate funding and state support with artists participating from all over the world.

ToI itself has carried many articles and other publicity material for this festival. But today, the politi-

cal statements on the metro station's walls which are outside the station on the road, are the work of vandals!

I must also add finally, that this is not the first attempt by corporates to delegitimize student movements which have gripped the country all over this year. Pepsi came out with a derogatory ad recently poking fun at students. This ad was roundly criticized and rightfully so.

Such cheap attempts as the one by Times of India, should not only strengthen our resolve but also inspire students from all across to unite and fight for their rights. I am sorry ToI, but such cheap attempts will keep getting exposed. We can and will carry this fight without you. We are not 'begging' for our rights. We do not need to 'soul search'.

Rather you should stop wasting your print space and ask the government to soul search. Where is its soul when it is snatching away the education from thousands? And where is YOUR soul that you support such a move? As the late Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano had said - "The walls are the publishers of the poor."

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2

BUSINESS

Air India to induct 15 Airbus A320s on lease Mumbai, Nov 1: National carrier Air India will lease 15 Airbus A320s as it seeks to enhance capacity on the rapidly growing domestic market, which has seen over 20% growth in the recent months. The carrier is expected to invite global tenders for the dryleasing of these aircraft shortly, airline sources said. The induction of these aircraft, which is likely to commence from the second quarter of the next calendar year, would be in addition to 14 A320 neos that Air India is leasing to replace the classic A320s, sources told. "Domestic market is growing exponentially but somehow Air India has not been able to keep pace with this growth. On the contrary, our market share has only

shrunk during this period," sources said. The decline in market pie is more because of capacity constraints, they said adding, "Therefore, we have decided to induct more planes on the domestic routes not only to the stem slide in the market share but also increase it." Domestic air passengers traffic logged a 20.1% growth in the JanuarySeptember period of this calendar year as 11 Indian carriers together flown 590.21 lakh passenger during the period as against 491.44 lakh a year-ago. Air India has, however, seen a slump in its market share during this period, which stood at 15.9% in September as against 18.7% in January.

Sources said that the air-

SEEKING TO ENHANCE CAPACITY n National carrier Air India will lease 15 Air-

bus A320s as it seeks to enhance capacity on the rapidly growing domestic market, which has seen over 20% growth in the recent months.

n The carrier is expected to invite global ten-

ders for the dry-leasing of these aircraft shortly, airline sources said. n The induction of these aircraft, which is likely

to commence from the second quarter of the next calendar year, would be in addition to 14 A320 neos that Air India is leasing to replace the classic A320s n Air India has already signed a deal for the dry leasing of 14 A320 neos with the Kuwaiti lessor, Aviation Lease and Finance Company. n The carrier has also inducted five sharklets-

equipped A320 ceos, leased from China Aircraft Leasing Company as part of its classic A320 phase out plan.

line has already secured its board's approval for leasing of these 15 narrowbody A320s. The carrier has, however, yet not decided whether it should go for A320 NEOs (new engine option) or A320 CEOs (current engine option). Air India has already signed a deal for the dry leasing of 14 A320 neos with the Kuwaiti lessor, Aviation Lease and Finance Company. These jets, which are to be inducted in the fleet between April 20117 and March 2018, would replace the classic A320s, most of them are as old as 18-years.

Besides, the carrier has also inducted five sharkletsequipped A320 ceos, leased from China Aircraft Leasing Company as part of its classic A320 phase out plan.

(Agencies)

Delhi-NCR malls see 55.58% fall in footfalls New Delhi, Nov 1: In the wake of an unprecedented surge in e-commerce, shopping malls are already under huge pressure and seeing a sharp decline in the footfalls to the extent of 55.58% during the ongoing festive season this year, reveals an Assocham survey. According to the just concluded survey, DelhiNCR has recorded the highest decline in footfalls at city malls. As per the study, about 120-150 malls were launched in the past two years but close to 65-70% of the spaces in many of the malls still remain empty.

Several malls, unable to attract are even shutting down. The major factors attributed to this situation are economic slowdown, online shopping, high interest rate and inflation of consumer goods items; the steep drop in shoppers have hit the malls which are already suffering from

large vacant spaces, said the Assocham paper. The Assocham research team interacted with about 720 leasing managers, representatives of malls, management, strategist, marketers and supervisors in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Dehradun. In the nine major cities, more than 59% of the total mall space remains vacant, with Delhi-NCR topping the list with 68.5%, followed by Mumbai at 65%, Ahmedabad at 61% and Chennai at 60%. According to the survey, several developers have already started giving rent-free period of up to six months for big brands to lure retailers.

While some malls are operating at 40% occupancy, others struggle with less than 20%, mainly due to poor location, poor design and poor parking facilities,

the survey found. Both retailers and consultants seem convinced that the mall magic seems to have disappeared in a puff of smoke on the back of the economic slowdown, poor revenue model, low footfalls-to-sales conversion and lack of special purpose malls, adds the survey. For some malls, even the design and construction quality is poor.

