Tuesday, 13 dec 2016

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INDIA, INDONESIA TO PRIORITISE DEFENCE TIES: PM MODI

Vol. II

Issue 145

Dibrugarh, Tuesday, December 13, 2016

VALLEY OF TATTOOSArunachal Pradesh

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Price -

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Itanagar gears up to be in the final Smart City list A Staff Reporter ITANAGAR, 12 DEC A meeting was held today in the office of Deputy Commissioner Sandeep Kumar Singh, wherein the consultants from Price Water House Cooper (PWC) held detailed discussions with all district heads to chalk out strategy for the preparation of the Smart City development.

Deputy Commissioner held detailed discussions with all district heads to chalk out strategy for the preparation of the Smart City development

DC stressed upon all the departments to furnish pending data at the earliest

Itanagar Municipal Council and Town Planning are the nodal departments in the smart city proposal to be assisted by PWC

As Itanagar has been gearing up to be in the final smart city list for the implementation of the project, the DC stressed upon all the departments to furnish pending data at the earliest.

The DC further stressed that lack of data should not act as a hindrance in the Itanagar Smart City Proposal, adding that we should be determined to make Itanagar a smart city.

He further informed that Itanagar Municipal Council and Town Planning are the nodal departments in the smart city proposal to be assisted by PWC. IMC CMEO Habung Lampung informed that collection of data is the most

Smart city proposal would be done in three rounds First Round: From December Second Round: From Third Round: 2016 to January 2017. The team would interact with the public as well as the line departments to identify various issues. important requirement as of now and requested all the departments to cooperate in timely manner.

January 2017 to February 2017. The team would be engaged in prioritizing and analyzing the issues.

He further informed that to connect with the masses, the IMC would very soon start

MLA Nikh Kamin to flag off half marathon at Bordumsa Laxman Sarma BORDUMSA, Dec 12 As a part of Swacch Bharat Abhiyan, the Bordumsa Sub Divisional Administration is all set to organize a half marathon run aimed to accelerate efforts to achieve universal sanitation and cleanliness in the town. The half marathon which is scheduled to begin on 15 December will be flagged off

by Nikh Kamin, MLA 49 Bordumsa –Diyun Constituency. Sounding euphemism about the event, Nikh Kamin appealed to all local people cutting

ET CAPSULES

across all age groups to participate in the event.

The incumbent MLA stressing on the physical demand of the event said, “The half marathon is not just about raising awareness about cleanliness but also it is a test of physical endurance, so save your date.” Breaking all barriers of age, community and gender, the event is expected to receive an overwhelming response from the people of Bordumsa. “We are pretty excited with the positive responses from the local people and we are expecting huge turnout for the event.

The half marathon run is open to all youth participants,” said of the organisers of the event. The half marathon will be flagged off at Bordumsa Playground and the participants will cover routes, covering Gidding Tinali and other important landmarks of the town which will finally conclude at Christian Mohong with an awareness talk, coupled with a social service activity.

Bounty of prizes await for the winners as sources close to the organizing committee reveal that winners will potentially walk away with deserving prizes.

From February 2017 to March 2017. The team would design the solution for citizens.

with citizen engagement and social media groups through which the team would interact with people, various

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Told Jimmy Anderson to move on: Virat Kohli

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OPERATION PHENBIRO

associations etc and ask for their suggestion and listing of their needs and problems which would give a general view/ priorities of the people towards Smart City proposal.

During the meeting, Gaurav Jaisingnia, PWC Consultant gave a power point presentation on smart cities mission highlighting the various aspects of smart city proposal.

He informed that the smart city proposal would be done in three rounds. The first round would be held from December 2016 to January 2017, during which the team would interact with the public as well as the line departments to identify various issues. The second round would be held from January 2017 to February 2017, where the team would be engaged in prioritizing and analyzing the issues. The third round would be held from February 2017 to March 2017, wherein the team would design the solution for citizens.

Later, various departments provided their suggestions/ feedbacks on the smart city proposal. The DMO Yupia also stressed on the need to have a safe biomedical waste disposal system.

Cops find Rs 1.5-cr worth new notes in Guwahati businessman’s house This is the first such big recovery of a huge amount of new currency notes

Daring raid by Changlang Battalion of Dao Division destroys NSCN (K) Camp ET Bureau Changlang, 12 Dec In the series of unabated operations against rogue Indian Insurgent Groups, the Changlang Battalion under the aegis of the Dao Division delivered yet another scathing attack on NSCN (K) by destroying a well established camp in the dense forests near

Phenbiro. In a daring 48 hour operation, security forces struck and destroyed the core activity camp of the banned group at 1400 hours on 11 Dec near Phenbiro Village in Changlang.

A large quantity of warlike stores to include radio set with spare battery, live AK 47 rounds , Insurgent Combat Uniforms , Combat belts , combat backpack and a large

quantity of rations were recovered and destroyed along with three living shelters and a sentry post. The operation is a major setback to the NSCN ( K ) group codenamed Himalayan present in the area and greatly alleviate the suffering of the extortion plagued local population in the area. The recovered stores are being handed over to police authorities at Manmao.

Chief Minister Sonowal accelerates work to make Majuli a developed District TOWARDS A DEVELOPED MAJULI

Two days ago, the Assam Police CID had recovered new notes of Rs 2000 denomination worth Rs 80 lakh from the house of another businessman in the Hatigaon area of Guwahati

ET Bureau Guwahati, 12 Dec The Assam Police CID on Monday in Guwahati recovered at least Rs 1.5 crore comprising of currency notes of Rs 2000 and new Rs 500 denominations from the residence of a city-based businessman, the first major haul since demonetisation, with the Income Tax (I-T) department now looking into

whether it was black money or genuine.

“We have so far recovered currency notes of Rs 2000 and new Rs 500 worth at least Rs 1.5 crore from the residence of Harjit Singh Bedi, a businessman who owns a restaurant and bar in the city.

Contd. on Page 3

AOD COMMEMORATES 115TH DIGBOI REFINERY DAY

Teok Town Committee to ban plastic bags ET Correspondent Teok, Dec 12 :Teok Town committee will ban the use of plastic carrying bag in the town area from 1st January 2017 as a part of the programme of the Swacch Bharat. In this connection Teok Town committee chairman Mr Rafique Uz Zaman today release and circulate an official order and forwarded the same to Deputy Commissioner of Jorhat district for further departmental support. The Teok Town committee chairman Mr Rafique Uz Zaman appealled to all for well implementation of the plan .

5.00

A committee will be formed under Majuli Deputy Commissioner, with representatives of civil society organizations and departments involved in developmental works in Majuli.

A Staff Reporter Guwahati, 12 Dec Development of Majuli Charing a review meeting today on the various developmental activities and conservation efforts of Majuli at the conference hall of CM Secretariat, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that all government officials must work with full honesty and dedication to fulfill their responsibilities towards making Majuli a developed district and any lapse in this regard would not be tolerated.

The significant day of this historic industrial installation was commemorated in unique ways like the unveiling of a “rhinoceros” inspired by the logo of ‘Make in India. News at Page 2

In the presence of representatives of student organizations, civil society, press etc of Majuli, Chief Minister reviewed the pace of different development works and conservation measures as demanded in a memorandum from these organizations submitted to Chief Minister on

The committee will meet every 15 days to review the progress of various developmental works in Majuli and monitor the quality of work of the ongoing projects.

Sonowal directed officials all Department to visit Majuli immediately to assess developmental works and complete all pending work at the earliest.

September 7, 2016.

Reacting to allegations of slow pace of work regarding repairing of embankments and building new embankments, Chief Minister Sonowal said that Brahmaputra Board and Water Resource Department must work in close coordination to effectively manage floods ravaging the island year after year.

Observing that only 3 months are there to complete all embankment and flood related activities before April, Sonowal directed Hemanta Narzary, Commissioner and Secretary, Water Resource Department to proceed on a visit to Majuli on 14 December, 2016 along with a team of officials from Water Resource and Brahmaputra Board to make a ground survey of the ongoing projects and fix a timeframe for completion of the works.

Saying that a committee would be set up with members of different organizations and civil society representatives and Deputy Commissioner, Majuli as coordinator which would review the progress of development activities after every 15 days, Chief Minister directed the Water Resource Department and Brahmaputra Board to blacklist all contractors who fail to complete work within time and who deliver substandard quality.

Reiterating the government’s commitment to set up a Water Resource Complex in Majuli, Chief Minister directed the officials of the department to make all arrangements for foundation stone laying of the Complex on 1st January 2017 which would be a New Year gift to the people of Majuli.

Contd. on Page 4

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DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13

P2 Aries Let your sensual, nurturing instincts shine through, Aries. Rely on your sixth sense. If things start to get rough, remember that you have the ability to keep your cool. Not only is this an extremely important tool but it's also essential to maintaining any sort of stability in the situation. Keep your footing at all times. Your sanity depends on it.

Taurus A solid grounding is apt to be extremely important to you today, Taurus. Hearts may be broken or won, depending on how well you play your cards. Keep in mind that the slow and steady contender is most likely going to win this race. All the talk in the world will get you nowhere. Today is about quality and action. Shoddy efforts will yield shoddy results.

Gemini Regardless of how much the storm seems to be raging out of control, you will be able to handle it, Gemini. Have confidence in your grounded nature.

There's a reason why you take the time to address the details and carefully plan your moves. Today is one day when you will see the rewards of your diligent actions, especially in love, beauty, and your deepest emotions.

Cancer Hold on to your hat, Cancer, and be ready for some action.

You're coming to a critical point in your emotional cycle when your heart feels heavy. You may feel pinned down by a huge weight, like you're being sucked into quicksand. Grab a branch and pull yourself out. Rise above the current situation with the help of a lofty perspective.

Leo In a string of intense emotional dramas, the last thing you need is one more, Leo. Unfortunately, it looks like you're going to get just that. Once again, an incredible romantic scenario is coming to a head, and your emotions are in turmoil.

Hold still, wait for the hit, and then proceed. If you have the feeling that you're going to blow up at someone, simply walk away from the situation.

Virgo There's a great deal of grounding energy in your world today, Virgo, which might work to smother your fire. Whatever happens, don't let the embers burn out. One of the assets you bring to the group is a strong dynamism that gives people the courage to change. Be a fighter in the ring. Remember that at the end of the day, you need only be satisfied with the performance of one person - you.

Libra Take pressing matters to the hilt today, Libra, especially when it comes to romantic issues and emotional needs. You have all the data you need to make a valid point. You have a whole battalion of facts to back you up, so fire at will. Your feelings are strong and intense. Don't ignored them under any circumstances. Go with your gut instincts before you trust anything else.

Scorpio As you try to express your opinions today, you may have the feeling that someone is kicking sand in your face, Scorpio.

Like a kid on the beach, you have nothing but the raw elements to use to defend yourself.

Use one of your greatest gifts - the power of your mind - to combat the opposing force.

Your ability to outsmart others will be your most powerful tool.

Sagittarius Your boat is likely to be rocked today, Sagittarius, to the point where you and all of your belongings could go overboard. Be prepared to swim ashore.

Grounding and stability are the keys to maintaining a healthy attitude, especially when it comes to ever-fluctuating emotions. Issues regarding the home and people's possessions are likely to surface in a dramatic manner.

Listen to your heart for the answers.

Capricorn Calm down and get centered, Capricorn. This is an extremely sensual day that's likely to pique your emotions.

You're apt to receive input from each one of your senses, so keep these channels open and available for new information that's trying to break through. Don't be hasty. You're better off taking a reserved, receptive approach today.

Aquarius Today is your day to shine in every way, Aquarius. There's a concentration of energy in your favor, so act boldly and without hesitation. Your emotions are leading the way, and your heart is barely a half a step behind. Follow these forces like the Pied Piper. Let this be the start of a wild ride on a whole new roller coaster of adventures. The time is right for you to lead.

Pisces Your heart and emotions are on the same page, Pisces, but they may not be on the page you want them to be. It could be that you're reminiscing about an event from the past. What was once a happy set of encounters now leaves you feeling like there are thorns in your side. Focus on the present and let the past become history.

AOD Commemorates 115th Digboi Refinery Family falls prey to a mysterious disease; Day in the Spirit of "Make In Digboi" Laxman Sharma DIGBOI, Dec 12: The AOD fraternity observed the 115th Digboi Refinery Day with pride and fulfilment here at the historic Oil City of Digboi in Tinsukia District.

The Digboi Refinery which was commissioned on 11 December 1901 completes its 115th anniversary in 2016. The significant day of this historic industrial installation was commemorated in unique ways like the unveiling of a “rhinoceros” inspired by the logo of ‘Make in India’, Inauguration of a CT scan machine at AOD Hospital and a formal function for felicitation of erstwhile heads of AOD. Mritunjoy Pramanik, the Executive Director (AOD) unveiled the installation of 2.5 tons Rhinoceros at the

entrance of the main administrative office of Indian Oil’s Assam Oil Division in presence of H S Dutta GM (TS&HSE), L N Phukan GM (T), DGMs, Heads of the Collectives and employees.

The project of designing this Rhinoceros from old nuts, bolts, locks, keys, springs, bearings balls, sprockets, chains, iron rods and other redundant spares, found in the 1920s vintage General Workshop of AOD was conceived by the Mechanical Maintenance team of N J Bora (CMNM), D P Prasad (SMNM) and Bijoy Saikia (AMML). Makram Ali, Ex-employee put in his creative effort with assistance of contract workers of General workshop. AOD employees expressed deep appreciation and joy on this installation made up

of 7039 spares, which not only added to the beautification of the township but also stood as a mark of respect for the contribution of the erstwhile employees.

Meanwhile, a major CSR highlight of the day was the inauguration of the 16 Slice Computerized Axial Tomography Unit (CT Scan Machine) at the IOCL (AOD) Hospital by Mritunjoy Pramanik ED (AOD) in presence of a host of in-house dignitaries. The Medical team headed by Dr P C Goswami CMO (O&G) and other medical staff organized the inauguration of this vital addition to the medical facilities available to employees and general public at AOD hospital. Dr. Utpal Saikia, ACMO (Rad/OH) as the head of the radiology department led the

setting up, training and execution of this high-end medical equipment.

However, in a formal function organized in the Golden Jubilee complex here this afternoon , employees gathered for a ‘Thanksgiving & Pledge’ function and respectfully remembered the pioneers as well as all other ex-employees of Digboi Refinery, on whose hard work and limitless sacrifice, Digboi Refinery completed its long and proud journey of 115 years since 11th December, 1901. The employees pledged to dedicate themselves to working towards retaining the glory of the historic Digboi Refinery, to sustain its progressive growth and towards the overall development of India and Indian Oil.

claims two lives

Thousands throng to Jorhat Book Fair ET CORRESPONDENT Jorhat, Dec 12: As the ongoing 11th Jorhat Book Fair enters its 8th day, avid young readers are seen thronging to the literary fair in huge numbers buying books of different genres. Jorhat which boasts as the educational capital of Assam is characteristically drawing the attention of readers cutting across all age groups to the Jorhat Book Fair. "The turnout has been

gradual but certainly steady and especially we are delighted with the overwhelming response of people from diverse age groups,” said Dr. Paran Baruah, working president of the organising committee.

This is notably a positive sign notwithstanding as Porag Bhuyan, a book stall owner said, “It could be clearly seen that despite current internet

surge, book reading habit is not fading away.” "Books like Parthana Saikia's novel Jatadhari, Gitali Bora's Buddha Jaya are receiving positive sales; Jorhat readers had a selective mind, they are not going with popularity of a book," added Porag Bhuyan.

"Based on a true story of forest man of India, Jadhav Payeng, Gobin Kumar Khound's "Romyeng" is also getting a good response," said

another seller Ananda Bora.

Readers who are looking forward to buy books at discounted rates can get good deals as well as many books are on discounted rate.

"Yes, we got good deals, some books which are normally expensive are available at discounted rates," said Prapti Borpuzari, a young reader while purchasing the book Likhak Sangbadikor Guide.

Session on life skills conducted at DHSK College Dibrugarh, 12 December: The co-ordinator of Directorate of Certificate of Accounting in Technician (CAT), parent body of Institute of Cost Accounts of India (ICAI) Sankar Majumdar along with Academic Registrar of Dibrugarh University, Dr. Binud Bora have delivered a thought provoking lecture on

life skills at DHSK College today. The Kolkata based coordinator of the said institute, Sankar Majumdar said that while students should have specific aim in the life, time management is another key factor of success in life that students should have.

Academic Registrar Dr. Binud

Bora said in his speech that all everyone thinks to be successful in life but successful persons need to fit in this competitive world. Principal of DHSK College, Dr. S. K. Saikia said in his speech that hard work is a key ingredient of success of any student.

“Hard work brings success to

everybody,” he added. It is worth mentioning that CAT will introduce one year course in Dibrugarh district. The aim is to train upto 500 students and after completion of the course the students will get placement.

Co-ordinator Majumdar said that Majuli would be a model district of CAT.