The remaining malls lie somewhere in between good performing and bad performing malls, average performers, adds the survey. A meager 8-10% of these shopping malls are running successfully in India and facing tough competition from online retailers such as Flipkart, Amazon, Jabong, Snapdeal, which handdelivers goods to the front door at minimal cost. The festival season this year has triggered a huge rise in online shopping and may cross the Rs. 55,000-crore mark, resulting in the halving of

Raghuram Rajan bats for tolerance in society ANI New Delhi, Nov 1: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuran Rajan recently asked whether ideas and behaviour that hurt a particular intellectual position or group should be banned and added that tolerance can take the offence out of the debate and instill respect.

"What kind of group sentiments, should ideas or behavior that hurt a particular intellectual position or group not be banned, possibly, but a quick resort to bans with chill all debate can anyone or everyone will be anguished by the ideas they dislike. It is far better to improve environment for ideas through tolerance and mutual respect," Rajan said, while addressing students of IIT Delhi- his alma mater on their convocation ceremony.

"Tolerance means not being so insecure about once ideas that one cannot subject them to challenge. It applies a degree of detachment that is absolutely necessary for mature debate.

Tolerance can take the offence out of the de-

bate and indeed instill the respect that I have been talking about," he said. Rajan further argued that protection of the right to question and challenge and the right to behave differently, as long as it does not hurt others seriously is essential. "Actions that physically harm anyone or show verbal contempt for any group should certainly be not allowed. For example sexual harassment whether physical or verbal have absolutely no place in society. After all any ban and certainly any vigilante act to enforce it may offend you as much or more than offence to me," Rajan added. "Toler-

ance and respect leads to a good equilibrium, where they reinforce each other. For example, rebellious youths in United States use to burn the American flag. It was calculated to upset the older generation who had fought in the America's wars. The flag was the symbol of all that they had fought for. The police many of whom were veterans of the wars use to react predictably with violence. Over time now US society have become more tolerant of flag burning. In some if group becomes more tolerant and less easily hurt, the actions that try to hurt it will diminish," he said.

footfalls in malls in places like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad etc. according to the apex industry body Assocham. The study reveals that there may be a five-fold increase in the revenue clocked in by the e-commerce websites in categories such as include mobile phones, electronics, designer furniture, home decorations, apparel, accessories, jewellery, footwear etc. The most popular among the e-commerce websites -

Snapdeal, Myntra, Flipkart, Amazon, Jabong etc have been doling out massive price cuts or discounts on purchase of popular brands of apparels, footwear, electronic goods, coinciding with the upcoming festive month. The growing trend is being attributed to the fact that all reputed Indian and international brands have tied-up with these websites and are being offered to the consumers at a much lower price than their retail prices. (Agencies)

IDFC Ltd registers net loss of Rs 1,469 crore New Delhi, Nov 1: IDFC Ltd said the company registered a net loss of Rs 1,468.83 crore on a consolidated basis for the September quarter.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 421.4 crore in the same quarter last fiscal. But total income of IDFC increased to Rs 2,512.90 crore in the quarter under review, from Rs 2,487.46 crore in the same period a year ago, the bank said in a regulatory filing today. On a stand-alone basis too, the company posted a net loss of Rs 1,411.38 crore in July-September of this fiscal as against a net profit Rs 470.15 crore a year ago. Total income (stand-alone) rose to Rs 2,458.10 crore during the September quarter as against Rs 2,427.27

crore a year earlier.

IDFC said that pursuant to the application from the company, RBI has granted its approval to utilise the balance in statutory reserves to create specific provisions against identified stressed assets. "Accordingly, the company has created specific provisions of Rs 2,500 crore on such assets," it said.

The capital adequacy ratio as on September 30, 2015 came down on account of an investment of Rs 8,785 crore in shares of its wholly-owned subsidiary, IDFC FHCL, the company said, adding that post demerger, the company's main business will involve investment activities. The IDFC stock closed at Rs 58.80 on BSE yesterday, up 0.51 per cent. (Agencies)

PAGE 10

Belkin India set to showcase new range at 'Auto Performance Show

ANI Mumbai, Nov 1: Belkin India, a leading provider of award winning products such as the mobile accessories for smart phones, tablet PCs, and laptops is set to showcase their outstanding new range of 'In-car solutions' at the Auto Performance Show in Mumbai.

Founded by Chet Pipkin, Belkin offers an extensive range of innovations designed to give computer and consumer electronics users seamless integration in their homes, cars, and on the go. The innovative collection would include new flagship products like the 'Road Rockstar', which is 4 port USB car

charger, premium car chargers with connected equipment warranty, mounts and audio and charging cables. Belkin India is committed to creating people inspired products that help customers stay seamlessly connected to the people, activities, and things one love. The accessories are designed to add convenience and safety to the user. Ranging from being sleek to bright and sporty, the collection offers a wide choice to consumers in India. The accessories are inspired by the needs of the people and aim at taking product usage to the next level of consumer satisfaction and utility. Kartik Bakshi, National Sales

Manager, Belkin India at the event said, "In today's dynamic world, where people spend considerable amount of time in their cars, browsing and accessing through different devices and applications."

Some of the variants to be showcased at the auto show are metallic car charger, dual car charger, car vent and universal mounts and premium aux and charging cables.

Jabong appoints Sanjeev Mohanty as new CEO ANI New Delhi, Nov 1: Leading online fashion retailer, Jabong, has announced that it has appointed Sanjeev Mohanty as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director on the firm. His appointment will be effective from early December 2015. Mohanty has over 20 years of leadership experience in the fashion industry, primarily at Benetton India where he worked for over 11 years including eight years as Managing Director. Prior to his role at Benetton India, Mohanty worked at Madura Garments as General Manager and Brand Head for SF Jeans and at Levi Strauss as Product Manager for the topwear category. He studied at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, where he pursued a Masters degree in Apparel Marketing & Merchandising, Fashion & Retail Marketing. Global Fashion Group (GFG), the parent company of Jabong, CEO Romain Voog, expressed delight at Mohanty's appointment, saying that he had strong leadership skills and deep understanding

of fashion. "We are delighted to have Sanjeev spearhead the development of Jabong as CEO. His strong leadership skills and deep understanding of fashion and the Indian consumer, coupled with the continued commitment from GFG's shareholders, will allow Jabong to further strengthen its position as the leading online fashion destination in India," Voog said.

Meanwhile, Mohanty said that he was excited to enter the rapidly growing online commerce sector, and there could be no better opportunity than Jabong, given its scale and consumer brand recognition. "The company is uniquely positioned as India's only large and independent online fashion marketplace, and we have identified a number of growth drivers that will allow us to deliver an

unparalleled experience to delight our customers and suppliers," he added.

Lorenzo Grabau, Chairman of GFG and CEO of Investment AB Kinnevik, the largest shareholder of GFG, said, "India is a hugely exciting market and GFG's shareholders and management remain committed to building Jabong to the benefit of its customers, employees and partners. We look forward to supporting Sanjeev as the company starts a new chapter this Diwali." Earlier this year, Jabong was found to have the leading website awareness among all online fashion stores in India according to a survey by Nielsen, a leading global information and measurement company that provides market research and insights in more than 100 countries.

DataWind bags award for innovative solution for supporting Digital India ANI New Delhi, Nov 1: A leader in low-cost Internet connectivity for emerging markets, DataWind is awarded for the most innovative solution for achievement of Digital India campaign. Working in line to bring the Internet with tremendous social and economic benefits to billions of people, DataWind was awarded at the 9th annual NTA ICT World Communication Awards 2015, New Delhi.

The award was presented

by Malcom Johnson, Deputy Secretary General, International Telecommunication Union, ITU Geneva. The award recognizes DataWind's breakthrough web delivery platform, invented by its founder and Co-Chairman Raja Singh Tuli, which is covered by over 18 U.S. and international patents.

This unique technology reduces bandwidth consumption by factors of 10x to 30x, allowing the delivery of web pages across

even congested GPRS networks in five to seven seconds (with even faster speeds on 3G and 4G networks), offered through DataWind's UbiSurfer browser on its tablets and smart phones, DataWind's products break the affordability barrier and deliver internet access across traditional mobile networks as the company executes a vision to empower the next three billion internet users.

The DataWind UbiSlate tablet computers and smart phones incorporate the most powerful technology that allows fastest internet access on the remotest locations of India's mobile networks. It also bundles unlimited Internet browsing for one year as an offer on its low cost smart phones and tablets on Reliance Communications and Telenor connections. NK Goyal, CMAI Chairman said 'CMAI NTA ICT World Communication Awards is the most sought after prestigious industry

awards to identify, acknowledge, and recognize outstanding contributions to the field of Communications, ICT and are known to provide greater encouragement and impetus to the players for their contribution in building a robust National Telecom Network." "We offer well-deserved congratulations to DataWind, which has shown outstanding research, development and innovations in the ICT sector," he added. While receiving the award DataWind's CEO, Suneet Singh Tuli said, "We are truly humbled and honored to receive this prestigious award. We are excited to get recognition on DataWind's vision for Digital India." He further thanked the CMAI for establishing the premier internationally recognized telecommunications awards in India, which this year were attended and supported

by Union Ministers, Chief Ministers and over a dozen Indian and International Ambassadors.

Features

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2

Page 11

ENVIRONMENT The Threat to Species in India Teson Abo The good news about nature is that it is showing signs of repair and renewal in thousands of small and large protected areas across India. The bad news is that such successes are proving temporary as ambitious Indians place their own commercial self-interest above those of nation. India has a staggering variety of flora and fauna, including some of the rarest species in existence on the planet. There is so far a paucity of information for the general public on the status, biology, and major threats to the endangered species of our country.

As per the latest quantitative evaluation done by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), there are 57 critically endangered species of animals in India.

As for our forests, almost anyone with an axe begins to cut timber for sale to the

highest urban bidder. Tiger, elephants and migrating birds begun to be shot, trapped and otherwise killed by free Indians who claimed it was their human right to emulate erstwhile masters. This monumental damage was not the result by some transient insanity and it is still going on.