MANOJ KUMAR OJHA DOOMDOOMA, DEC 12: At least two members of a family had fallen prey to a mysterious disease and another two members of the family are affected by the same fatal mysterious disease. The mysterious disease so far has claimed the lives of a father and a son of a family hailing from No.2 Baghjan Gaon which falls under Baghjan police station in Tinsukia district of upper Assam. "My father Bharat Bora, 48 and elder brother Nikhat Bora, 26, passed away due to this indistinct disease," said Dadan Bora while talking to the media at his residence.

The local sub-hospital which is in a dilapidated state and has no doctor, nurse or medicines is of no help to the local people. The nearest government hospital is in Doomdooma Town which is 24 kilometers away from here is of no help either.

Now the two sons of late Bharat, Dadan Bora, 23 and Niyant Bora, 21 are suffering from the same fatal mysterious disease. Recounting the mysterious nature of the disease Dadan Bora said, “One evening I was caught with fever and cough , the next morning when I awoke , I found that I can't stand straight , there was severe pain In my waist ."

According to Dadan," The doctors even could not diagnose the disease." “I am a married man , having a daughter , who will take care of them in my absence , I urge our health minister , Hemant Biswa Sarma to help me and my brother for a better treatment as we are financially weak and cannot afford private medical services," Dadan continued.

The deceased family is expecting Health Minister, Hemant Biswa Sarma to intervene in this matter before it worsens.

Oil India Limited bags the Award for the “Best Overall Display” at the Petrotech-2016 Exhibition ET Bureau New Delhi, 12 Dec: Oil India Limited (OIL), India’s second largest National Exploration & Production Company, won the Award for the “Best Overall Display” at the Petrotech-2016 Exhibition, held from 4th to 7th December, 2016 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. The Award was presented to the OIL team

by Anish Aggarwal, Director (Pipelines), IOCL and Chairman Exhibition Committee, Petrotech-2016, along with A.K. Sharma, Director (Finance), IOCL, at the Petrotech-2016 Exhibition Awards ceremony, on 7th December, 2016 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

The Award for the “Best Overall Display” is in recognition of Oil India Limited’s vibrant and engaging Exhibition Stall, which showcased the company’s glorious legacy, its growth as a truly

Oil India Limited's team receiving the Award for the “Best Overall Display” at Petrotech2016 Exhibition Awards Ceremony, held in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi

The Petrotech series of International Oil & Gas Conferences & Exhibitions, organized since 1995, showcases the Indian Oil & Gas Industry and provides a meeting ground for global networking amongst the key players, including engineers, entrepreneurs, scientists, technocrats and Government officials, both from the Indian and global hydrocarbon sector.

integrated E&P company, its futuristic outlook and shed light on its international foray & its contribution to the society as a truly responsible corporate citizen.

The 12th International Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition, Petrotech- 2016, was organized at New Delhi, from 4th to 7th December, 2016 under the aegis of Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India.

The Petrotech series of International Oil & Gas Conferences & Exhibitions, organized since 1995, showcases the Indian Oil & Gas Industry and provides a meeting ground for global networking amongst the key players, including engineers, entrepreneurs, scientists, technocrats and Government officials, both from the Indian and global hydrocarbon sector.

LOCAL SPORTS

GDSA wins football match against Zubin Garg Fan Club Amit Nagori Golaghat , Dec12: Today a friendly football match was held at Golaghat Stadium between Golaghat District Sports Association and Zubin Garg Fan Club .

The match was played in aid of Kalaguru Foundation an initiative taken by heartthrob singer , music composer, actor Zubin Garg. The team constituted of the officials and members of Golaghat District Sports Association the GDSA XI won the match against Zubin Fan Club in a tie breaker by 2-3.

In the first half of the match the first goal was given by Debojit Das of GDSA XI. On the other hand from the Zubin Fan Club side the first goal was given by Rintu Bora in the second half .

The match was draw in the scheduled time . Then a tie breaker round was held to get the result .

In the tie breaker round the GDSA

players placed two goals while Zubin Fan Club managed to place only one goal and hence the GDSA won the match by 3-2. Zubin Garg along with another famous singer Babu and several other artists took part in the friendly football match.

In the end a felicitation and prize distribution ceremony was held where Golaghat District Sports Association President Dr. Ajit Baruah , secretary Sanjib Handique , SP Golaghat Manabendra Dev Roy and several other distinguished personalities were present .

DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13

P3

Pema Khandu urges Lt Gen AS Bedi to Yomcha Administration issued ST, PRC and Birth provide prior coaching to Arunachal Certificates to 621 villagers youths to excel in Army recruitment test The General assured to organize youth camps prior to recruitment drive with initial physical training and coaching for written exams.

ET Bureau ITANAGAR, Dec 12 : Lieutenant General Amarjeet Singh Bedi, General Officer Commanding of Gajraj Corps (4 Corps) of Indian Army based at Tezpur paid a courtesy call on Chief Minister Pema Khandu here today.

The Chief Minister also discussed on erecting a war memorial at Itanagar in memory of martyred Arunachali soldiers. He sought guidance and support of the Indian Army for the war memorial, a proposal that had been pending for long. The General assured support and offered to help erect the memorial with display of old age trophies to attract visitors.

Bedi who replaced Lieutenant General Devraj Anbu as GOC, 4 Corps on November last, appreciated state government’s support to the Indian Army in providing logistical installations, roads and other defence infrastructures, which is coming up positively.

He also expressed delight that Army-public relation in the state, particularly in Tawang and West Kameng district is best in the country with homely atmosphere felt, which is not seen elsewhere.

state government to the Indian Army in their welfare works carried out under operation Samaritan urging to continue with such services.

promised all possible support from state government to the celebration that has helped strengthen the bonds between the two countries.

To upkeep the friendly relations, the Chief Minister assured full support of the

Appreciating the Indian Army’s Maitri Divas observed in forward areas of India-China border, Khandu

Informed of the low footfall of Arunachali youths in the Indian Army, Khandu urged the Army officials to con-

duct prior training and coaching programmes for the youths to help them prepare for the exams and physical tests. He observed that unless the youths are given proper guidance, they won’t be able to prepare themselves for the Army recruitment tests.

Indian Army observes Swachhata Pakhwada at Aalo ET Bureau AALO, 12 DEC : To spread the message of cleanliness among the masses, 1st Bihar Regiment of the Indian Army is observing Swachhata Pakhwada from December 1 to 16 under Swachha Bharat Mission.

Accordingly, the Indian Army conducted an awareness walk, run and shramdan at Aalo on December 11 last, which was participated by the Indian Army and general masses at Aalo General Ground, followed by massive shramdans along the streets of Aalo Township.

Joint Ethics Committee formed to check on medical malpractices in the state A Staff Reporter Itanagar, Dec 12: The Arunachal Pradesh Medical Council (APMC) today informed that the Government of Arunachal Pradesh has constituted a Joint Ethics Committee to effectively curb the menace of quacks practicing medicine in the state, and other related matters.

The Joint Ethics Com-

mittee would be headed by the chairman of the Ethical Committee APMC, with the registrar cum secretary of the APMC as the member/ convener, and six other members from various medical councils of the state.

Accordingly, the chairman and members would come together periodically, or when required,

to keep a check on medical malpractices in the state.

Earlier in a council meeting of the APMC, the council lauded the decision of the government for constituting the Joint Ethics Committee. It also unanimously resolved to soon update the scientific knowledge of modern medicine practitioners by accrediting

Continuing Medical Education (CME) hours and award CME credit points.

Taking serious note of the ‘irrational’ prescription of antibiotics in particular, by some physicians, the APMC resolved to enforce upon the doctors for a rational prescription of drugs by taking up ‘prescription audit’ of doctor’s prescription randomly.

CM AND GOVERNOR

The Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Pema Khandu called on the Governor V. Shanmuganathan at Raj Bhavan, Itanagar today.

The Chief Minister briefed the Governor on the recent important developmental initiatives of the State Government.

Further to improve Army footprint in the state, the meeting discussed on pending task of establishing Army brigade in the state capital for which 500 acres of land has been identified already. The Chief Minister hoped that presence of defence forces will generate not only sense of security but speed up development activities in the area.

ET Bureau AALO, 12 DEC : In a bid to bring the administration at the door steps of the people, the Yomcha Administration issued Scheduled Tribe, Permanent Resident Certificate and Birth Certificates to 621 villagers in the first phase of the month long village outreach programme.

Conducted under the supervision of Yomcha ADC Rujum Raksap from November 9 onwards, the objective of the programme is to disseminate awareness on cleanliness, health and hygiene and provide necessary documents to people who are ignorant about the importance of

certificates and not in a position to visit offices.

So far, 10 villages have been covered under the mission and eight more villages will be covered by the end of this month.

The villagers have also been exhorted to launch Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, healthy sanitary practices and importance of cleanliness in all villages.

“ANSHU – Everest Calling” screened in 12th ADDA Short Film Festival 2016 A Staff Reporter GUWAHATI, 12 DEC: The 12th edition of the ADDA Short Film Festival was organised at Guwahati on December 10 and 11 last, where the a documentary film based on Arunachal mountaineer Anshu Jamsenpa, titled “ANSHU – Everest Calling” was screened on the inaugural day.

The documentary was nominated by the juries of the festival comprising of eminent film makers Gautam Bora and Bhaskar Jyoti Das, and writer Manikuntala Bhattacharya from among the 50 entries from India and abroad.

Speaking on the occasion, festival committee president Hitesh Mahanta stated that “this hard-hitting documentary film on Anshu would inspire many people within the country and abroad, especially women folk”.

Cops find Rs 1.5-cr worth new notes in Guwahati businessman’s house Contd. from Page 1

While he has claimed that he has proper documents to prove that it was not black money, we have asked the IT department to examine the case,” Raunak Ali Hazarika, DIG of the Assam Police CID said.

The raid, which began in a flat owned by the businessman at an apartment building in the Beltola residential area, was still going on till late in the evening with CID DIG Hazarika saying the police were searching every room of the “big” flat in detail.

“This is the first such big recovery of a huge amount of new currency notes, and we are also investigating into how the businessman could collect such an amount,” the DIG said. The case would be further investigated by the IT department, he added.

Two days ago, the Assam Police CID had recovered new notes of Rs 2000 denomination worth Rs 80 lakh from the house of another businessman in the Hatigaon area of Guwahati.

Later, Anshu, while thanking the organizers for the nomination and the screening of the documentary in such a prestigious forum said that more such festivals should be organized in different parts of North East so that people in far flung areas get an opportunity to watch good and meaningful documentaries.

Directed by Manoj Kr

Goswami and Parthasarathi Mahanta, the 39 minute documentary was critically acclaimed by the media and documentary lovers.

Filmmaker Samujjal Kashyap, national awardee who has been associated with this project from the very beginning stated that “Anshu-Everest Calling” took almost two years to complete. He further stated that

Anshu is a multi talented personality, a perfectionist and that not many people know that she is the lead actress of ‘Crossing Bridges’, which has received the National Film award from the President of India. Earlier, the film festival was inaugurated by Additional Chief Secretary of Assam V B Pyarelal and renowned folk singer Dhanada Pathak.

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DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13

Earthquake tremors felt in Karbi Anglong district ET Bureau Guwahati, 12 Dec: A minor earthquake measuring 3.1 on the Ritcher scale hit Assam on Monday. The quake was felt at around 1318 hours in Karbi Anglong, Assam. No loss of life has yet been reported because of the quake. Karbi Anglong district is one of the administrative districts of Assam. North India has been witnessing earthquakes since quite some time now.

An earthquake measuring 4.4 on the Ritcher scale had hit Delhi and surrounding areas of NCR last month at around 4 am in the morning.

Although the epicentre of the quake was Haryana, strong tremors were felt across Delhi.

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Himanta Biswa Sharma gets 300 transfer applications every day, says it affects work culture ET Bureau Guwahati, 12 Dec: Fed up with a large number applications from government employees under various departments he holds, Himanta Biswa Sarma, virtually Number 2 in the BJPled government of Sarbananda Sonowal, on Monday asked employees to stop doing that and instead wait for a transparent transfer policy.

ernment departments. I myself receive anywhere between 200 and 300 applications by government employees seeking transfer.

This on one hand leads to opening of as many new files, and on the other affects the welfare activities of the government departments,” Sarma, who issued an advertisement in several Guwahati-based newspapers said on Monday.

“Government employees turning up in large numbers in my office for various personal work has affected the work culture of the gov-

Dissuading government employees from making a bee-line to the state secretariat at Dispur with requests for transfers, Sarma said that if the government

major portfolios in the Sonowal government, which includes education, finance, health, tourism, planning & development among others.

Himanta Biswa Sarma recommends transfer of one such employee, then that would definitely affect

another person who had not made any such representation. Sarma holds several

Sarma also pointed out that one section of government employees and officers send other persons with transfer applications to meet the ministers. “Such people too add to the crowd that affects the work culture. This is very unfortunate,” the minister said.

“If the government recommends one person’s transfer, then that will surely af-

fect another person who has not made any representation and had not turned up before the government here. Soon the other person affected by the transfer will rush to Guwahati to meet me. This process will only keep the government busy in such issues at the cost of welfare activities,” Sarma in the advertisement said.

Sarma, whose advertisement said that the government would soon come up with a set of policy guidelines related to transfers and postings so that every process was transparent, also asked the government

employees to hold patience till then. “The government will soon come out with policy guidelines on transfer so that every transferposting was transparent.

Till then, we request the people to hold patience,” it said.

It was only recently that Sarma had said that as education minister he has to spend more time looking into transfer applications of teachers rather than concentrating on education related issues. “Sometimes I wonder whether I am minister for education or minister for teachers,” he said.

Denizens in Diphu immerse in Pre-Christmas fever Mega cultural tourism Sushanta Roy Diphu, Dec 12: Dawn of Christmas can be felt truly upon the lives of this small semi hilly town; suddenly festive frenzied movement can be sensed among the people. Social outings, picnic well ahead of Christmas has start; fondness for gatherings, eating, added drinking, more merriment, and less time at home is the mood. Young girls and youths have preferred the end of the year as a perfect time for creating inventory for favourite moments, short snappy and entertaining videos summarizing themes and moments is keeping the social media and dedicated lines busy. Nostalgic notions are a great way to bring people together and sharing stories of how Christmas is celebrated all over the

world is also giving sense of community - a chance to get to know one another in frequent parties and gatherings.

Another reason for this holiday mood is the public celebration of pre-Christmas, beautiful decoration and the

unmistakable Christmas tree that hangs from a ceiling in shopping malls, natural bottle brass trees in the lawn of Joysing Doloi auditorium dotted with sparkling petite lights and night mist. Roadside quilt and blanket ven-

dors to decorated cloth stores, eating joints, busy volunteers cleaning and painting church walls, beautiful carols sung by choir groups in home service is just giving one message, Christmas is not far away.

In fact United Christen Forum, Diphu ordered preChristmas festivity in addition to Gospel Revival and Healing Festival actually set the frame of mind of this town. Rev. Dr. Len. Lindstrom who arrived in this town from Canada, obliged the devoted Christians to throng the venue. Cool December nights have turned pleasing rather than torturous. Christmas mood is in the houses, in the streets of Diphu and in posh restraints as always expected in every Christmas. In rural areas childhood with their annual examination over are enjoying with whole family at home, cozily watching movies and enjoying traditional food seeing in mind's eye the snow falling outside at a paranormal leisurely tempo.

festival on the potential of Brahmaputra River

A Staff Reporter Guwahati, 12 Dec: With a view to promote the civilization and potential of mighty Brahmaputra river in the global arena, a mega cultural tourism festival will be organized by the Government of Assam covering the entire stretch of the river in the state soon. The proposed five-day festival is scheduled to be held in the last part of March next year.

State Transport Minister and officials of IWT Department today briefed Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal about the vision

and proposed plan of the festival. The Chief Minister stressed on the need to focus the rich civilization and its potential to the entire world through this festival and said, “the riverine people used to have an emotional bonding with the Brahmaputra, which has gradually been weakening.

This festival should create an environment for reconnecting the people with their roots and rejuvenate the Brahmaputra civilization”.

This mega festival which will simultaneously be held at different locations

on the bank of river Brahmaputra starting from Sadia to Dhubri will focus on Assam’s culture, trade and tourism potentials and act as an elixir to promote harmony and brotherhood amongst all communities of the state.

The Chief Minister further directed the concerned officials to finalize modalities for branding Assam as a sought after tourist destination through this festival and to reach out to all domestic and foreign tourists by devising a comprehensive plan for the festival.

5 Day short Term Training on “Producing only quality products will make machining processes commences MSME Units sustain in today’s competitive today at GIMT, Guwahati market”: Assam Industries & Commerce Minister

ET Bureau Guwahati, 12 Dec: The department of Mechanical Engineering, Girijananda Chowdhury Institute of Management and Technology (GIMT) , Guwahati, has organised a five day Short Term Training Programme (STTP) on UTM, CNC and Machining Processes, from 12th to 16th December 2016, for Laboratory Assistants and Workshop Instructors. The inaugural ceremony of the

programme was marked with the lighting of lamp by Principal, GIMT Guwahati, Senior Professor and HOD (i /c) of Mechanical Engineering Department.

The inaugural was also attended by Senior Professors, HODs and faculty members of other departments. The experts for this programme are Mr. N. K. Das from IIT Guwahati and Mr. P. K. Bora from Tezpur

University. Along with inhouse participants, the programme has received participants from other institutes like Assam Don Bosco University (ADBU), NETES Institute of Technology & Science (NITS), Royal School of Engineering & Technology (RSET), PCPS Girls’ Polytechnic, Regional Institute of Science & Technology (RIST) and Scholars Institute of Technology & Management (SITM).

CS ON PAC

ET Bureau Dispur, 12 Dec: Industries and Commerce Minister, Chandra Mohan Patowary called upon all the MSME Units to put thrust on producing quality products, which alone will help the units survive the severe competition from global companies. The Minister said this while attending a national workshop on ‘Lean Manufacturing’. The workshop was organized by FINER in association with MSME-Development Institute, Guwahati at NEDFI Convention Centre, Guwahati today.

The Industries Minister said, “We often talk about industrial growth and its benefits to the state’s economy, employment generation and its growth &

“With rising concerns on global warming and climate change, industry vis-a-vis waste management has become a very sensitive as well as a crucial issue. All industries, including MSMEs must address this for betterment of our standard of living. Lean Manufacturing is an initiative to address this issue. It is a holistic approach to reduce wastes, increase production and improve the quality of products, which are essential for competing in national and international markets”, he added.

The Minister further stated that a proposal to set up a

Tool Room of Rs. 12.5 crores in Assam for skill training to youth will soon be sent to the Ministry of MSME, Government of India.

Addressing the gathering of MSME entrepreneurs from North East Region and Sikkim, along with other industry associates and stakeholders, SN Tripathi, Additional Secretary and Development Commissioner (MSME), Government of India, said, “Just like a mother, who sees her image in her child, nurtures and takes care of the baby, entrepreneurs must also see their images in their products so that quality is taken care of. Lean Manufacturing transfers profitability to the manufacturers by optimum use of the resources.”

Additional Secretary Tripathi added, “MSMEs must adopt a competitive spirit and must always remain alert to the sound of competitiveness from other partners to sustain and survive in the market.”

“The global trend suggests that manufacturing enterprises working as clusters and aggregators are highly benefited”, added Tripathi by citing examples of Uber, Make my Trip, Airbnb. He lastly asked the audience to download the ‘My MSME’ mobile application which acts as a source of all information related to MSME’s policies, services and schemes.

Dr KK Dwivedi, Commissioner, Industries and Com-

merce, called upon the MSMEs to inculcate a habit of producing and delivering quality products and services. “The core principle of Lean Management is quality which distinguishes the good from the poor products. It garners people’s faith in the product and helps the units to compete at par with the MNCs”, said Dr Dwivedi.

Vipin Sahani, CEO, Quality Council of India, Shirish Asthana, Director, MSME, Guwahati and Pabitra Buragohain, President, FINER were also present on the occasion. Experts from Quality Council of India, National Productivity Council deliberated as resource persons. A souvenir on Lean Manufacturing was also released during the workshop.

BIEO sleuths raids IMFL bonds and private warehouses in Karbi Anglong

Chief Minister Sonowal accelerates work to make Majuli a developed District

Detects irregularities and severe tax evasion by a section of unscrupulous businessman.

Referring to allegations of corruption in PWD department in Majuli, Chief Minister Sonowal directed the top officials of the department to act swiftly to root out corruption from the department and complete 191 kilometres length of road that has been earmarked under Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojna at an early date.

Chief Minister also informed that a circular road cum embankment has been planned around Majuli and various technicalities are being looked into for this project.

ET Correspondent Bokajan, December 12: Bureau of Investigation of Econimic Offence (BIEO) officials raided the IMFL bonds and some private warehouses in and around Bokajan close to Assam-Nagaland interstate border in East Karbi Anglong.

The raid was carried under the leadership of BIEO Superintendent Shyamal Saikia late Sunday evening. The investigating team detected major irregularities and serious tax evasion by a section of unscrupulous businessman involved in the liquor trade.

V.K.Pipersenia, Chief Secretery, Assam and Chairman of the Press Accreditation Committee addressing the members of the newly constituted PAC at the conference Hall of the office of the C.S. on December 12,2016.

development. However, we tend to forget a vital point, which is waste management.”

The BIEO sleuths raided the IMFL bonds including RADIANT, FRIENDS and FLA-

MINGO. The investigating team checked the stock registers and seized many other documents in process. It needs to be added that 'Flamingo Bonded Warehouse' is owned by liquor baron Rajesh Jalan who was arrested by CID officials from Lokpriyo Gopinath Bordoiloi International Airport, Guwahati on December 4.

The BIEO officials also detected seven private warehouses used for storing duty free IMFL to be sold in Auranachal Pradesh. The officials seized over 15,000 cases of this illegally brought IMFL which was otherwise pushed for sale in the alcohol free state of Nagaland and Manipur. "It has been 24 years of my ser-

vice in the Excise Department but this is the first time i have seen such a big seizure of over 15,000 cases of illegal IMFL. We would require atleast 10 huge trucks to carry this to Guwahati." said a Excise Inspector who was part of the BIEO team.

Briefing the media persons, the BIEO Superintendent Mr Shyamal Saikia said, "We have just started investigation and there are lot of irregularities in IMFL sale here. The pros and cons of this illicit trade would gradually be established in the later phase. As of now, we have seized over 15,000 cases of illegally stored IMFL from four different locations in Bokajan sub-division."

Contd. from Page 1

Noting that adequate accommodation for doctors of the government hospitals have to be provided as there have been allegations of

irregular attendance of doctors, Chief Minister directed the Health Department to act swiftly to remove all difficulties of the people of Majuli in getting medical facility and also asked the officials to start 24 hour Boat Ambulance facility from 1st April 2017 for Majuli.

Observing that people and government must work hand in hand to develop Majuli, Chief Minister also directed the Cultural Affairs Department to prepare a proposal in consultation with UNESCO technocrats for obtaining “World Heritage Site” tag to the river island at an early date.

Chief Secretary V.K. Pipersenia along with top officials of various departments was present at the meeting.

DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13

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NORTHEAST

Tripura PWD Minister Badal Chowdhury Kumlong ward golden jubilee curtain raiser flays Centre on demonetization issue Agartala, Dec 12: Without naming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, PWD Minister Badal Chowdhury today lashed out at the BJP led government on the demonetization process and its fallout on the common people.

"Everybody knows block money doesn't remain unchanged. Those people who have crores of black money keep them converting into Dollar in foreign countries", he said while addressing a conference of State Engineers' Association Tripura (SEAT) at Town Hall here

PWD Minister Badal Chowdhury. on Sunday. "What steps the government has taken

against those who had taken huge loans from dif-

BJP rules out tie with regional parties in Tripura Agartala, Dec 12: The BJP on Sunday rejected pre-electoral tie up with any regional parties like Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) or Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT). After welcoming sixteen leaders of different political parties- Congress, Trinamool Congress, IPFT and INPT, BJP state president Biplab Deb said more big fishes would be joined the party early next year.

"More surprises are likely next month as some influential leaders of non-BJP are in touch with the BJP. Wait and see! Those who are telling the BJP has no base in the tribal belt will also surprise

in the development scheduled to take place", he said.

Deb said, "The BJP is on the process to strengthen its base in the state's tribal belts and joining of 16 leaders of different political parties including PCC general secretary Debabrata Koloi is one of the fallout of the party's efforts".

Upbeat by the joining, he appealed the leaders of INPT and IPFT to merge with the BJP to oust the CPI (M) led government in the state.

Deb also took a dig at the ruling CPI(M) on Joy Kishore and Naresh Jamatia issue. Sunil Deodhar, the party observer for the state

said more female tribal leaders are on the way to join the saffron brigade. "They have realized only Narendra Modi could safeguard the interest of indigenous people of to the state", he said.

The leaders who joined BJP include : Debabrata Koloi (PCC general secretary, Ex CEM of tribal council), D r, M a n i k S a h a , a r e n o w n e d d o c t o r, U t t a m Roy (Organizing Secret a r y, S e v a D a l ) , J a g a t Jamatia (Block Congress president, Ampinagar) and Tushar Kanti Sil (Ex state in-charge, Trinamool Chatra Parisad). (Agencies)

ferent nationalized banks?

Most of the banks are facing tough time due to non performing assets", he pointed out.

Chowdhury questioned what steps the government has taken against tax evaders for the past 30 months?

"Demonetization appears a major blow to the country's fiscal structure.

Money circulation which is an indicator of healthy sign of economy has been virtually stopped after the short-sighted decision of the Centre", he opined.

Chowdhury further said around 90 percent people are suffering due to sud-

den demonetization move.

"Everyday decisions are being changed by a government. People are confused what is real or what is unreal! It seems we are living in a Tuglogh regime! Things are needed to be changed immediately", he said.

In his speech, PWD Minister also hit the BJP led government for reducing funds under different schemes. "We are in confusion if departments could be able to achieve the plans which were envisaged at the beginning of the year", he added.

(Agencies)

GNLA may lure minors to join its fold Shillong, Dec 12: With the dwindling cadre strength and finance, GNLA may recruit more minors, both underground and over ground, to sustain the outfit.

The matter came to light after the recent arrest of a boy on November 30 in West Garo Hills.

According to police, GNLA chief Sohan D. Shira gave money to the minor boy to target surrendered GNLA cadres.

The GNLA also took the help of the minor to abduct a teacher in Garo Hills.

Police sources said they are keeping a close watch on the activities of GNLA to thwart its attempt to lure minors.

Police are planning to create more awareness programmes in parts of Garo Hills to prevent school dropouts and others from joining the outfit.

According to police, this is an opportune time to herald peace in Garo Hills with a series of arrest and surrender of GNLA cadres and those of other outfits.

(Agencies)

Participants and judges of the sketching & crayon drawing competition organized by the Kumlong ward golden jubilee planning committee as curtain raiser at Eden Academy, Kumlong Ward.

Dimapur, Dec 12: Kumlong ward golden jubilee planning committee successfully organized a sketching and crayon drawing competition for the children of Kumlong and Mongsenbai at Eden Academy, as a curtain raiser on December 10 participated by fifteen enthusiastic and talented artists.

Planning committee with the active support of the Kumlong ward council, Kumlong environment committee and the Kumlong Baptist Church, jointly organised the drawing competition on the theme "toxic free environment".

The competition was divided into junior (Class VVII) and senior (Class IX - XII) category and judges for the competition were Aren Changkija as the chief judge, and assisted

by KBC associate pastor, Moanaro Imchen and planning committee member, I Tsukjem.

The winners of both the categories were awarded cash prizes while the remaining participants were awarded certificates of participation. The winners and the paintings would be incorporated in the golden jubilee souvenir book.

Convener of the Kumlong ward golden jubilee planning committee, Tia

Longkumer also expressed heartfelt gratitude to all who have rendered their services for the success of the competition.

It may be noted here that Kumlong Ward, which is one of the biggest wards in Mokokchung town, would be celebrating its 50th year anniversary in the year 2019. The winners in senior category are first Imliakum Jamir, second Moanenla Imchen and third Retsungdangba T. Kichu respectively, while in junior category, first Alemrenla Jamir, second Tangsemnaro Imsong and third Imnasenla T. Longkumer respectively.

(Agencies)

promises Rs 22,000 Cr road package, Firm 'violates' ban on Gadkari Jiri line to be handed to NHIDCL boulder extraction KSU SEEKS ACTION AGAINST DHAR CONSTRUCTION COMPANY and several dumpers were ferrying the extracted boulders, KSU found out.

"Any river body is a 'no man's land' and no one can claim his ownership of the river. But a few opportunists are violating norms and that is unacceptable and the union will oppose such action. If extraction of boulders continues, we will take action as per the law," Maring said.

Machineries of Dhar Construction Company while extracting boulders from Umiam River in Ri Bhoi District.

Nongpoh, Dec 12: Extraction of boulders from the Umiam continues unabated despite a ban in the State.

The Eastern Border Area unit of the Khasi Students' Union on Saturday stalled boulder extraction by Dhar Construction Company in Ri Bhoi district.

Banjop Maring, the KSU unit's president, denounced the district ad-

17 Coys of CPMF sent Imphal, Dec 12: In view of the indefinite economic blockade and ban on National projects imposed by the UNC, the Central Government has sent 17 companies of Central paramilitary forces to the State for protection of National Highways leading to and from Imphal.

Against 60 companies of CPMF sought by the State Government for securing Imphal-Dimapur highway and Imphal-Jiribam highway, the Central Government sent 17 companies, a high ranking police officer told The Sangai Express. Two companies of CRPF and five companies of BSF have already been deployed along the two National Highways.

Meanwhile, four companies of SSB reached Imphal today and eight more companies of BSF are expected to reach here on December 14.

It is said that the Central Government is likely to send some companies of CRPF in the coming days.

At the moment, 10 companies of CRPF are being utilised in escorting vehicles from Mao and Jiribam to Imphal.

Apart from the Central paramilitary forces, State police commandos, IRB and MR are also being used to escort vehicles along the two National Highways added the source.

(Agencies)

ministration for not acting against the company for reckless extraction of boulders from the Umiam, which is affecting the environment. The government has banned sand mining and boulder extraction.

Maring, along with other KSU members, inspected the site on Saturday. The construction company was using an excavator

The KSU stated that continuous extraction of boulders by Dhar Construction is contaminating the river leading to mass killing of aquatic life, besides destroying the natural beauty of the river. The KSU has decided to lodge a complaint with the deputy commissioner of Ri Bhoi and the district council for stern action against the company. "If no action is taken, the union will approach higher authorities," said Maring. (Agencies)

High pendency of court cases cause worry in Tripura

Image for Representation purpose.

Agartala, Dec 12: High pendency of cases in courts across the state has become a major source of concern . According to official sources , there are altogether 1,39,203 cases pending in various courts and out of this 3,219 cases have been pending the high court of Tripura. Sources said that among the sub judice cases 676 are murder cases at various stages of trial, 363 cases of rape and 3385 cases are related to crimes against women.

Strangely, altogether 1494 cases have been pending for more than twenty years while there is one case (No-GR-03/ 1969) which has been on trial for forty six years.

Among various factors responsible for high pendency of cases , shortge of judges is a major reason as the courts in

the state require 104 judges but there are only 77 judges currently at work . The vacant posts have been causing delay in disposal of cases as the sitting judges also go on leave.

Besides, 291 cases of the state have been pending disposal in supreme court. Out of this , 102 cases have been appealed by the state government while the remaining cases have been filed by various parties against the state government in appeal.

'The lone solution to the pendency of cases is appointment of new judges to vacant posts but this is being delayed for various reasons' said a highly placed source in the legal circle , adding that most of the pendency problem would be naturally resolved by optimum number of judges in courts.

(Agencies)

ImphaL, Dec 12: Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) Nitin Gadkari today laid the foundation stone for 17 highway projects covering 493 Kms at a function held at 1st MR parade ground.

Speaking at the gathering, Nitin Gadkari stated that highways and transport infrastructure of Manipur would be developed within the next three/four years under a package of Rs 22,000 crore.

"We are aware that the people of Manipur have been suffering a lot on account of sub-standard transport infrastructure.

We are granting a package of Rs 22,000 crore by according special status to the State of Manipur for road development", declared the Union Minister.

He stated that the 17 projects for which foundation was laid today would be implemented by the National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) and the State PWD. The 17 projects would cost around Rs 1152 crore (approximately).

The projects include Barak and Makru RCC bridges, construction of UkhrulTolloi-Tadubi road (NH 102-A), ChurachandpurSingngat-Sinzawl-Tuivai road (NH 102-B), Tamenglong-Khongsang road (NH 137), Mao GateImphal road (NH 39), Tipaimukh-ImphalUkhrul-Jessami road (NH 150) and KhumbongNambol-Mayang ImphalKakching Lamkhai road (NH 137-A).

The first four projects would be implemented by NHIDCL and the last three by the State PWD, Gadkari elaborated.

Out of Rs one lakh crore sanctioned for different projects which would be implemented by NHIDCL, Rs 40,000 crore has been set aside for the North East.

Acknowledging the impor-

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) Nitin Gadkari today laid the foundation stone for 17 highway projects covering 493 Kms at a function held at 1st MR parade ground. tance of Barak and Makru bridges of Imphal-JiribamSilchar highway, Gadkari announced that Rs 100 crore has been set aside for maintenance of the two bridges in addition to the construction cost.

NHIDCL would take over Imphal-Jiribam highway from BRO, he informed adding that construction of the two bridges would be completed within one year and a half.

NH-39 (Imphal-Dimapur highway) is a key section of the Asian Highway.

Construction of international highways had started with monetary assistance from Asian Development Bank (ADB) at the cost of Rs 25,000 after an agreement was signed among Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and India.

All highway construction works will be done in a transparent manner with due emphasis on the qualitative aspect without leaving any room for corruption, added the Minister.

People may send complaints through e-mail if they find the highway construction works unsatisfactory and the Ministry would take up corrective measures immediately on receiving any such complaints, Gadkari stated.

The NHIDCL Managing Director has been instructed to allot all the 17 projects to contractors based in the North East re-

gion. He stated that the rate of road construction was just 2 Kms per day when he first became MoRTH Minister but it has now risen to 28 Kms per day.