Critically endangered is the highest risk category assigned by the IUCN Red list to wild species. There are five quantitative criteria to determine whether a taxon is threatened. A taxon is critically endangered when the best available evidence indicates that it meets any of the following criteria: 1. Populations have declined or will decrease, by greater than 80 per cent over the last 10 years.

2. Have a restricted geographical range.

3. Small population size of less than 250 individuals and continuing decline at 25 percent in 3 years or one

generation.

4. Very small or restricted population of fewer than 50 mature individuals.

5. High probability of extinction in the wild.

The above tragedies unfolded over decades but politicians and developers berated those who protested against the destruction of our ecological foundations. "India is too poor a country to care about our environmental protection".

They said as they trashed Indian ecological foundations in the name of development.

Critically Endangered Birds: 1.

White-billed Heron-Ardea insignis 2.

Spoon-billed S a n d p i p e r Eurynorhynchus pymeus 3.

Siberian CraneGrus leucogeranus 4.

White-rumped Vulture-Gyps bengalenis 5.

Indian-vultureGyps indicus 6.

Slender-billed

vulture-Gypd tenuirostris 7.

Forest OwletHeteroglaux blewitti 8.

Bengal FlorianHoubaropsis bengalensis 9.

Himalayan Quail-Ophrysia superciliosa 10.

Jerdon's CourserRhinoptilus bitorquatus 11.

Pink-headed Duck-Rhodonessa caryophyllacea 12.

Red-headed Vulture-Sarcogyps calvus 13.

Sociable Lapwing-Vanellus gregarius Critically Endangered Animals: Mammals, Raptiles, Amphibians and Fish.

1. Knifetooth SawfishAnoxypristis cuspidate 2. Four-toed TerrapinBatagur baska 3. Red-crowned Roofed Turtle-Batagur kachuga 4. Namdapha Fying squirrel-Biswamoyopterus biswasi 5. Pondicherry SharkCarcharhinus hemiodon 6. Large Rock-rat-

New research decodes bird family tree

A study published in the journal Nature in coordination with Yale University resolved the bird family tree, something that has never been accomplished by scientists. It shows that all land birds diverged early on from a group that includes vultures and hawks, and indeed that all birds evolved from a group of dinosaurs that included the Tyrannosaurus rex and Velociraptor.

"These birds just diversified rapidly after dinosaurs went extinct," said Emily Moriarty Lemmon, assistant professor in the Department of Biological Science at FSU. "Now that these relationships have been identified, we can more accurately study how color vision, feather struc-

ture and many other bird traits have evolved through time."

The researchers also showed that owls are closely related to toucans and hornbills and that falcons are closely related to parrots and songbirds. The study also confirmed that a nocturnal nightjar - a bird with long wings, short legs and very short bills - is related to the tiny and colorful hummingbird. This is the first time scientists have been able to show a complete family tree for birds.

Birds are the only living descendants of dinosaurs. But until now, scientists really had no idea how quickly they had spun off into different species. In fact, after dinosaurs died out, more than 10,000 bird species

evolved in only a few million years. In addition to showing the relationships between land birds, researchers also found that it was very rare for early bird species to change between terrestrial and aquatic lifestyles. Researchers concluded that nearly all water-based birds, such as penguins, pelicans and gulls, shared a common ancestor.

Scientists were able to complete this family tree because of a genetic sampling technique developed

by Alan and Emily Lemmon at FSU's Center for Anchored Phylogenomics. The technique targets a few hundred key locations on each genome - there are thousands of genes in the full

genome - that are present in all of the species and contain sufficient DNA sequence variation to uncover the relationships among organisms. Past attempts to build a full family tree, or phylogeny, for birds have been only partially successful. Other scientists have attempted to do so by using the full genomic sequence for a few dozen birds, which is both time consuming and extremely expensive.

The Lemmons and their collaborators, in contrast, analyzed several hundred genes for four times the number of bird species at a fraction of the cost of the previous study and successfully uncovered the bird family tree. "There is so much diversity in birds that you have to look at a large number of species to really get a clear picture," said Alan Lemmon, associate professor of scientific computing. In addition to the Lemmons, other authors on the study are Richard Prum, Daniel Field, and Jeffrey Townsend of Yale University, Jacob Berv of Cornell University and Alex Dornburg of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. The research was supported by funding from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Yale University and the National Science Foundation. Courtesy: sciencedaily.org.

Critically endangered new gorgeous coffee tree species Amid the challenging terrain of north-western Honduras, where Dr. Kelly's team faced rugged and steep forest areas cut across here and there by a few trails, a gorgeous tree with cherry-like fruits was discovered. Being about 10 metres (33 ft) high and covered with cream-colored flowers, it was quickly sorted into the Coffee family (Rubiaceae), but it was its further description that took much longer. Eventually, it was named Sommera cusocoana, with its specific name stemming from its so far only known locality, the Cusuco National Park.