Talking about waterways, Nitin Gadkari stated that there were 7500 Kms of see freight, 12 major ports and 200 private and small ports. These ports earned a profit of Rs 6000 crore during the last financial year for the first time in the history of the country.

The Central Government has already set a target of raising the profit earned from these ports to Rs 7000 crore during the current financial year. These profits would be used for the welfare of the public, he assured.

The Ministry has also been planning to open waterways along 111 rivers of the country. Waterways would be developed along Brahmaputra and Barak rivers too.

Once these waterways are developed, one can go to Kolkata from Manipur on waterways through Bangladesh. Plans are also afoot to construct waterway terminals. A floating terminal would be constructed at Silchar. The Ministry has been paying special attention to development of waterways as they would be cheapest means of transport.

The function was also attended by Chief Minister O

Ibobi, Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar, MP Prahlad Singh Patel, Social Welfare Minister AK Mirabai, MLA Kh Joykishan, former MP Th Chaoba, Chief Secretary O Nabakishore and NHIDCL Managing Director Anand Kumar.

Speaking at the gathering, Ibobi pointed out that all National Highways are properties of the country.

But it is rather shameful that Imphal-Jiribam highway is covered with mud and slough up to knee level during rainy season even though it has been 69 years since India achieved independence.

"What I expressed should not be construed as blaming the Union Minister or the incumbent Central Government or the previous Central Governments. But I'm just stating the plain facts", Ibobi continued.

Of the total length of the country's National Highways, 250 Kms are in Manipur but the State Government has been facing lots of difficulties in maintaining the National Highways as funds sanctioned for the same purpose are too little.

Against Rs three crore sanctioned by the Central Government for maintenance of National Highways this financial year, the State Government invested around Rs 300 crore, Ibobi stated.

He also expressed keen desire for the Central Government to raise the highway maintenance fund to at least Rs 25 crore.

The State Government invested Rs 200 crore for expansion of airport road and Rs 40 crore for development of Imphal-Lilong section of NH 39.

But the State Government has no clear idea who has been constructing Manipur University-Lilong section of the highway and in the meantime four persons have been killed in road accidents on the same road stretch, he added.

The State has made rapid progress in health and power sectors. Manipur has one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the country and the State's power reform measures have been appreciated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Stating that law and order is a State subject, Ibobi sought the Government of India's attention when UNC, a mouthpiece of NSCN-IM, which is under cease fire agreement with New Delhi, imposes blockades on National Highways leading to Manipur.

The issue of economic blockade was raised with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh but the Union Minister's response was not satisfactory enough. Moreover, creation of districts is a prerogative of respective State Governments, Ibobi stated while appealing to all quarters not to dictate the State Government on such matters.

Apart from NSCN-IM and UNC, there are many other insurgent groups and their own mouthpieces in Manipur. The UNC has been using the National Highways as their tool.

He then appealed to the two Union Ministers seated there (Nitin Gadkari and Prakash Javadekar), Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene into the issue of protracted economic blockade. (Agencies)

EDITORIAL

DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13

Today's quote

“

'I did not get an opportunity to die for the country, but I have got an opportunity to live for the country'– Narendra Modi

Arrest of a military chief The arrest of Indian Air Force former chief Air Chief arshal S.P. Tyagi on Friday by the Central Bureau of Investigation is a sobering moment. This is the first instance of a serving or retired military chief being arrested on charges of corruption. The CBI arrested ACM Tyagi, his cousin Sanjeev Tyagi and lawyer Gautam Khaitan in connection with the purchase order for VVIP helicopters in 2010 for the IAF. In an official statement, the CBI said they were arrested for alleged irregularities in the procurement of a dozen AW101 VVIP helicopters from U.K.-based AgustaWestland, part of the Italian consortium Finmeccanica. The CBI claims that ACM Tyagi "entered into criminal conspiracy with other accused persons and in 2005" to change the service ceiling of VVIP helicopters from 6,000 m to 4,500 m, to make AgustaWestland eligible to participate in the tender.

Twelve per cent of the total deal of Rs.3,767 crore is alleged to have been the commission involved. After the allegations first emerged in Italy, an embattled UPA government had moved swiftly to order an investigation in February 2013. The case was handed over to the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate, which have relied substantially on evidence from Italian courts. The case in Italy has witnessed several twists and turns, with a lower court in October 2014 acquitting ACM Tyagi, Finmeccanica CEO Giuseppe Orsi and others of corruption charges. On April 8, 2016, the Milan Court of Appeal overturned the order, and sentenced Mr. Orsi to about four years in jail.

This is not the first time that the name of a retired military chief has come up in a defence scandal. In 1987 the central investigation agencies had raided Admiral S.M. Nanda, accusing him of being a middleman in the sale of German-made HDW submarines to India in the early 1980s. Two decades later the case was formally closed by the CBI, saying no concrete evidence was available. In 2006 the CBI filed an FIR alleging kickbacks in the purchase of the Barak missile system from Israel, naming among others Admiral Sushil Kumar. With extensive use of RTI, he contested the charge, and seven years later the CBI told a Delhi court it couldn't find any evidence. This is not to suggest that defence deals are all clean. In this case, the Indian hand in the deal has been corroborated by an Italian court. But a case is only as good as its conclusion. And defence deal investigations have a habit of getting complicated by the difficulties in securing the kind of evidence that is required to secure firm convictions. How this case, which has significant political ramifications, plays out, remains to be seen.

A brutal victory in Aleppo The battle for Aleppo is almost over. Syrian government troops have captured almost 85 per cent of the eastern part of the city which fell into rebel hands in 2012 in one of the early setbacks to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war. Given the pace of the battlefield advances, it's only a matter of weeks, if not days, before the Syrian army recaptures all of Aleppo, the country's largest city and commercial capital before the conflict broke out. The regime will now have direct control over all the major cities and population centres in Syria, while for the army, which was on the brink of collapse a year ago before the Russian intervention, the victory is certainly a morale booster. But Mr. Assad has had to pay a heavy price for Aleppo. This military triumph is the result of a brutal strategy the regime and the Russians put in place earlier this year. Damascus knew that if Aleppo were to be recaptured, it would shift the balance of the civil war decisively. Eastern Aleppo was the priciest catch of the rebels where they built a parallel government. Their plan was to expand the "revolution" to other regime-held territories and they had the backing of regional powers such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The Syrian government, however, launched a relentless bombing campaign in July, imposing a siege on the rebel-held parts of the city. After months of bombing by Russian and Syrian jets broke the rebel supply lines, the army, backed by Hezbollah and Iran-trained militias, moved in to make quick gains.

The battle for Aleppo has been a humanitarian disaster. The rebels accuse the regime of indiscriminate bombing and killing civilians, while the government says it had no option but to move in as the city was controlled by "terrorists". Both are partially true.

From the beginning of the Aleppo operation, both the regime and Russia adopted scorched earth tactics. But government troops frequently opened humanitarian corridors for the civilians to escape the war and the Russians had even negotiated a retreat deal with the rebels under Turkish mediation recently.

But the rebels, including Fateh al-Sham that was alNusra Front till August, the al-Qaeda branch in Syria, refused to retreat; they also prevented residents from fleeing the city. Now that government troops have captured most of the city, the question is, what will President Assad do next? Will he move troops to Idlib, another rebel-held city, or kick off a long-awaited political process where he could negotiate from a position of strength? The latter option would avert more bloodshed, while the military's resources could be rechannelled to fight the Islamic State.

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VALLEY OF TATTOOS - Arunachal Pradesh Bishal Aran "Tattoos are like storiesthey're symbolic of the important moments in your life". -Pamela Anderson Tattoo is a pattern of body alteration by infixing ink into the skin to change the pigment. Years before celebrities and rockstars, tattoos were used by all tribal population across the globe, whether it was the Hausa and Fulani people of Nigeria or the Apatanis, the Noctes and the Wanchos of Arunachal Pradesh. Tribes of Arunachal Pradesh are well known for its unique style of tattooing different parts of the body, serves for personal decoration and social taboos were there behind the tattooing. The Noctes and the Wanchos are the most famous tribes known for their onliest design and style of tattooing.

APATANIS The lifestyle of the Apatani hill tribe is an exciting experience for a cultural traveller on various aspects. The most distinct aspect of this tribe is their face tattoos and their nose plugs that are like no other.

Legend has it that neighboring tribes abducted the women of this tribe owing to their beauty and to prevent this from being contin-

ued, the tribe began to tattoo the faces of their girls and piercings in the form of nose plugs - to repel and brand their own young girls, with the intension of making their women look unattractive.

The Apatani tattooing procedure is an awfully painful affair but it is worth getting it done. Unlike today's fashionable equipment like tattoo guns and ink used, the Apatanis uses thorns to cut through the skin and soot mixed in animal fat for the dark blue color. The wounds are then allowed to get infected so the tattoos become larger and clearer.

This practice was discontinued during the 70's, when the government started providing security against kidnapping. As a result, no woman of the tribe has been tattooed for the past 30-35 years. The youngest person of the tribe with a tattooed face is about 45 years of age, although elderly Apatani ladies will still be seen with a thick blue line running from their forehead to the tip of the nose and six smaller lines on their lower chin.

NOCTES The Noctes were famously known for tattoo-

ing. The unique feature for Nocte men are that they tattoo on their chest and face instead of tattooing on their bodies and of women on the arms and the back. The usual designs are commonly large stars with cross lines connecting the ends. Apart from face tattooing, different parts of the body such as naval, thighs, chest and calves are also tattooed with dots and lines.

The cognitive operation of tattooing is a very afflic-

tive one and involved eminent patience and survival endurance. Designs are first drawn with black paint made from the soot in the body and they are pricked by thorns of cane. Then the blue color is applied over the design with a juice of "Roantummag" plant and in other cases, colors made from ashes of straws is smudged over the pricked component. Sometimes the wounds become so serious that the person can hardly

be able to move for a few days. Hence, the hot fermentation is given as a treatment in order to heal his wounds soon.

Nocte tribe in the past had a very strong practice of 'headhunting'. Though the tradition of headhunting was not strictly practice, still it carried backside the religious sanctions and was set about only after divination.

The tribe believes in the magical powers of the human heads, peculiarly in link to the fertility cult, was the main reason behind this practice. There are different stories about the origin of headhunting practice of the Nocte tribe but the sole reason behind the custom was the internal feuds to various reasons. The head-hunters got themselves tattooed and Khotang festival as then celebrated in which the heads were cleaned and boiled and were put together in one place. After the festival was over the head were placed in Morung (Youth Dormitory).

WANCHOS According to the mythology, Wang means King and Cho is referred as Hillman which means a hill man who lived under the rule of king.

The culture of Wancho tribe is magnificently popular for the art of tattoo making.

Slowly the culture is de-

pleted but still a large amount of detailed information on tattooing is present, following the traditional only women or tattoo queens could work as the tattoo artist.

As per the culture, women do not tattooed on their faces but on other parts of the body. There are different designs and each one is reflected on the social stand of a woman in the community, like a woman from an upper class family may have detailed design all over the body while others of lower class family or common people had simple tattoos. Girls were generally tattooed between the ages of 10-14 years. If she is not tattooed, then it will be considered as a sign of disgrace.

Tattooing of men's was important as it marked the victory of the clan by capturing an enemy head. Tattoo marks were punctured indicating the bravery in head hunting, and killing dangerous animals.

Thus next generation, will be deprived from experiencing one the most distinctive traditions of this age, although for various reasons, it is indeed a loss of tradition and cultural. The glimpse of these spectacular tattoo arts will be available to the future generations the few pictures taken since the camera was invented!

Time to blow the whistle Parliament is considering an amendment to the Prevention of Corruption Act which would only end up helping the corrupt. Its passage would administer a big blow to our already weak anti-corruption mechanism As the nation engages in a doubtful "war on black money", we run the risk of disengaging ourselves from any action on corruption, the fountainhead of black money. Indeed, we may be moving backwards in the battle against corruption.

While everyone is busy debating demonetisation, Parliament is all set to change the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA), 1988, into a law that can only be described as Protection of the Corrupt Act. Worse, this move enjoys cross-party support, as in most instances where the political establishment protects itself. All in the name of war against black money, of course.

On the face of it, the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2013, which is pending before Parliament, merely proposes some amendments to the PCA. This Bill was first introduced in the Rajya Sabha in 2013, during the United Progressive Alliance regime following massive anti-corruption protests. The purpose, ostensibly, was to tighten existing anti-corruption legislation. But it had some worrisome provisions.

The real death knell was sounded after the National Democratic Alliance government proposed additional and fatal amendments in 2014. A Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha, comprising members across the political establishment, has already approved these changes. So has the Cabinet. This regressive piece of legislation was to be taken up for passage in the current winter session, now nearly washed out.

Hydra-headed amendments As it stands now in the version cleared by the Select Committee in August this year, the Bill serves to dilute and defeat the whole point of anti-corruption leg-

islation in more ways than one. It narrows down the existing definition of corruption, increases the burden of proof necessary for punishing the corrupt, makes things more difficult for the whistle-blower, and strengthens the shield available to officials accused of corruption. And it slips in a diabolic clause that would protect the babu-neta nexus from ever facing any serious anti-corruption probe. If this Bill becomes law, our already weak anticorruption mechanism would receive a fatal blow.

Let us examine how each of these key amendments serves to protect the corrupt rather than prevent corruption.

First, the proposed amendment narrows down the definition of corruption, as demanded by the powerful lobby of civil servants.

Section 13(1)(d) of the existing PCA covers various indirect forms of corruption including the obtaining of "any valuable thing or pecuniary advantage" by illegal gratification or by "abusing his position as a public servant". The present Bill removes this section and replaces it with a truncated definition of criminal misconduct by a public servant: fraudulent misappropriation of property under one's control, and intentional, illicit enrichment and possession of disproportionate assets.

Under this new definition, any benefit that is not economic, that is indirect or that cannot be proven to be intentional fraud will not be punished as corruption.

The Law Commission studied this proposed amendment carefully and disagreed with the narrow definition. Instead it proposed an even wider definition.

The Law Commission suggested that any "undue advantage" that results from "improper performance of public function or activity" of a public servant should be punishable. Yet the government and the Parliamentary Committee disregarded this suggestion and have obliged the babu lobby.

This is critical, as the existing Section 13(1)(d) is the

only provision in the PCA servant". This provision which deals with corruption was made in 1988 in order in high places where, typi- to cover an earlier loophole, cally, no under-the-table whereby many accused pertransactions take place. The sons would cite fresh corrupt public servant usu- sources of income at the ally receives illegal gratifi- stage of trial, resulting in cation in an extremely clan- acquittal in a large number destine manner such as off- of disproportionate assets shore transactions or non- cases. Strangely, the govmonetary considerations ernment proposes to delete such as a better posting, this requirement without post retirement benefits, etc. any recommendation to this All major scams, right from effect from any stakeholder.

Bofors to the 2G scam, the Thus the big offenders have Commonsecured a wealth vital esYogendra Yadav cape route G a m e s scam, the for themcoal scam, etc. became crimi- selves. nal offences by virtue of Third, the proposed this section. This is pre- amendment makes it more cisely why a section of bu- risky for a bribe-giver to reaucrats has been demand- give evidence against a ing a deletion of this provi- bribe-taker. Under the existsion on the ground that it ing law, if a person makes a inhibits fearless decision- statement during a corrupmaking that may involve tion trial that he gave a bribe, exercise of discretion and it would not be used to prosbona fide errors. This argu- ecute him for the offence of ment is simply not true. abetment of corruption. The T.S.R. Subramanian, a re- current Bill omits this protired Cabinet Secretary vision and proposes that known for his integrity, has bribe-taking and bribe-givrepeatedly said that the ex- ing will be equally punishisting law offers adequate able. This would obviously protection to honest offic- deter bribe-givers from apers. It does not punish any pearing as witnesses in bona fide difference or even cases against public offimistake unless it is a clear cials. abuse of power leading to Admittedly, there is some financial or other gains.

Raising threshold of proof merit in not granting comSecond, the Bill makes it plete exemption to bribemore difficult to hold some- givers, but there was no one guilty of disproportion- need to do away with it alate assets as it raises the together. The government threshold of proof. Under had better options. The rethe existing law, the posses- port of the Second Adminsion of monetary resources istrative Reforms Commisor property disproportion- sion has recommended a ate to the public servant's distinction between "coerknown sources of income is cive" and "collusive" bribenough to prove corrup- ing. Those who are coerced tion. Now the prosecutor into bribing but report it will also have to prove that thereafter should be given this disproportionate asset some protection. At one was acquired with the inten- stage there was a proposal tion of the public servant to to give a seven-day window enrich him illicitly. Although for declaration by the bribethe Select Committee of the giver in order to qualify for Rajya Sabha agrees that exemption. But all such proving intention should ideas were rejected. The finot be made mandatory, we nal proposal now seeks to don't know the punish everyone and government's final position. thereby reduces the Besides this, currently, chances of evidence against "known sources of income" the bribe-taker. are limited only to those reThe fourth change receipts which had been "in- duces the chances of prostimated in accordance with ecution of the corrupt. The the provisions of any law, existing PCA requires the rules or orders for the time government's or higher ofbeing applicable to a public ficials' sanction before any

serving public servants can be prosecuted under the Act. The basic idea is to protect honest public officials from harassment, persecution and frivolous litigation.

The proposed amendment extends this protection to retired public servants, if the case pertains to the period when they were in office.

This seems a reasonable and necessary corollary of the original provision. But it also adds another unnecessary and pointless condition. If a private person approaches the government for sanction to prosecute a public servant for corruption, he would now need a court order to this effect.

This additional layer of protection for the accused would discourage victims of corruption and anti-corruption activists from prosecuting corrupt public servants.

Clearly, the government is concerned more about shielding government officials than prosecuting the corrupt.

tion. But why insist on sanction even before an inquiry? Surely, if there is no inquiry, there is no credible evidence. On what basis then would the government (or the Lokpal, if we go by the previous proposal) give or refuse to give the sanction? Or, how would anyone produce evidence to secure this sanction without an inquiry in the first place? Even if the sanction is granted, would it not alert the corrupt official about the impending inquiry and give him time to hide evidence?

This diabolic provision can only serve one purpose: make the higher bureaucracy and political bosses the ultimate arbiters in cases of corruption. If a politician wants to protect a corrupt officer, he can not only save him from prosecution (which can be challenged in a court) but also prevent any evidence gathering from taking place.

Reactivating the 'Single Directive'

Getting the nod first And, finally, the most deadly and diabolic provision that the government has quietly slipped in without much public scrutiny. It proposes to insert a new Section 17A that would bar investigating agencies from even beginning an inquiry or investigating the offences under this Act without prior approval. The amendment proposed by the government said this sanction was to be obtained from a Lokayukta or Lokpal.

The Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha makes it worse: it shifts the power to give this sanction to an "authority competent to remove" the person from office. Effectively, it means that now, the political masters will decide whether they wish to allow a corruption inquiry against any government employee or not.

This defies logic. As noted earlier, Section 19 of the Act already protects officials from mala fide litigation. If someone wishes to harass an innocent officer without any credible evidence of corruption, the government can refuse to give sanction for prosecu-

The babudom has thus managed to bring back the infamous "Single Directive". This refers to an older governmental order that no senior officer (of the rank of Joint Secretary or above) could be investigated without permission from the government. In the famous Vineet Narain judgment, the Supreme Court had held this order as illegal, in 1997. The government brought it back, this time as provision of law, in 2003. Finally, as recently as 2014, a Constitutional bench of the Supreme Court held that this provision was unconstitutional, as it violated the right to equality.

Such is the power of babudom and its hold over netas that it has managed to bring this immunity clause back for the third time.

As the winter session of Parliament draws to a close, it seems that this Bill may now be postponed to the Budget session. This gives concerned citizens another couple of months to build public opinion against this attempt to protect the corrupt. It is time to revive the anti-corruption movement.

DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13

P7

Top Upcoming Superbikes in India The next one year is going to be an exciting year for the Indian motorcycle enthusiasts. Apart from the usual motorcycle launches, expect these five superbikes too to make their grand entrances in the Indian automobile market in the next 12 months or so. We are waiting with bated breath to ride them.

MV Agusta Brutale 800 MV Agusta, recently started its operations in the Indian market. It will offer the 2016 Brutale 800 from July. Instead of hurrying up and launching its existing Brutale 800, MV Agusta has decided to be patient and launch its 2016 Brutale 800 sometime in July. The Brutale 800 will be powered by a 798cc, liquid-cooled, three-cylinder engine delivering 116bhp of maximum power at 11,500rpm and 83Nm of torque at 7,600rpm.

The guys at Kinetic, the firm that brought MV Agusta to India, has also said that the Brutale 800 will be priced between ? 13 and 14 lakh rupees, which will make it the most affordable MV Agusta motorcycle in India.

Ducati XDiavel Ducati XDiavel is a stroked out version of the Diavel, with a new bored out engine which means more userfriendly torque. Where the Ducati Diavel produced 162bhp at 9,250rpm and 130.5Nm at 8,000rpm, the XDiavel produces 156bhp at 9,500rpm and 128.9Nm at 5,000rpm giving it enough pull all through the rpm band. This means that the power and torque can now

be used at an early stage making it more cruisefriendly. In the form of XDiavel, Ducati has tried to make a more nimble version of the cruiser that Diavel promised to be. The XDiavel also lets the rider configure the bike in 60 different ways to suit his/her riding posture. Whether you call the Diavel (or XDiavel) a cruiser or not, Ducati seems to have realised that it would defi-

nitely take a slice of the customer base of trafitional cruiser customers, so now they've added a belt drive that to the XDiavel as opposed to the conventional chain drive. The bike also comes with a list of features which includes three riding modes (Sport, Touring, Urban), Brembo front callipers, traction control and launch assist. The price of the XDiavel is expected to be between Rs.18 and 20 lakh.

Ducati Multistrada Enduro But didn't Ducati just launch the all-new Multistrada a while ago? That's right, and what is the difference should you ask? Well, Ducati says that it has made a total of 266 changes in the standard Multistrada to turn it into the Multistrada Enduro. Basically, the idea is to make the Multistrada more off-road biased. More on the likes of the BMW

R1200 GS Adventure, Triumph Tiger XC and the KTM 1190 Adventure and so on. For starters, the Ducati Skyhook Suspension has been updated. It now gets 30mm more travel at the front and at the rear.

The front wheel is now 19inch in diameter while the rear is 17-inch in diameter.

Both the wheels are spoked as compared to the alloys that are on the Multistrada.

The ground clearance has also been raised by 35mm and the bike now sits 205mm off the tarmac. There is a heavy-duty bashplate that protects the engine as well. The handlebar of the Enduro sits 50mm higher than that of the Multistrada.

This means that riding while standing up is easier as the rider will not have to bend down much. The steering geometry too has changed and the double sided swingarm has grown longer and has been stiffened as well. All of this, Ducati says, results in better handling off the road. We believe that the Multistrada Enduro will be launched in India by the end of this year or early next year.

Triumph Street Triple 765 The Street Triple has long

Sonata ACT: One-of-a-kind safety watch launched Sonata, India's largestselling watch brand from Titan Company Limited, part of the TATA group, launched their safety watch called ACT - App-Enabled Coordinates Tracker - designed exclusively for women.

This one-of-a-kind safety watch makes use of custommade technology and will interface with the user's smartphone to trigger distress alerts to a network of designated recipients when needed.

Sonata ACT marks the incorporation of technology in the brand's products, adding tangible value for customers. This path-breaking product caters to the Indian audience at accessible price point, functional yet stylish.

Bearing the hallmarks of trust and reliability synonymous with the Tata name, the ACT marks another milestone for Titan Company Limited for having served 200 million customers.

Sharing insights on this exceptional product offering, S. Ravi Kant - Chief Executive Officer, Watches & Accessories Division, Titan Company Limited said, "The Indian woman contin-

sporty, aggressive character. Some of the other changes that will be carried out are the addition of 3 standard riding modes and a new TFT screen for the instrumentation console.

The top of the line 'RS'

Street Triple, the Speed Triple is also supposed to get updated and be launched by the end of the year or next year. The brakes and the exhaust cans will be updated while the Triumph might keep the engine as it

half fairing as well. Also, the bike will have varying power outputs for each model. The extra displacement will be a courtesy of a slightly wider bore and the longer stroke. Also, this will help the motorcycle to conform to the Euro 4 emission norms and yet retain a

model might get five riding modes, including one for the racetrack as well.

is, barring a few minor changes here and there.

The most mysterious update is the Ram air-intake in the middle of the twin headlamps which might be a way to boost the power by a tiny bit. This one might take a longer time to come Indian shores.

Triumph Speed Triple Well, since the younger 'Triple' has an update on the cards so why the elder 'Triple' should be also left behind? Yes, along with the

Gionee M2017 with 7000mAh Battery to Launch on December 26 Last week, Gionee teased a 7000mAh battery smartphone, hinting that launch is imminent. Now, the Chinese manufacturer in a post on Weibo has announced that the Gionee M2017 will be unveiled on December 26 at an event in China.

The smartphone's big highlight is the mammoth battery capacity of 7000mAH. The event will be held at Haikou Mission Hills in Hainan, China, where the Gionee M2017's pricing and availability will be unveiled.

As per leaks, the Gionee M2017 is tipped to sport metal edges on four sides with the power and volume buttons housed on the right

edge of the smartphone.

The back of the smartphone sports a rubber-like textured finish.

The Gionee M2017 was spotted on the certification site as well, where most of its specifications were leaked. It is expected to feature a 5.7-inch (1440x2560 pixels) QHD display. The smartphone is expected to be powered by a 1.9GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 653 octa-core processor paired with 6GB RAM and Adreno 510 GPU. The handset is also said to pack a massive 128GB of inbuilt storage.

The Gionee M2017 is likely to run on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, support dual-

SIM cards, measure 155.2x77.6x10.6mm, and weigh 230 grams. The smartphone will feature a dual-rear camera setup with a 12-megapixel sensor and a 13-megapixel sensor at the back with LED flash. At the front, there is tipped to be an 8-megapixel selfie camera as well.

There's fingerprint sensor housed presumably underneath the Home Button, and the 7000mAh battery is expected to support fast charging. Other connectivity options include GPS, Bluetooth v4.2, 4g LTE support, and Wi-Fi 802.11 ac.

There is no word on if Gionee plans to launch the smartphone in other markets outside of China as well.

These tech products can help you get a restful holiday season ues to evolve with the changing times. As she faces new challenges and responsibilities, Sonata is proud to present a unique offering for the new-age Indian women. With Sonata ACT, we are extending our offering to women and girls who are seeking new oppor-

tunities and are empowered to chase their dreams."

The Sonata ACT watch is complemented with a mobile application to be downloaded onto the user's smartphone. By making use of Bluetooth, the watch will interface with the mobile to

trigger distress alerts to a network of designated guardians.

The alert message will provide details of the user's location co-ordinates to be sent to the guardians via an in-app alert as well as SMS. Priced between Rs.2,749

to Rs.2,999, the watch will be available in 3 variants through World of Titan stores, large format stores like Central, Pantaloons and Shopper's Stop and authorized dealers.

It will be available online through http:// www.titan.co.in

Reliance Jio launches 'Locate My Device' service Reliance Jiowill reportedly introduce a new feature called 'Locate My Device', which will allow users locate their devices with the help of GPS

also be able to keep a track of location in a list view which provides more detailed information including the date and time.

The telco's JioSecurity app also allows its users to remotely control the device in case the smartphone is stolen. With the help of this app, users can wipe data or lock the smartphone remotely.

According to a TelecomTalk report, Jio subscribers can make use of this feature by logging into the Jio's official website.

"Currently, this feature appears to have not been taken live but once it goes live, users can track their smartphones from the website itself," the report said.

been a favourite of motorcycle stuntmen and enthusiasts. This time, Triumph will be giving the Street Triple a major overhaul.

The bike will four variants with one of them being a 'Touring' version, having a

The 'Locate My Device' feature will provide informa-

tion of smartphone's location history. Also, users will

Reliance Jio is offering free 4G internet and voice calling to its users till March 31, 2017. Analysts and industry experts said

that Jio could offer free services even beyond March 31 next year, with the country's top three phone companies unleashing an all-out price war against the Mukesh Ambaniowned company with similar plans that bundle free voice calls and data.

"Jio may decide to extend freebies by a couple of months beyond March 2017 if incumbent telcos get more aggressive on 4G pricing," Rajiv Sharma, telecom analyst at brokerage HSBC, said in a note seen by ET.

Fitness and sleep trackers Although virtually every fitness tracker now also monitors sleep, Fitbit's added in an extra feature for its new Charge 2 fitness tracker, released back in August. By including guided breathing sessions based on your heart rate, the Charge 2 helps to manage stress and promote relaxation, in addition to an auto sleep tracking feature to monitor and improve rest.

Kickstarter success story Oura also released its connected ring, which rather than focusing on fitness instead looks at sleep quality.

Instead of just tracking movement, which can lead to errors, Oura tracks heart rate, pulse amplitude, and variations in heartbeat intervals throughout the night

for a more accurate look at your sleep patterns. The team behind the ring also collaborates with lead research centers such as the California Center for Sleep Disorders and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.

Sleep accessories Although some already favor a sleep mask to help promote a more restful night's sleep, tech company Neuroon decided to take things a step further this year by releasing the world's first smart sleep mask.

Designed for those with sleep problems, frequent flyers and shift workers, together with its mobile app Neuroon tracks sleep patterns so you can understand and improve your

sleep schedule, and uses light therapy to help promote more restful sleep and make waking up easier.

Change Netflix to Napflix And finally, Spain came up with a more novel way to help us all get more shuteye this year, launching video platform Napflix.

Whereas screen service Netflix chooses the most popular TV shows to keep you up binge-watching, Napflix offers around 60 videos from YouTube, all designed to put people to sleep and chosen for their "monotony and repetition."

Footage of rain pattering on windowpanes, a documentary on pandas and another on quantum physics lectures are all available now to help people doze off.

DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13

India, Indonesia to prioritise defence ties: PM Modi New Delhi, Dec 12: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said India and Indonesia have agreed to give top priority to their defence and security ties in order to jointly combat terrorism and organised crime.

In a joint media address with visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Modi said the two nations share the value of "democracy, diversity and social harmony" and have nurtured "strong bonds of business and culture".

"Indonesia is one of our most valued partners in our Act East policy. We have shared economic and strategic interests. We have agreed to prioritise defence and security cooperation," the Prime Minister said after the two countries signed

PM Modi with Indonesian President Joko Widodo. a host of agreements at Hyderabad House here.

He said "combating terrorism, organised crime, drugs and human trafficking" were high on the agenda of his talks with Widodo.

Widodo is on a two-day state visit to India that began on Monday. He was earlier accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

PM @narendramodi with

President of Indonesia @jokowi at Hyderabad House, New Delhi. pic.twitter.com/ tdYphFhw0j - PIB India (@PIB_India) December 12, 2016 PM @narendramodi with President of Indonesia @jokowi at Hyderabad House, New Delhi pic.twitter.com/ sfx6JwMYkd - PIB India (@PIB_India) December 12, 2016 India, Indonesia sign three agreements India and Indonesia =signed three agreements following delegation-level talks here headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

"Agreements that advance a strategic partnership. PM @narendramodi & Prez

@jokowi witness exchange of agreements in three different fields," external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on cooperation in the area of youth and sports.

Another MoU was signed on cooperation in the area of standardisation.

A joint communique was also signed on voluntary international cooperation to combat illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing and to promote sustainable fisheries governance.

This is the first presidential visit from Indonesia to India in nearly six years since the visit of then President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in January 2011. (Agencies)

BJP turning up poll heat in UP, Mamata Banerjee to 2,000 hoardings to fill skyline PM Modi: How many

Image for Representation purpose.

Lucknow, Dec 12: 'Ab Aur Nahin Sahenge' (we will tolerate it no more) slogan and a 10-minute film titled 'UP ki kahani' to attack the Akhilesh Yadavgovernment are centrepieces of BJP's campaign in Uttar Pradesh.

Senior party leaders said it will be BJP's biggest campaign for any state.

"UP is make or break for us," a party functionary in Lucknow said.

Despite a wavering public mood over demonetisation, the saffron party is pulling back no punches. It plans to erect more than 2,000 hoardings with 'Ab Aur Nahin Sahenge' tagline across the state. Last week, it rolled out some 400 video vans to screen the film in all constituencies.

The film shows a young woman saying "Darr bana rehta hai" (the fear is always there) to lament the law and order situation and features the sharp exchange between the CM and Samajwadi Party state

president Shivpal Singh Yadav on stage when the latter said, "CM jhooth bol rahe hain" (CM is lying), and party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav saying on stage that "boys commit mistakes" like rapes. "Can women be safe in UP when the party chief says so?" the young woman in the video says, adding that there was fear during the time of BSP rule as well. A man in chaste Awadhi dialect concludes: "UP ka Bantadhar. UP Mein nil Batte Sanata" (UP is in ruins).

The party is also releasing two songs, including one

by Kailash Kher to encourage UP people to tell BJP their 'Mann ki baat' for an upcoming manifesto. It is also making arrangements to telecast live all campaign speeches made by PM Narendra Modi across the state.

The slogan, 'Ab Aur Nahin Sahenge' improves on its earlier slogan 'So Rahi Sarkar', and is derived to show frustration among people to not tolerate wrongdoings any more, a

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party leader said.

"So the new slogans say: 'Mahilaon pe Aaye Din Atyachaar, Roz Hatya, Aphaaran aur Lootpat, Zaminon pe Kabza aur Vasooli, Berozgaar Yuva Palayan ko Majboor - Ab Aur Nahin Sahenge'," the leader said. The party will also retain the running slogan, 'Saath Aayen, Parivartan Layen'. To scale up the campaign, BJP last week placed 'Akansha Peti' (expectation box) at nearly 15,000 locations with high footfalls, including private retail outlets and malls in leading cities, to get ideas from people about demands.