The study is available in the open-access journal PhytoKeys. During a plant diversity study in the Cusuco National Park, conducted by Drs. Kelly, Dietzch and co-

workers as a part of a broader survey by Operation Wallacea, an international organisation dealing with biodiversity and conservation management research programmes. A couple of curious findings in the past decade provide a strong incentive to further work. The place turns out to be not only of high biodiversity, but to also contain rare and hitherto unknown plant and animal species.

For instance, the tree Hondurodendron (from Greek, 'Honduras Tree') and the herbaceous plant Calathea carolineae are another two endemic species discovered as a result of the Operation Wallacea survey.

In 2013, two individuals of another unknown, 10-metre high (33 ft) tree with cream-

colored flowers and red, cherry-like fruits were found

by Daniel Kelly and Anke Dietzsch from Trinity College, University of Dublin, Ireland. The two were aided by local guide Wilmer Lopez. The multinational collaboration did not stop then and there. Although the scientists quickly figured that the tree belonged to the Coffee family, they needed some additional help to further identify their discovery.

Thus, they were joined by two leading specialist in this plant group, first Charlotte Taylor from Missouri Botanical Garden and then David Lorence from the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Hawaii. It was actually David who was the first to recognise the unknown tree as a member of

the Sommera genus, a group of nine known species of trees and shrubs.

Later, the team decided to name the new plant Sommera cusucoana to celebrate its singular locality, the Cusuco National Park.

"Sadly, there has been extensive logging in the vicinity in recent years, and we fear for the future of our new species," the authors stressed. "According to the criteria of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), it must be regarded as Critically Endangered." "We hope that the publication of this and other discoveries will help to galvanize support for the conservation of this unique and beautiful park and its denizens," they concluded.

Courtesy: sciencedaily.org

Cremnomys Elvira 7. Andaman White -tooth Shrew-Crocidura andamanesis 8. Jenkin's ShrewCrocidura Jenkinsi 9.

Nicobar-ShrewCrocidura nicobarica 10.

LeatherbackDermochelys coriacea 11. Sumatran RhinocerosDicerorhinus sumatrensis 12. Hawksbill TurtleEretmochelys imbricataFejervarya murthii 13. Fish-eating CrocodileGavialis gangeticus 14. Ganges Shark-Glyphis gangeticus-Indirana gundia 15. Deccan Labo-Labeo potail-Macrixalus kottigeharensis 16.

Kondana RatMillardia Kondanaphilautus Chalazodes 17. Pygmy Hog-porcula salvania 18. Narrowsnout Sawfishpritis zijsron-Rhacophorus pseudomalabaricus 19. Javan Rhinoceros-Rhinoceros sondaicus 20. Malabar civet-Viverra

civettina.

Some people question: In land where people are dying why should we squander time and money to save wildlife and environment?

Particle physicists are answering that question for us now; together with geologists, botanists, zoologists, mathematicians and evolu-

tionists. For all our technological advances, all our giant leaps of knowledge, we are still intellectual midgets in a world of impossible advanced natural system. Even the mechanism that causes one solitary flower to bloom, for instance, has not yet been replicated in laboratory?

We need moths, bees and butterflies to pollinate flowers. We need squirrels, monkeys and birds to disperse seeds. We need termites to recycle the cellulose in dead plants so those nutrients can be returned to the earth.

Without the gardeners of our fragile Eden, life on earth would be impossible.

Arrival of Amur Falcon in Manipur's Tamenglong district Amur Falcon has started arriving in Manipur's Tamenglong district. The migratory bird was seen arriving in the district recently, officials said. As told by Range Officer Tamenglong district of Manipur Forest Department, Kh Hitler, over a lakh of the migratory bird were spotted at the district headquarters and Barak by Tamenglong locals. The number is expected to increase in coming days, he added. The migratory bird, from Siberia and China enroute to South Africa will remain in the state till

the end of November. Officials of the forest department in the districts have been conducting widespread awareness campaigns and posters have been put up to prevent killing or poaching of the migratory bird. A dance festival celebrating the visit of Amur Falcon was held under the aegis of local clubs and departments at Tamenglong, the Range Officer stated. The bird feeds on the rats, grasshoppers and other insects thereby relieving crops of damage from pests.

Tamenglong CMO and Dis-

trict Wild Life Warden Dr Chambo Gonmei have also assured full protection of the bird during its stay in the state. The step has been initiated after the large scale killing of Amur Falcons which sojourned in Tamenglong for at least a month till end of November every year before flying over the Central Indian plain and Arabian Sea to finally arrive at the Eastern African countries. The bird also sojourned in parts of Nagaland and the authority have reportedly taken up necessary steps to control the killing of Amur Falcon during win-

ter in their state. Amur Falcons were being targeted in thousands by hunters at Tamenglong particularly in the Barak range when they visit the hill district and contiguous areas including Assam and Nagaland since past two week. The birds continue to eat winged termites during their sojourn in hill district. (Agencies)

Annual Antarctic ozone hole larger and formed later in 2015 The 2015 Antarctic ozone hole area was larger and formed later than in recent years, said scientists from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Recently, the ozone hole expanded to its peak of 28.2 million square kilometers (10.9 million square miles), an area larger than the continent of North America.