"Some 86,000 people have already dropped their demand postcards in these boxes. A missed call number launched by UP BJP is getting 24,000-30,000 missed calls daily with our call centre contacting these callers for their feedback. Compared to social media pages of other parties, BJP Facebook page gets far more activity and received 83 lakh impressions just in last one week.

We have featured over 400 videos there," a party functionary in Lucknow said.

A war room in BJP headquarters monitors the four Parivartan Yatra Buses and GPSfitted 400 video vans doing rounds.

At the BJP office in Lucknow, a picture of Bhim Rao Ambedkar is placed next to party ideologues Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya to buttress its claim of caring for the Dalits. (Agencies)

more lives will be lost?

Cyclone Vardah making landfall, 2 killed in TN

Two persons were killed as heavy rains accompanied by high velocity pounded Tamil Nadu.

Chennai, Dec 12: Two persons were killed as heavy rains accompanied by high velocity winds on Monday pounded the city and coastal districts of north Tamil Nadu due to severe cyclonic storm "Vardah" which began making landfall near here, uprooting hundreds of trees, disrupting land and air transport and throwing normal life out of gear "The landfall process of cyclone Vardah has begun," the India Meteorological Department (IMD)

said According to M Mohapatra, Additional Director General (Services) of IMD, the "eye" of the Cyclone is 20 kms off Chennai "The wind speed near Chennai 90-100 kmph.

Heavy rains and storm surge is expected. Landfall process has commenced at 2 PM. The cyclone will cross between 2-5 PM," Mohapatra said Power supply was suspended in many parts of these regions as a precau-

tionary measure. About 8,000 people from low lying areas in north Chennai, Pazhaverkadu in Tiruvallur district and villages off Mamallapuram, in Kanchipuram district were safely evacuated to 95 relief shelters, officials said Flight operations at the airport here have been suspended till 5 PM Long distance buses have been stalled and traffic came to a grinding halt in most areas with uprooted trees and electric poles blocking the roads All suburban train services have also been suspended Southern Railway announced cancellation of all 17 trains originating from Chennai central, as well as Egmore State Principal Secretary (Revenue Administration) K Satyagopal said "human loss is two", without elaborating In a statement, he said 260 trees and 37 electric poles had fallen and 190 tress removed. As many 224 roads were blocked and 24 huts damaged. (PTI)

CM Akhilesh Yadav has backed me: Atiq Ahmad West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

Kolkata, Dec 12: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi about how many more lives would be lost in the country in the wake of the demonetisation move.

"How many more lives will be lost for Modi babu?" Banerjee said on a social media website while retweeting a post by

Trinamool Congress spokesperson Derek O' Brien.

Earlier, TMC national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien had tweeted a list of 95 people who he said had died while standing either in queues at banks or ATMs or allegedly committed suicide due to cash crunch after demonetisation.

(Agencies)

President Pranab Mukherjee, PM Narendra Modi greet nation on Milad-un-Nabi New Delhi, Dec 12: President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday greeted the nation on the occasion of Milad-un-Nabi, which is celebrated as the birthday of Prophet Mohammed.

"Heartiest greetings and best wishes to a ll my fe llow countrymen in India and abroad on Milad-un-Nabi," Mukherjee tweeted.

"May Holy Prophet's message inspire us to work towards universal brotherhood, compassion, tolerance and well-being of all," the President said in a series of tweets.

"Let us on this day recall the life and ideals of Hazrat Mohammed Saheb and rededicate ourselves to the service of humanity," he

said.

Modi tweeted: "Greetings on Milad-un-Nabi. May this occasion deepen the spirit of harmony and unity in our society, and may there always be peace and prosperity."

Greetings on Milad-unNabi. May this occasion deepen the spirit of harmony & unity in our society & may there always be peace & prosperity.

Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 12, 2016 May Holy Prophet's message, inspire us to work towards universal brotherhood, compassion, tolerance & well-being of all #PresidentMukherjee - President of India (@RashtrapatiBhvn) December 12, 2016 (Agencies)

Lucknow, Dec 12: Strongman Atiq Ahmad, who faces more serious criminal cases than any other Uttar Pradesh politician and has still bagged the Samajwadi Party's ticket to fight from Kanpur Cantonment, claims Akhilesh Yadav has backed his candidature.

Sources close to the UP Chief Minister however said this was not so and pointed out that Akhilesh has always been against tickets to such persons. Akhilesh had earlier also objected to the merger of Qaumi Ekta Dal (QED) with the Samajwadi Party. Ahmad, speaking to ET, claimed he had met the CM several times. "CM and Mulayam Singh Yadav asked me to move to Kanpur to fight the election.

CM ki razamandi se ticket hai‌CM ke marzi na hoti to hum lete hain nahi (My ticket is with CM's agreement. If he had not agreed, I would not have taken the ticket)," Ahmad said. He also praised Akhilesh saying if SP gets majority, he would be CM. "Lambi paari rajneeti mein to unhi ki hai (he has long innings in politics)," he added.

Akhilesh is said to be dead against recent tickets given to such strongmen. Besides Ahmad, SP state president Shivpal Yadav on Saturday also announced a ticket for Sigbatullah Ansari, brother of strongman Mukhtar

Atiq Ahmad.

Ansari. The SP ticket given to Amarmani Tripathi's son Amanmani, who has been arrested by CBI in murder case of his wife, has also not been revoked yet. SP insiders say candidates like Ahmad and Ansari are crucial to tap the Muslim vote.

"The Muslims will vote in bulk for SP. Musalman ko kahin aur vishwas nahi ho raha hai. Musalman ka vishwas Mulayam mein hi hai (Muslims trust only Mulayam)," Ahmad told ET. He said an earlier incident of Akhilesh seen to be pushing him away on a stage was "misrepresented by media."

While unsuccessfully contesting the 2014 Lok Sabha polls on an SP ticket from Shrawasti, Ahmad had

made public that he faced 40 criminal cases, including 4 of murder, and court had taken cognizance of 24 such cases. Ahmad also lost the 2012 assembly polls from his traditional Allahabad (West) seat to BSP's Pooja Pal, the widow of BSP MLA Raju Pal whom Ahmad and his brother Ashraf are accused of gunning down in broad daylight in Allahabad in 2005.

Pooja won the seat in 2007 too. Ahmad has been MLA from the Allahabad (West) seat from 1991 to 2004 till he won the Lok Sabha polls in 2004 from Phulpur. Raju Pal defeated his brother Ashraf in a bypoll on Allahabad (West) seat in 2004 to be murdered a year later. (Agencies)

Madurai granite scam case probe: In a first, terrorists used silencer-fitted weapon Assets worth Rs 528 crore attached to gain entry into Army camp at Nagrota

Srinagar, Dec 12: Terrorists, who stormed the Army camp at Nagrota in Jammu region on November 29, used a silencer-fitted weapon to kill a sentry before gaining entry into the premises, a tactic adopted by the attackers for the first time in the troubled state.

After sneaking into the camp from the rear side, which had thick vegetation that provided natural cover of elephant grass, one of the terrorists fired at the sentry using a silencer-fitted weapon, official sources said.

As someone noticed the fall of the sentry, panic gripped the Army camp, which houses an artillery unit having presence of families of soldiers. Soon firing erupted.

The sources said night illuminators were fired to locate the terrorists who had by then entered an adjacent two-storey building where families of soldiers

were staying.

Anticipating a hostagelike situation, the Army troops with the help of para-commandos rescued the women and children first before launching a final onslaught on the terrorists.

Drones were pressed into the service which helped the snipers eliminate the terrorists inside the camp, the sources said.

Seven Army personnel, including two officers, were killed in the attack by the three terrorists, who were also eliminated in the counteroffensive which lasted nearly four hours.

Seeking to joining the dots related to the attack, multiple security agencies have indicated that three attackers had infiltrated into India from across the international border at Hiranagar in Kathua district of Jammu region.

The security agencies had recovered an iCom wireless set near a tree in

HIGHLIGHTS Terrorists, who stormed the Army camp at Nagrota, used a silencerfitted weapon to kill a sentry before gaining entry into the premises

Drones were pressed into the service which helped the snipers eliminate the terrorists inside the camp, the sources said.

Hirnagar that matched the frequency of the sets carried by the militants, sources said.

Not ruling out the possibility of local assistance being provided to the terrorists, sources said they had possibly entered into India on the night of November 28-29 and travelled a distance of 78 km to the Army camp using a wellconnected national highway before mounting the assault in the morning.

Initially, it was speculated that the terrorists could have travelled to the Army camp from Kashmir, a possibility that was rejected after the vehicular movement was scrutinised from the CCTVs installed at vantage points along the national highway linking the Valley to the rest of the country.

There were some intelligence leads suggesting that a militant sympathiser

Multiple security agencies have indicated that three attackers had infiltrated into India from across the international border at Hiranagar in Kathua district of Jammu region from Poonch had ferried the terrorists to the Army camp, they said.

BSF officials had initially rejected suggestions that terrorists entered through the international border but after the recovery of the wireless set, they started their internal probe.

The case is now being probed by National Investigation Agency (NIA).

(Agencies)

Chennai, Dec 12: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth Rs 528 crore in connection with its money laundering probe in the Madurai granite scam case in Tamil Nadu.

The agency has issued orders for the provisional seizure of the assets, 1,625 immovable properties and fixed deposits, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED had clubbed 48 FIRs of the state police in this case and booked a criminal complaint under PMLA few years back.

"During investigation, it was observed that during the period 2006-2013, they (Ms PRP Granites and Ms PRP Exports) acquired about 1,625 immovable properties of registered value of about Rs 103 crore from the said proceeds of crime.

"It was also noticed that over Rs 32 lakh was in fixed deposits. As these properties are involved in money laundering, the said Rs 32,57,275 in the form of fixed deposits and 1,625 immovable properties of present market value of Rs

528 crore in the name of Ms PRP Exports and Ms PRP Granites and have been provisionally attached under the provisions of PMLA," the agency said in a statement.

During investigations, it said, the agency noticed that the two firms and their partners "have entered into a criminal conspiracy to illegally quarry multi-colour granite stones from the nonlease hold lands.

"In this process they submitted forged and fabricated documents/lease agreements relating to adjoining lease hold lands so as to obtain mining permissions. They have resorted to illegal quarrying from the government Poramboke lands by removing the boundary stones erected by the Revenue department," the agency said.

It added that the probe found "they (firms and partners) used various machinery and explosive materials without adhering to statutory obligations and safety precautions causing harm to human lives.

"They forged and fabricated documents for transporting illegally acquired granite blocks so as to cheat the

statutory authorities and to camouflage illegally earned income," it said.

Investigations revealed that the firms were selling the "illegally mined granite blocks in the international/ domestic market in excess of the declared quantity and realised the sale proceeds.

The same were re-invested in acquisition of the immovable properties and mining lease licence and got further additional revenues.

"Thus the proceeds of crime were integrated and projected as money acquired through legitimate business."

An attachment of assets action under PMLA is aimed to deprive the accussed from taking benefits of their suspected ill-gotten wealth and such an order issed by the agency can be appealed before the Adjudicating Authority of the said Act within 180 days.

The granite scam came to the fore after the then District Collector U Sagayam in a report in May 2012 pegged the loss to the exchequer due to illegal granite quarrying in the district at about Rs 16,000 crore. (Agencies)

DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13

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Sensex sheds 232 points, Nifty ends 20 Bahubalis of D-Street: Look below 8,200; Asian Paints top loser who took over in '16 replacing On the BSE, 1,529 shares declined and 1,103 shares rose, while a total of 146 shares were unchanged

Mumbai, Dec 12: Snapping two-session long gaining spree, the benchmark indices ended lower on Monday as information technology stocks were hit by tough talk on visas

by US president-elect Donald Trump, while oil retailers declined after crude prices surged to their highest since mid2015.

The S&P BSE Sensex settled the day at 26,515, down 232 points, while the broader Nifty50 ended at 8,170, down 91 points.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative.

On the BSE, 1,529 shares declined and 1,103 shares rose. A total of 146 shares were unchanged.

"The Market plunged due to a spurt in oil prices and its impact on India's inflation band which has elevated the pressure on equities. Adding to this, the prospects of a rate hike by the US Federal Reserve later this week is almost factored by the market but the focus remains on US economic outlook and inflation, though investors are likely to view the event in conjunction with the policy stance of the newly elected US president," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.

Oil retailers were down on concerns about the impact of higher crude prices.

Bharat Petroleum Corp fell as much as 2.51%, while Indian Oil Corp declined up to 2.23%.

But oil and gas explorer Oil & Natural Gas Corp rose as much as 2.54% as it would benefit from higher crude prices.

Global markets Overseas, European stocks Image for Representation purpose. were mostly higher as political uncertainty in Italy Sentiment was also damp- Consultancy Services and eased and investors awaited ened after industrial out- Wipro shed up to 1.47% another rate decision from put unexpectedly fell in and 1.44%, respectively in the US Federal Reserve this October by 1.9%, driven intraday deals. week. down by a contraction in However, Shares of select Asian stocks witnessed a manufacturing and mining mid-sized and small infor- mixed trend. In Japan, the sectors, according to data mation technology (IT) Nikkei 225 index closed released late on Friday. and its related companies 0.84% higher. Japan's OcSectors and stocks extended gains and rose up tober core machinery orS&P BSE Auto index was to 20% for the second ders rose for the first time the leading sectoral straight day. in three months to beat exdecliner and shed 1.73%, Rolta India, Allied Digital pectations, government led by losses in Eicher Services, Intense Tech- data showed.

Motors, Amara Raja Bat- nologies, Aurionpro Solu- China stocks suffered their teries, Cummins India and tions, D-Link (India), biggest fall in six months as Bajaj Auto.

Smartlink Network Sys- blue-chips were knocked Asian Paints (down tems, TVS Electronics by fresh regulatory curbs to 3.15%), Axis Bank (down and Bartronics India were rein in insurers' aggressive 2.56%), Bajaj Auto (down up between 10% and 20% stock investments, while 2.52%) and Tata Motors on the BSE. rising bond yields prompted (down 2.05%) were the Smartlink Network Sys- profit-taking in equities. top losers on Sensex. tems, Bartronics India, The blue-chip CSI300 inIT stocks pared losses af- TVS Electronics, Tanla dex fell 2.4%, to 3,409.18 ter falling up to 2% after Solutions, Datamatics Glo- points, while the Shanghai Trump on Friday pledged bal Services and HCL Composite Index lost 2.5% to stop companies from Infosystems are from IT to 3,152.97 points. abusing the visa process software and hardware sec- Hong Kong's Hang Seng for foreign workers. tors hitting their respective index extended early losses Infosys fell as much as 52-week highs on the BSE and dropped 1.4%, to 2.44%, while Tata in intra-day trade.

22,433.02. (Agencies)

Digishala to lucky draws: 10 baits used by PM Modi to woo people towards cashless India

From discounts on petrol to lucky draws on cards, govt has been offering tantalising offers to woo citizens to make digital.

New Delhi, Dec 12: In a bid to promote a cashless economy, the Narendra Modigovernment, over the past month has announced a slew of measures.

Wrapped in the ill wind of demonetisation, these measures have managed to bring some respite. From discounts on petrol to lucky draws on cards, government has been offering tantalising offers to citizens to shift to epayments.

Some of the packages introduced by Modi government to push for cashless India are: 1. Lucky draws on cards: Digital payments may give customers a chance to win a weekly and quarterly lucky draw. Around Rs 125 crore a year would be incurred on these prizes, according to a source. All consumers and merchants using digital payments will be eligible for the draws, a release by NITI Aayog said.

Digital payments made post-November 8 would qualify for quarterly draws . Draws will be based on transaction IDs generated in that particu-

lar week, the release said.

All modes of digital payments - aadhaar-enabled payment system, unified payment interface, RuPay Cards will be eligible for these schemes.

2. 'DigiShala': The ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) launched a TV channel named 'DigiShala'.

The channel would be managed by Doordarshan (DD).

On original content, it would run videos produced by various departments, such as the rural development ministry or NITI Aayog, mostly talking about ways of digitising various types of payments, explaining the usage of point-of-sale machines and the benefits of Aadhaar-based payments, among other things.

DigiShala is a free-to-air channel, broadcast nationally on the DD free-DTH service. To achieve the objective of educating, enabling and informing citizens about a cashless economy, the government has also initiated a 'Digi Dhan Abhiyan'.

"DigiShala will enable and

empower every citizen of the country, especially farmers, students, dalits and women in rural areas, to learn the usefulness and benefits of digital payment in our everyday life," Ravi Shankar Prasad, the MeitY minister told reporters here while inaugurating the channel.

3. Petrol: discounts: A discounts of 0.75 per cent will be offered on purchase of petrol and diesel through either credit/debit cards, ewallets and mobile wallets.

Some petrol pumps charge two per cent on credit cards, a deterrent for many people. Now, with the government giving a discount, many will be encouraged to use cards.

There were about 30,000 petrol pumps using PoS machines in the country, out of the total 52,604 outlets owned by public-sector undertakings such as Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) before November 8. But, after the demonetisation announcement, the companies were quick to put cashless trans-

action system in place and sought about 25,000 additional machines from the banks.

4. General and life insurance: 10 per cent and 8 per cent discount will be offered in case of general and life insurance for buying new policy or paying premium online via PSUs websites.

5. Credit/debit card transactions up to Rs 2,000 will be exempt from service tax 6. Online booking of railway tickets will get Rs 10lakh accident insurance.

Those using digital mode to pay for railway catering, accommodation, retiring room will be entitled to discount of 5 per cent.

Monthly and seasonal suburban railway tickets purchased through digital mode will get 0.5 per cent discount from January 1.

7. POS machines: 1 lakh villages with population less than 10,000 will get 2 PoS machines (swipe machines) each, free of cost supported through financial inclusion fund. Estimates by the finance ministry suggest digital transactions will push the need for at least 1 million additional devices from the current 14 lakh that are already installed. Reportedly, of the total 1.4 million PoS devices available, 1.19 million devices are operated by banks.

8. Highway toll: 10 per cent discount will be available on use of digital mode for paying for RFID or fast-tags for highway toll 9. Central government departments and PSUs to ensure that transactions charges associated with digital payment shall not be passed on to the consumers and all such expenses shall be borne by them.

State governments are also being advised to consider doing the same.

10. Government will support RRBs and Cooperative Banks through NABARD to issue "Rupay Kisan Cards" to 4.32 crore Kisan Credit Card holders. (Agencies)

the likes of Wipro, HCL Tech New Delhi, Dec 12: Demand concerns, disruptive technologies and a shift in power in the US to Republicans made investors go light on two of the top four IT biggies, WiproBSE 0.98 % and HCL Technologies.

These two stocks are no more among the top 20 most-valued companies on BSE. Two commodity stocks, IOCBSE -2.25 % and Hindustan ZincBSE 0.23 %, booked their spots in what could be called the list of Bahubalis of Dalal Street.

Data showed a major reshuffle in the pecking order on this chart compared with what it was as of December 31, 2015.

The biggest change was the emergence of IOC in the 15th spot. The stock has climbed about 41 per cent this calendar. That, even when it was neither a constituent of the Sensex

nor the Nifty50. Its m-cap climbed to Rs 1.47 lakh crore at last count from Rs 1.04 lakh crore as of December 31, 2015.

"IOC's earnings are likely to grow at 24 per cent CAGR over FY16-18E led by firm petchem earnings, healthy marketing margins, improved refining profitability post stabilisation of highly complex Paradip refinery and zero subsidy losses," Prabhudas Lilladher said in a recent note.

Hindustan Zinc (20th spot) also does not belong to the starred indices, but almost doubled (up 92 per cent) its market value to Rs 1.18 lakh crore from Rs 62,000-odd crore at the end of 2015. Last year it was on the 31st spot.

Analysts noted that a surge in zinc prices in last one year due to a global shortage helped Hindustan Zinc, which is among the low-

cost producers in the world. This is a debt-free, cash-rich company, with a return on equity of 2728 per cent and return on capital employed of about 25 per cent.

"We believe the bigger trigger for Hindustan Zinc for FY18 is the Rajasthanbased Sindesar Khurd mine, which is going to be ramped up from FY18 onwards. The management has stated that 1.5 million tonnes capacity will get added to this mine by end of this financial year. One could expect a decent volume growth from FY18 onwards.

More importantly, zinc prices are likely to remain firm at least for the next one or two quarters," Avinnash Gorakssakar of Moneylicious told media recently.

Wipro, which was placed at the 14th spot, is no more among the top 20

EGM battle: Tata Industries removes Cyrus Mistry as director Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tata Group's crown jewel, with its EGM slated for December 13 will seek the ouster of Mistry as a director. In fact, electronic voting for TCS EGM is already underway.

Mumbai, Dec 12: Cyrus Mistry has been removed as the director of TataIndustries, a move that will escalate the boardroom battle that erupted after Mistry's sacking as head of the $103-billion business empire.

Mistry, who was earlier removed from the post of chairman of Tata Sons, was on Monday removed as a director of Tata Industries after an Extraordinary General Meeting, or EGM. With this, he also ceases to be the chairman of Tata Industries.

Six other companies -- Tata Consultancy Services, Indian Hotels, Tata Motors, Tata Chemicals, TataPower and Tata Steel -- have called EGMs. Last week Tata Group interim chairman Ratan Tatawrote to shareholders, asking their support in removing Mistry as chairman.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tata Group's crown jewel, with its EGM slated for December 13 will seek the ouster of Mistry as a director. In fact, electronic voting for TCS EGM is already underway.

Tata Sons, which had, in a board meeting on October 24, removed Mistry as chairman and is now sponsoring the EGMs, is learnt to have consulted a battery of top lawyers, including Mohan Parasaran and Harish Salve and has done a series of roadshows with investors within the country and abroad, and is busy

Cyrus Mistry. doing the last-minute appeals to shareholders to ensure nothing goes wrong.

But, lawyers and advisory firms told Business Standard that the Tatas are weighing all the possible outcomes at these EGMs, and how they could move from there.

At least two proxy advisory firms - ISS and InGovern have asked small shareholders to vote against the Tata Sons resolution to oust Mistry as director from group firms. Two other prominent advisory firms SES and IiAS - have asked shareholders to vote in favour of the resolution to oust Mistry. An analyst pointed out that many foreign investors have, in the recent past, raised concerns over removing Mistry, citing corporate governance issues.

Shriram Subramanian,

founder and managing director, InGovern, the proxy firm which advised shareholders to vote against the resolution to oust Mistry, said: "There's always the option of calling an EGM by the Tatas after a few months, if they need to."

While pointing out that Mistry has an uphill task to remain a director, he maintained that the Tatas have failed to give a logical or specific reason as to why Mistry was removed as Tata Sons chairman.

"That's the reason we asked shareholders to vote against the resolution."

According to Subramanian, tenable reasons for such an ouster would include financial impropriety, fraud, sexual harassment etc. "Personal vendetta or enmity cannot be a reason to remove a chairman." (Agencies)

companies by market value. The stock has seen its market-cap plunge 19 per cent to Rs 1.11 lakh crore from Rs 1.38 lakh crore (2015-end).

HCL Technologies has lost its market value by 6 per cent , from Rs 1.20 lakh crore to Rs 1.13 lakh crore. TCS is still the numero Uno with a market-cap of Rs 4.32 lakh crore, down 10 per cent from Rs 4.80 lakh crore at the end of 2015.

InfosysBSE -1.00 % has dropped one spot to sixth place from fifth last year.

This stock has seen its market-cap fall by 10.6 per cent to Rs 2.26 lakh crore.

ONGC has climbed from the seventh to fifth spot, while Coal India has fallen from sixth to ninth spot, and SBI has climbed from 11th to seventh spot. Sun PharmaBSE 0.49 % is now at the 11th place from ninth last year. (Agencies)

RBI denies plans to cancel Axis Bank's licence Recently, Axis Bank has suspended 19 of its employees for being involved in money laundering Mumbai, Dec 12: The Reserve Bank of India has clarified that it hasn't initiated any steps to cancel Axis Bank's licence over money laundering.

The central bank has dismissed it as "rumours" that were initiated after some media reports suggested the possibility of regulatory action against the bank.

"Not initiated any action to cancel the banking licence of Axis Bank in the wake of certain allegations about some serious irregularities in transactions relating to deposit/ exchange of Specified Bank Notes in a few branches of the bank," said RBI. The bank has also issued a clarification to the stock exchanges saying that the reports over licence cancellation are "false and malafide."

Recently, Axis Bank has suspended 19 of its employees for being involved in money laundering and the media reports suggested that as a result of this the lender may lose its licence.

(Agencies)

Are the markets prepared for a delay in GST rollout?

New Delhi, Dec 12: Even as the government hurries to get the States on-board to meet the deadline for its ambitious goods and services tax (GST) bill rollout by April 01, 2017, recent developments indicate a possible delay.

The deadlock between the government and States comes amid the government's clamp down on black money by demonetising the Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes in November.

While the Parliament's winter session concludes on December 16, the GST Council will meet again on December 22 23 to build consensus on these issues.

But how are the markets likely to react to a possible delay in the rollout?

Analysts say the markets have already factored in a possible delay in the GST roll out, as it April 01, 2017 was an ambitious target to begin with given the complexities involved in the bill. Though the markets could see a knee-jerk reaction, they rule out a sharp fall.

"GST rollout is a complex process, and at least I did not expect it will be on time. The delay will not impact the market going ahead. The immediate concern for the market is the demonetisation impact on

Image for Representation purpose. corporate earnings. In my opinion, events like delay in GST rollout, rate hike by the US Federal Reserve (US Fed) or even a rise in crude oil prices will not create any fear or paniclike situation. I don't expect the oil prices to breach $62 - 63 / barrel going ahead. Even the possible hike in rates by the US Fed has been discounted," said G Chokkalingam, CEO, Equinomics Research & Advisory.

"Going ahead, I expect the corporate earnings to be bad in January, given the impact of demonetisation. Though I don't expect a crash even then, a 2%

- 3% correction is not ruled out from the current levels. Stability of currency and aggregate demand improvement should only happen in the March 2017 quarter, which will also help markets stabilise," he adds.

BULLISH ON INDIA Despite headwinds, foreign brokerages remain bullish on India from a medium-to-long term view. Analysts at Morgan Stanley, for instance, believe the low return environment that India seems to be trapped in may get a breather in 2017 thanks to better equity valuations, the bottoming of the growth cycle (disrupted

temporarily by the recent demonetisation) and higher correlation with world equities on which they are more constructive.

"Equities are likely to deliver 15% return in 2017 compared to negative 3% in 2015 and 2016. India is one of our top emerging market (EM) picks.

We are overweight consumer discretionary, financials, technology and underweight staples, energy, industrials, telecoms and utilities," says Ridham Desai, head of India research and India equity strategist at Morgan Stanley in a co-authored report with Sheela Rathi.

On the other hand, Nomura maintained it's bullish on India, which is also their biggest overweight in the Asian region.

"We expect the MSCI Asia exJapan to end 2017 slightly below current levels, at 520. This assumes forward earnings growth of 6% (versus consensus of 10.5%) and a forward P/ E of 11.8x versus 12.5x currently," says Mixo Das of Nomura in a recent report titled "Asia 2017 outlook: Sailing into the storm" "We are downgrading Korea to 'Neutral' and Malaysia to 'Underweight', and upgrading Thailand to 'Neutral'. Our top 'Overweight' is now India," Das adds.

DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13

Pakistan army chief names Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar as new ISI chief Islamabad, Dec 12: Pakistan's new army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Sunday abruptly removed the head of the country's spy agency ISI and made several other significant changes in the army's top brass, as part of a major reshuffle.

Gen Bajwa, who took over from Gen Raheel Sharif two weeks ago, appointed Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar as director-genereal of the notorious Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), replacing Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar, the army said in a statement.

Lt Gen Akhtar, who was at the centre of controversy following a Dawn newspaper report which said that Pakistan's Nawaz Sharif-led government had told the army to either act against terrorists or face international diplomatic isolation.

The new ISI chief Lt Gen Mukhtar possess a vast experience in the field of intelligence and has headed the counter- terrorism wing of the spy agency in Islamabad. He was commissioned in the Armoured Corps regiment in 1983.

A graduate of the Command and Staff College Quetta, National Defence University Islamabad and War Course USA, Lt Gen Mukhtar had also commanded a mechanised division.

According to the statement, the newly-promoted Lt Gen Bilal Akbar has been appointed Chief of General Staff while Lt

Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar Gen Nazir Butt - presently President of the NDU has been appointed Corps Commander Peshawar (11 Corps), replacing Lt Gen Hidayat-ur Rehman, who was appointed InspectorGeneral Training and Evaluation (IGT&E) at General Headquarters (GHQ).

The appointments are seen as a move by the new army chief Gen Bajwa to put in place a 'new team' after he took charge on November 29 as the 16th Chief of Army Staff.

A career infantry officer belonging to the Baloch Regiment, Gen Bajwa is said to have extensive experience of handling affairs in Kashmir and northern areas of Pakistan.

Amont other changes he undertook on Sunday, Lt Gen Asim Salim Bajwa, presently heading army's media wing, has been ap-

pointed Inspector-General Arms (IG Arms) at GHQ. The newly-promoted Lt Gen Hamayun Aziz has been appointed Inspector General C&IT at GHQ, while Lt Gen Qazi Ikram has been appointed Chief of Logistic Staff at GHQ. Lt Gen Sher Afgun has been posted 31 Corps Commander which is based in Bahawalpur near the Indian border, while newly Promoted Lt Gen Muhammad Afzal will continue as DG FWO and Lt Gen Naeem Ashraf has been appointed Chairman Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT).

The new army chief has not announced the names of incoming heads of ISPR and Rangers in Sindh. Officials said he might consult the political leadership before making "politically sensitive appointments." (Agencies)

Bill English chosen as New Zealand's prime minister HIGHLIGHTS Bill English emerged victorious following a meeting of the National Party caucus.

English is a former farmer and practising Roman Catholic who has degrees in commerce and literature.

He has been in parliament since 1990 and was previously leader of the National Party in 2002

Bill English.

Wellington, Dec 12: New Zealand's ruling National Party appointed the experienced Bill English as the country's new prime minister on Monday following last week's shock resignation of his popular predecessor John Key. The centre-right National Party caucus met to confirm the decision on Monday morning, with English to be officially sworn in at Government House in Wellington later in the day.

State Services Minister Paula Bennett was named as deputy prime minister.

"Bill and Paula are outstanding leaders who will provide a good mixture of experience and fresh thinking," said party president Peter Goodfellow.

"Under their leadership, New Zealanders will continue to benefit from the stable government they expect, along with a dedicated focus on delivering results for families and businesses."

He added that with English at the helm the party would remain committed to "growing the economy, creating jobs, and allowing the government to invest in world-class services like schools, healthcare and infrastructure".

English, 54, was Key's preferred candidate to

succeed him after serving under him as finance minister and returning New Zealand's budget to a surplus.

A farmer with degrees in commerce and literature, he has been in parliament since 1990 and was previously leader of the National Party in 2002 when it suffered its worst election defeat.

"You learn more from losing than you do from winning," said English, who will go to the polls in late 2017 seeking the National's fourth straight election win.

English said New Zealand's prosperity, with an economy growing at about three percent, meant the country did not have the pool of disaffected voters responsible for Brexit and US Presidentelect Donald Trump's victory.

And he said a priority for his government was ensuring the most needy were given opportunities.

"We have a strong economy, almost unique in the developed world, and most New Zealanders would expect to be able to share in that," he said.

A committed Catholic with six children, English is regarded as far more socially conservative than Key, opposing the 2013

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legalisation of same-sex marriage and speaking out against abortion and voluntary euthanasia.

"It doesn't define me but it is an important influence," he replied when asked about his faith Monday, saying he would now support gay marriage.

Opposition Labour Party leader Andrew Little said voters could not expect much change from the switch from Key to English.

"New Zealand has moved on, but Bill English hasn't," he said. "The ring-wing rump of National under English is now reasserting itself."

Key resigned for family reasons, having recently marked his eighth anniversary as prime minister and tenth year as leader of the Nationals.

"Congratulations to my good friend @honbillenglish on becoming the new leader of the @nznationalparty and the next Prime Minister of NZ," Key tweeted soon after the announcement.

Bennett, 47, said she had struggled as a teenage single mother and the fact that she still had the opportunity to become deputy prime minister was "a credit to New Zealand".

"There was a moment when I was a 17-year-old Maori solo mum in Taupo, I'd left school with no qualifications, I didn't have a job and it looked pretty bleak, actually," she said. (Agencies)

China says no change in stand on NSG, Masood Azhar issues Beijing, Dec 12: India's diplomatic efforts to get China's backing for NSG membershipbid and getting JeM chief Masood Azhar designated as terrorist by the UN seems to be making no headway with Beijing on Monday saying its stand on the two key issues "remains unchanged".

"As for India's application for Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and listing issue pursuant to resolution of 1267 (to list Masood as terrorist), China's position remains unchanged," China's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Geng Shuang told a media briefing.

His assertion that China's stand remains unchanged on both NSG and Azhar issues was made while answering a question on Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar's remarks at an India-China think tank

forum in New Delhi last week when he said China should not give a political colour+ to New Delhi's efforts to access civilian nuclear technology.

Jaishankar had also expressed dismay over the two countries not being able to come together on the issue of "fundamentalist terrorism" at critical international forums, a reference to China blocking India's bid to get Azhar banned by the UN. China's second 'technical hold' on Azhar's banning in UN is due to expire at the end of this month and the two countries are in talks on both the NSG and Azhar issues.

Officials here are not clear about the complex process of the UN 1267 committee where China, a veto-wielding member, has blocked India's application twice already, while the rest of the mem-

The Chinese side is looking to work together with the Indian side to expand bilateral mutual beneficial cooperation. bers supported it.

On Jaishankar's remarks that China should respect each other's legitimate aspirations, Geng said as major developing countries it is natural that two countries need not see eye to eye on every issue.