Throughout October, the hole remained large and set many area daily records. Unusually cold temperature and weak dynamics in the Antarctic stratosphere this year resulted in this larger ozone hole. In comparison, last year the ozone hole peaked at 24.1 million square kilometers (9.3 million square miles) on Sept. 11, 2014. Compared to the 1991-2014 period, the 2015 ozone hole average area was the fourth largest.

"While the current ozone hole is larger than in recent years, the area occupied by this year's hole is consistent with our understanding of ozone depletion chemistry and consistent with colder than average weather conditions in Earth's stratosphere,

which help drive ozone depletion," said Paul A. Newman, chief scientist for Earth Sciences at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

The ozone hole is a severe depletion of the ozone layer above Antarctica that was first detected in the 1980s. The Antarctic ozone hole forms and expands during the Southern Hemisphere spring (August and September) because of the high levels of chemically active forms of chlorine and bromine in the stratosphere. These chlorine- and brominecontaining molecules are largely derived from human-made chemicals that steadily increased in Earth's atmosphere up through the early 1990s.

"This year, our balloonborne instruments measured nearly 100 percent ozone depletion in the layer above South Pole Station, Antarctica, that was 14 to 19 kilometers (9 to 12 miles) above Earth's surface," said Bryan Johnson, a researcher at NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. "During September we typically see a rapid ozone decline, ending with about 95 percent depletion in that

layer by October 1. This year the depletion held on an extra two weeks resulting in nearly 100 percent depletion by October 15."

The ozone layer helps shield Earth from potentially harmful ultraviolet radiation that can cause skin cancer, cataracts, and suppress immune systems, as well as damage plants. The large size of this year's ozone hole will likely result in increases of harmful ultraviolet rays at Earth's surface, particularly in Antarctica and the Southern Hemisphere in the coming months.

Ozone depletion is primarily caused by humanmade compounds that release chlorine and bromine gases in the stratosphere. Beginning in 1987, the internationally agreed-upon Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer has regulated these ozone-depleting compounds, such as chlorinecontaining chlorofluorocarbons used in refrigerants and bromine-containing halon gases used as fire suppressants. Because of the Protocol, atmospheric levels of these ozone depleting compounds are slowly declining. The ozone hole is expected to recover back to

1980 levels in approximately 2070.

This year, scientists recorded the minimum thickness of the ozone layer at 101 Dobson units on October 4, 2015, as compared to 250-350 Dobson units during the 1960s, before the Antarctic ozone hole occurred.

Dobson units are a measure of the overhead amount of atmospheric ozone. The satellite ozone data come from the DutchFinnish Ozone Monitoring Instrument on NASA's Aura satellite, launched in 2004, and the Ozone Monitoring and Profiler Suite instrument on the NASA-NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite, launched in 2011. NOAA scientists at the South Pole station monitor the ozone layer above that location by using a Dobson spectrophotometer and regular ozone-sonde balloon launches that record the thickness of the ozone layer and its vertical distribution.

Chlorine amounts are estimated using NOAA and NASA ground measurements and observations from the Microwave Limb Sounder aboard NASA's Aura satellite. These satellites continue a data record dating back to the early 1970s.

(Agencies)

DIBRUGARH, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1

ICC statement

ASSENG/2015/64205

Sapekhati United Astle FC blank Ratanpur Dreams Club 3-0 Altab Hussain memorial football tourney gets underway in Sonari ET Correspondent Sonari, Nov 1: The Altab Hussain memorial football tournament got underway at the Sonari public playground under the aegis of Charaideo District Sports Association. The tournament is organized in memory of Altab Hussain, who was a noted sports organiser of the state. In the inaugural match, Sapekhati United Astle Football Club defeated Ratanpur Dreams Club 30. The first goal was scored by Ajit Rajwar in the first half as his shot entered the net after getting deflected from one of the defender’s foot.

Sapekhati led 1-0 till the lemon break. Tinku Bhumij and Nripen

Smith to move down to No. 4 for NZ Test series

ANI Sydney: In a bid to shield Australia's fragile top-order, captain Steven Smith has confirmed that he will move down to No.4 for the upcoming three-match Test series against New Zealand. The move will see experienced batsmen David Warner and Smith providing support to inexperienced opener Joe Burns and new No. 3 Usman Khawaja. Smith continued his stellar run displayed against India last summer in the subsequent tour of West Indies and England this year. He averaged 71.90 in No.3 position and amassed brilliant scores of 199, 215 and 143 in addition to couple of fifties.

According to reports, Smith said that breaking the more experienced players up a little bit in the order appeared to be the right thing to do but added that he would go back to his position if the plan doesn't work. While Burns will be playing his third Test match, Khawaja will make his tenth appearance in the longest format of the game when Australia will take on Brendon McCullum's side at the Gabba on Thursday.

Bhumij scored one goal each in the final moments of the match to register a 3-0 victory for Sapekhati.

The match was officiated by Lalit Chabukdhara as the main referee. He was assisted by Rahul Mullick, Ratul Saikia and Pranab

Bora as assistant referees.

Earlier, the players and match officials were introduced to Imran Hussain, brother of Altab Hussain, former national player Anil Buragohain, Pabitra Dutta, Tralokya Gogoi and Working President of Sonari Press

Club Dushmanta Kumar Nath. Son of Altab Hussain and advocate Zakir Hussain also spoke during the inaugural session of the tournament. Tomorrow’s match – Borhat Japisojia Football Club Vs Ramnagar New Generation Club.

DC appeals for peaceful conduct of tournament Bishnu Rana Tezu, Nov 1: Against the backdrop of the first ever 14th Tadar Tang Memorial Football Tournament at Lohit, Tamiyo Tatak DC expressed hope of displaying good sense of sportsmanship from the teams and also appealed to the District Sports Officers, team managers and coaches of the respective teams to uphold code of conduct, ensure discipline and restraint from any sorts of indiscipline to maintain the glory of the prestigious tournament. “Each team manager, coach and official should administer their team to maintain discipline at respective accommodation, fooding hall, in and outside the ground and set best example as being a good team”, the DC said.

The district has got the opportunity to host a prominent tournament where 18 teams are participating, the DC further informed. Highlighting overall deployment of security, VP Surya SP Lohit said that everywhere including ground, accommodation, fooding halls and in the township IRBN, APP and APPBN personnel

ANI Kochi: Chennaiyin FC and Kerala Blasters played out a 1-1 draw in their Indian Super League clash at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi.

Brazilian professional Elano Blumer put the tourists ahead with a clinical spot-kick in the 34th minute, but a rejuvenated Blasters came back strongly in the second half as they restored

parity through Chris Dagnall's equaliser 15 seconds after the break. Although Blasters had a golden chance to secure the lead when they won a penalty in the 52nd minute, Chennaiyin goalkeeper Karanjit Singh made a brilliant save by thwarting Josu Prieto's low attempt.

With the result, Chennaiyin are fifth while Blasters are languishing down at eighth in the points table.

Mirza-Hingis end 2015 with ninth WTA title ANI Singapore: Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis ended their dream run of 2015 on a high, winning their ninth women's doubles title.

The top seeded pair continued their dominating form as they defeated the eighth seeded pair of G. Muguruza and C. Suarez Navarro in straight sets 6-

0, 6-3 to clinch the WTA Finals title here. The pair had already bagged 2015 WTAYear-End number one doubles ranking on Saturday. In addition to the WTA Finals, Mirza and Hingis have already won eight women's doubles titles this year, including two Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon and the US Open, since joining forces in March at the BNP Paribas Open.

Assam girl to represent India in Badminton have been engaged to prevent any untoward incident during the tournament.

DMO Dr S Chai Pul also briefed about adequate arrangement of medical facilities to administer first aid or to attend to any emergency during the tournament. The district administration has also promulgated 133 CrPC to restrict carrying of sharp weapon, Dao, Khukiri and arms and issued executive order against open sale of India Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and for closure of wine shops from 6 pm up to 10 am. Meanwhile, a Peace and Action committee has also been constituted during the meeting headed by local MLA, DC,

SP and team managers to resolve any issues cropping up during the tournament. Officials and member from Arunachal Pradesh Football Association, officials from Sports and Youths Affair have also participated during the interaction meeting at DC conference hall this evening. Rajesh Tacho Minister Health and Family Welfare, Padi Richo President APCC (I) and Takam Sanjay President Arunachal Pradesh Football Association have consented to grace the occasion as chief guest, guest of honour and special guest for the opening tournament scheduled to be held from 2 November.

cil at Burikhawang playground in Khowang today.

Altogether, 16 teams participated in the tournament. For TRDSC, Debasish Kundu opened the account for his team in the 6th minute. Three minutes later, Nobin Chawra fired another salvo and scored the second goal for his team making the score 2-0.

Santosh Chutia of TRDSC

scored the third goal in the 21st minute. Bicky Maji of DFCC pulled back one for his team in the 21st minute.

DFCC player Borkhab Das scored the second goal for his team in the 34th minute. Post lemon break, the TRDSC was leading 3-2. DFCC scored their third goal through Bicky Maji in the 54th minute tying the score.

PAGE 12

Chennaiyin hold Blasters to 1-1 draw in ISL clash

ET Correspondent Dibrugarh, Nov 1: Ningshi Block Hazarika is ranked No. 1 in the All India Junior Girls' Doubles (under-19) category. Recently, she won the Championship titles All India Level in Dehradun and Chandigarh held in September and October respectively in the under-19 girls'

doubles category. She has been selected in team India for the World Junior Badminton Championship 2015 scheduled to be held in Peru, South America from 4th to 15th November, 2015. A team of 19 players would be leaving for Peru tomorrow from Delhi. Ningshi is the first Assamese girl to be repre-

senting India at such a prestigious championship in the junior category. She has been undergoing training at the Pulella Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad. She has been in this academy since two years. She is a student of BA Sociology Honours at Jesus and Mary College, Delhi University.

Coutinho inspires Liverpool comeback win over Chelsea

ANI London: Philippe Coutinho scored twice as Liverpool bounced back to claim an emphatic 3-1 win over defending champions Chelsea in their Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. Although Ramires

TRDSC trash DFCC 6-3 Sports Correspondent Dibrugarh, Nov 1: Tinsukia Railway Divisional Sports Club tamed Dibrugarh Football Coaching Centre 6-3 in the first Gunaram Dhekial and Subha Baruah All Assam Football Championship 2015 organised by Khowang Sports Association in association with Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Coun-

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"At the assessment (in Chennai), it was revealed that the amount of elbow extension in all of Asif's deliveries was well within the 15-degree level of tolerance permitted under the ICC regulations."

However, soon after, TRDSC responded with their fourth goal through Hirandip Moran in the 57th minute. Shyam Mora of TRDSC came strongly and scored two more goals in the 70th and 75th minutes. Tomorrow, Namrup Town Club will lock horns with Lingrijan Tea Estate, Naharkatiya in the first quarterfinal.

gave the hosts an early lead in the fourth minute, Coutinho restored parity for Liverpool in first-half stoppage time before putting his side ahead in the 74th minute. Subsequently, Liverpool made it 3-1 when substitute Christian

Benteke drilled a low shot into the bottom-left corner six minutes before the final whistle. With the win, a rejuvenated Liverpool under the leadership of Jurgen Klopp handed Chelsea their sixth defeat in 11 league games.

Ronaldo strikes as Real down Palmas 3-1 to remain atop La Liga table ANI London: Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 13th goal of the season as Real Madrid outclassed Las Palmas 3-1 to stay on top of the La Liga table. Isco put the hosts ahead in the fourth minute before Portuguese international Ronaldo doubled the lead 10 minutes later with a superb header. Although Palmas pulled one back through Hernan Santana's header in the 38th minute, Jese made it 3-1 for Real two minutes before half-time.

Meanwhile, Barcelona saw off Getafe 2-0 to keep the pace with table leaders Real with 24 points. However, an inferior goal difference keeps them behind Rafa Benitez's team in the points table.

Muolhoi FC edge past Rolling FC 5-3

Assam Police (Blues) edge past Nagaland Police ET Correspondent Jorhat, Nov 1: Football lovers said, it was one of the most exciting and interesting matches played so far at this venue, as the brethren of both states Assam and Nagaland, Assam Police

52nd ATPA Shield Football Tournament (Blues) team and Nagaland Police team played out a well contested match at the Bapuji Stadium, Mariani

near here today. At the end, Assam Police defeated Nagaland Police 5-3 via tie breakers. Right from the word go, the host team Assam Police (Blues) tried to dominate at its home ground in spite of dozens of miss-kicks even from within the penalty box. On the other hand, Nagaland Police equally tried to put on a technically sound game especially with an excellent goalkeeper in Senti Maren Ao who punched and blocked every shot coming from the Assam Police cops till the

91st minute. Assam Police penalty scorers were Josef Maslai, Kukbo Rabha, N Bikash Singh, Kajazak Rongmei, MN Gam Phoiba Singh while Nagaland Police penalty scorers were Senti Yanger, Chimi Thoung, Ninga Thoung with Lima Kunjik missing his kick.

Former three time Nagaland CM-cum-MP Nephio Rio, former Nagaland Home Minister cum MLA Imkong Imchem, MLA Namre N Chang, MLA Dr Neiphezo, Nagaland Olympic Associa-

tion Gen. Secy Abu Metha, Nagaland BJP (state president) Dr Subba Ao, Naga Ho Ho Gen Secy. MM Chaka Chang Aoidise, Nagaland Peoples' Party Gen Secy Lipok Pongcher, Naga Ho Ho Adviser Kevisletuo Angami were among the guests from Nagaland side to witness the historic match, while Koliabor MP cum Titabor District Sports Association president and son of Assam chief minister, Mr Gaurav Gogoi, Mariani MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi were among the guests who were present along with over 12000 spectators at the Bapuji Stadium.

ET Correspondent Haflong, Nov 01 : Muolhoi FC defeated Rolling FC 5-3 in a closely contested match of the 11th CEM’s Cup Carnival invitational football tournament, 2015 organized

by Dima Hasao Sports Association here today at N.L. Daulagupu Sports complex in Haflong. The first goal of the match came in the 11th minute

when Sanjobi Rai of Rolling FC converted to give them the lead. Muolhoi FC drew level in the 32nd minute when Michael Hmar found the back of the net in the 32nd minute.

However, Rolling were back in the lead again quickly with Shakti Rai finding the back of the net in the 37th minute.

Muolhi FC, however scored two quick goals in

39th and 43rd minute via Michael Hmar and Laringsan strikes to go into the halftime break 32. In the second half, Muolhoi FC added two more goals in the 78th and 82nd minute to make it 52. Rolling FC added another in the 84th minute to make it 5-3. Tomorrow, Morning Star FC will lock horns with East Imphal DFA.

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