"Thanks to the concerted efforts of China and India the strategic cooperation between the two

sides have made all round progress," he said.

"The two sides have been moving toward establishing a more closely knit strategic partnership for cooperation. As two major developing countries it is only natural for us to not see eye to eye on all issues, but the mainstream of the bilateral relationship is cooperation

Islamic State retakes ancient city of Palmyra Beirut, Dec 12: Islamic State militants recaptured the ancient city of Palmyra from Syrian troops Sunday, according to both sides in the battle, scoring a major advance after a year of setbacks in Syria and neighboring Iraq.

In winning back Palmyra, the extremist group appeared to be taking advantage of the Syrian and Russian preoccupation with Aleppo, timing its attack to coincide with a major government offensive to capture the last remaining opposition-held neighborhoods in the northern city.

Palmyra, with its towering 2,000-year-old ruins, holds mostly symbolic meaning in the wider civil war, although its location in central Syria also gives it some strategic significance.

Islamic State militants reentered the city Saturday for the first time since they were expelled by Syrian and Russian forces amid much fanfare nine months ago. The government's first important win against the Islamic State group in the historic city gave Damascus the chance to try to position itself as part of the global anti-terrorism campaign.

The militants had spent 10 months in Palmyra, during which they blew up a number of temples and caused other destruction - severing the heads of statues and partially damaging two temples and famous arch.

Maamoun Abdulkarim, Syria's official for antiquities and museums, said his department had transferred the contents of Palmyra's museum to Damascus, but that he still worries about the safety of the ruins from the IS militants.

"I fear they will be more vengeful," Abdulkarim told The Associated Press.

Palmyra was a major tourist attraction before Syria's civil war began in 2011.

Sunday's takeover came hours after government troops and Russian air raids pushed the group out the city's perimeter. IS militants later regrouped and attacked from multiple sides, forcing government troops to retreat.

The militants went door to door, looking for any remaining forces loyal to

A file photo of Palmyra.

President Bashar Assad, opposition activists in the city said.

Homs provincial Gov. Talal Barazi told the panArab Mayadeen news channel that the IS attack on Palmyra is a "desperate" reaction to the Syrian government's recent military "victories."

Scores of Syrian troops reportedly have been killed in fighting around Palmyra in recent days. While a distraction from the battle for Aleppo, it is unlikely to affect the government's final push on the last rebelheld neighborhoods in the northern city. By Sunday evening, there was no sign the army was shifting significant resources from Aleppo.

The government and its allies reportedly have mobilized some 40,000 fighters for Aleppo.

"I don't think the regime would withdraw forces from Aleppo to Palmyra and risk losing Aleppo," said Rami Abdurrahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition monitoring group. "I think the regime's priority now is to finish the battle for Aleppo before the end of the month for sure. As for Palmyra, the whole international community would stand by it against IS." In the last year, IS has suffered defeats in both Syria and Iraq, losing several towns and cities it had captured in 2014.

It is now under attack in Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city and the last major urban center it controls in the country. Since the Mosul offensive began nearly two months ago, Iraqi and US-led coalition forces have killed or gravely wounded more than 2,000 IS fighters, said Lt. Gen. Stephen

Townsend, the top US commander in Iraq. He made his remarks at a news conference with US Defense Secretary Ash Carter at Qayara air base in Iraq.

On Saturday, Carter announced he is sending another 200 troops to Syria to train and advise local fighters combatting IS. There are already 300 US troops authorized for the Syria effort, and some 5,000 in Iraq.

A Kurdish-led Syrian force, backed by the US, is also pushing toward Raqqa, the group's defacto capital in Syria, from the north. Meanwhile, Turkey is backing Syrian opposition fighters who have reached the outskirts of al-Bab, the IS stronghold in northern Syria.

In going for Palmyra, IS picked a soft target to demonstrate that it retains the ability to carry out large attacks despite its battlefield losses.

Mohammed Hassan alHomsi, who runs the Palmyra News Network, said IS was steering away from northern Syria, where Turkey and the anti-IS international coalition have focused their fight. The militants are eyeing new territory, and they chose Palmyra for its desert terrain linked to Iraq and its surrounding oil and gas fields, al-Homsi said.

The state news agency SANA, quoting an unidentified military official, reported that the militant group received reinforcements from Raqqa.

Russia's Defense Ministry put some of the blame on the coalition, saying it had scaled down its operation against Raqqa and allowed thousands of IS fighters to escape Mosul. The ministry said more than 4,000 militants have been de-

ployed for the Palmyra takeover, implying those attacking the city recently had left Mosul.

The Observatory and the Palmyra Coordination group said IS militants used a multipronged assault, forcing government forces to retreat south. A map distributed by the Observatory shows the IS-controlled areas extend east, south and north of Palmyra. They encompass a number of strategic hills around the city and expand the group's presence in rural parts of Homs province, Syria's largest, which is mostly under government control.

Osama al-Khatib of the activist-run Palmyra Coordination group, which keeps in touch with residents, said remaining government and allied troops were escaping from the southwestern edge of the city, where the ancient ruins are. The few remaining families also are trying to leave, he said.

Al-Homsi's Palmyra News Network said intense airstrikes followed the IS takeover. The group said IS fired on fleeing civilian.

In a video by the IS-linked Aamaq news agency, IS fighters were shown roaming a main square that appeared deserted below the citadel that overlooks the ruins and the Palmyra Museum.

Russia had earlier said it repelled an IS attack, launching 64 airstrikes overnight that killed 300 militants. But hours later, the activists said IS had seized a castle just outside the town that overlooks its famed Roman-era ruins.

Expelling the IS militants last year was seen as a major triumph for Assad's forces, which previously had little success against the extremists.

The government and its Russian allies have since focused on the opposition in Damascus and Aleppo.

After tightening the siege on eastern Aleppo, government and allied troops have been steadily carving into the rebel-held enclave since late November.

Of the original 45 square kilometers (17 square miles) of rebel-held area, only 7 square kilometers (4 square miles) remain in opposition hands, Syrian media said. (Agencies)

and the two of us are staying in communication on relevant issues," he said.

The Chinese side is looking to work together with the Indian side to expand bilateral mutual beneficial cooperation and manage differences based on consensus reached by leaders of both countries, he said.

On the US Congress clearing the decks for India to become a Major Defence Partner of America+ , Geng gave a guarded reaction saying that both America and India are important countries.

"We welcome normal state to state relationship between different countries. We hope that the bilateral relationship and cooperation will be conducive to regional peace and development," he said. (Agencies)

'Postdemonetisation best time to invest in property' for NRIs in UAE Dubai, Dec 12: Top real estatedevelopers from across India are taking part in a property show in Dubai which is being described as a "perfect opportunity" for NRIs living in the UAE to invest postdemonetisation.

The three-day show is playing host to top developers across India with thousands of various properties ranging from apartments, villas, row houses, plots, commercial to retail properties to suit their budget.

"For NRIs residing in the UAE, the Indian Property Show is more than just a real-estate exhibition," said R Srividya, General Manager Corporate Sales and Brand Engagement, Indian Property Show at Sumansa Exhibitions.

"It is a perfect opportunity to touch base with the latest happenings and updates on the real-estate front back home-particularly now that we are witnessing several important measures that have impacted the realty industry directly and indirectly, he said.

"For NRIs, these changes herald good omen since many builders are already adopting 100 per cent transparency policy and cheque payments, which obviously boosts the trust level between the two parties, Srividya added.

"The implementation of Real Estate Regulation Act (RERA) rules, have also been instrumental in bringing professionalism, standardisation and transparency in real-estate sector.

This, along with the recent wave of demonetisation has helped the Indian realty industry emerge more transparent and buyer-friendly," he said.

Despite initial hiccups, experts foresee an uplift of the real-estate sector in the long-term as a result of these corrective measures.

Consumer sentiment has already improved over the last year, and reputed developers are reporting higher transactions.

With RERA Bill in place in particular, NRI consumers will no longer have to deal with delayed possession, fluctuating prices and diversion of funds towards other projects - to name a few - instilling confidence in the Indian developers and the country's real-estate sector.

"This bodes well for endusers, who will be aware of their rights and have the assurance of not being cheated. They will be able to buy properties of their choice at affordable prices, in projects which will undoubtedly be delivered on time," he said.

(Agencies)

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DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13

P11 Mohammad Shami, Kyrgios thinks ban will help Wriddhiman Saha ruled him push for top 10 in 2017 out of Chennai Test

PTI Mumbai, Dec. 12: India's injured fast-medium bowler Mohammed Shami and first-choice wicke tkeeper Wrid dhiman Saha were on Sunday ruled out of contention for the fifth and final Test against England, to be held in Chennai from December 16 to 20.

Both players missed the ongoing Mumbai Test owing to injuries.

Shami had been troubled by an injury on his right leg through the series.

The pacer managed to

play the first three Tests despite clutching his hamstring while bowling in the opening game in Rajkot.

"BCCI medical team confirms that Indian pacer Mohammed Shami and wicket-keeper Wriddh iman Saha are ruled out of the fifth Test of the Paytm Test Series-2016 starting on December 16, 2016, against England in Chennai," Board secretary Ajay Shirke said in a statement.

The BCCI release added, "Shami has soreness in his right knee and has

been advised rest and rehabilitation. He will be going to the National Cricket Academy, Bengaluru to start his recovery programme.

"Saha who suffered a hamstring tendon injury in the second Test of the ongoing series against England at Vizag (Visakhapatnam), is undergoing rehabilitation programme at the NCA." In Saha's absence, Parthiv Patel has taken over the keeping gloves since the third Test in Mohali.

Gayle not surprised by Kohli's spectacular form

Gayle not surprised by Kohli's spectacular form

PTI New Delhi, Dec. 12: Having watched Virat Kohli's on-ield exploits from 22 yards, dashing Jamaican batsman Chris Gayle is not at all surprised with his Royal Challengers Bangalore captain's current form. "Virat is a fantastic batsman we all know that‌ what he has done is not surprising at all.

There will be many more

to come for sure," Gayle told PTI on Monday.

Kohli has hit three double hundreds in the last three series with an aggregate of 640 runs in the four Tests so far.

Gayle is in India to lend his support to the USLDiageo's Road to Safety initiative encouraging fans to celebrate responsibly this festive season.

Gayle pledged his commit-

ment to the cause by signing the pledge to Never Drink and Drive. Supporting the initiative, he said, "India holds a special place in my heart and I've always been embraced and accepted by my fans here."

Through this initiative, I hope to encourage people to Never Drink and Drive and celebrate responsibly during the upcoming festive season."

Australian World No 13 Nick Kyrgios wanted to get suspended but it gave me time to think about and analyse what I've got to get better at."

The tempestuous Kyrgios, Australia's brightest hope of a men's grand slam champion since Lleyton Hewitt, clinched his first three titles this year in Atlanta, Marseille and Tokyo.

He also dubbed his effort losing to Andy Murray at Wimbledon as "pretty pathetic", however, and withdrew himself from conten-

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British media.

"The only things they are getting are honesty, professionalism, dedication but not the results they expect. They have in their mind the mistake that Marouane did at Everton and no more than that."

Substitute Fellaini had only been on the field for four minutes on December 4 when he conceded the penalty which Leighton Baines converted.

"He is a player and a person I like and the person is more important. He will always have my trust and protection," Mourinho added.

Having persistently said United's league position did not reflect the performances of his side, Mourinho felt his team's play was vindicated in the win over fifth-placed

Tottenham.

"To be honest, after so many matches playing well but not winning we needed the points more than the performance but I knew against Tottenham it is difficult to get the result without playing well. We played very well," he added.

"It was even better than the other (performances) because we were playing against a team that is better than the others, this is the team that I prefer, I fancy more in the Premier League."

United, who have drawn six and lost three of their 15 league matches, are in sixth position but 13 points adrift of leaders Chelsea.

United travel to face 15thplaced Crystal Palace on Wednesday.

"But ultimately, my ranking jumped from about 30 to 13, so that's a successful year.

"I've got a couple of guys in my team who hopefully can help me push for that top 10 spot next year.

"It was a fun year. I did a lot of fun things. I got Australia back in the world group of the Davis Cup, won a couple of titles, so it's been a good year so hopefully I can back it up in 2017."

Advani to meet Chennai may be Cook's Gilchrist in World last as Test captain Billiards final Agencies Bengalure, Dec. 12: Ten-time World champion Pankaj Advani, on Monday, decimated Myanmar's Aung Htay 50 to storm into the finals of the IBSF World Billiards Championship in Bengaluru. India's most decorated cue sport champion will now meet the legendary Peter Gilchrist, who beat India's Dhvaj Haria 5-1, in the other semi-final.

Advani began his semi-final by registering a commanding 150 points against 55, with 101 break point, in the best of nine games.

In the next game, he was ruthless pounding home 150 points to a mere eight from his opponent, with a break of 150.

Htay, down after two games, made his way through by posing a challenge in the third posting a break of 96, but did not pocket the game as Advani's break of 122 was too good for the Myanmar

player, who lost 129-150.

The ace cueist then pressed harder to win next game 150-18, with 117 break and lapped it up with 150-79 in the fifth and final game to seal Htay's fate.

In another semi-final, Gilchrist scripted a 5-1 win against Dhvaj. The Singapore-based British player started with a bang with registering 150-5 win in the first game.

Gilchrist, however, faced a bit of challenge from his rival, who scored 150 with breaks of 76 and 61, which was enough for Dhvaj to seal the game in his favor 150 points against 87.

After winning the third game 150 against 118, Gilchrist, in his supreme form, displayed his talent as a world-class player, who knocked Dhvaj out of the race for a final world championship berth.

Gilchrist bagged the games between four and six with score-sheet reading 15033 150-11 and 150-28.

Mourinho backs Fellaini despite frosty reception from fans Agencies Manchester, Dec. 12: Jose Mourinho understands why Manchester United supporters gave Marouane Fellaini a negative reception during Sunday's 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur but the manager will do all he can to protect the midfielder.

Fellaini, who gave away a late penalty in a 1-1 draw at Everton the previous week, was jeered by supporters in Old Trafford when he was warming up during Sunday's contest and again after replacing midfielder Ander Herrera in stoppage time.

"I had that feeling. I accept it because from the fans you have to accept everything and especially fans that are giving so much without getting so much," Mourinho told

tion for the Olympics after a public slanging match with Australia's team leader for the Rio Games.

A week after his Tokyo triumph, he clashed with fans as well as the chair umpire at the Shanghai Masters and walked off court midway through a point against Mischa Zverev.

"It's been a rollercoaster, we had a lot of highs, a lot of lows," Kyrgios added.

Agencies Tokyo, Dec. 12: Hundreds of Japanese fans showed up at the crack of dawn to greet Real Madrid as they arrived in Japan on Monday to contest the Club World Cup. Led by Cristiano Ronaldo, the European champions arrived shortly after 5:00 am and were met by about 300 fans at Tokyo's Haneda airport before boarding a team bus.

Zinedine Zidane's team will hold a practice session later on Monday in Yokohama as they prepare for Thursday's semifinal clash with Mexico's Club America.

Madrid set a new club record after a 35th consecutive match without a loss by beating Deportivo La Coruna 3-2 on Saturday.

They return to the competition with 13 of the players who lifted the Club World Cup title in 2014, when they beat San Lorenzo in the final.

Advani to meet Gilchrist in World Billiards final

Alastair Cook's last game as England's Test captain.

PTI Mumbai, Dec. 12: The fifth and final Test, which begins in Chennai on Friday, could turn out to be Alastair Cook's last game as England's Test captain.

Faced with a barrage of questions over the future of his captaincy after the India series, Cook said he would have a chat with Andrew Strauss, director of England cricket, before taking a decision.

"The comments I made (at the start of the series) have not changed anything. It sticks true to the end of this series.

I will sit down with Straussy at the end of the year, like we have made a pact to do, to talk honestly and openly about stuff. My position has not changed if we had won this game or lost this game," Cook told the media on Monday after England were beaten by an innings and

36 runs in the fourth Test.

Speculation about Cook's captaincy began last month after the lefthander hinted in an interview that he could give up his role after the India series.

'Deep down I don't know how much longer I am going to carry on. It could be two months, it could be a year,' he was quoted as saying by Cricketer magazine last month.

Asked if Joe Root is ready to take over as England's Test captain if he did indeed quit, Cook was categorical.

"Joe Root is ready to captain England. You never know until you actually experience it, the whole thing that comes with the England captaincy. You are thrown in at the deep end and you kind of sink or swim. It is as simple as that. Nothing can prepare you for it," Cook

pointed out.

"He is ready because he is a clued up guy, he has the respect of everyone in the changing room. He has not got much captaincy experience, but that does not mean everything," Cook added.

"Being captain of England is a huge honour, a huge privilege. You are at the forefront of the team and it comes onto your shoulders when you win or lose. In the heat of the battle you make those decisions. You go to bed at night and you have to live with making good or bad decisions," Cook said.

"As a bloke to be asked to lead your country is a huge honour personally.

I am very proud to do it," Cook, who has captained England in 58 Tests since being appointed in 2012, said.

Cook has played 139 Tests, scoring 10,998 runs with 30 centuries.

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India's injured fast-medium bowler Mohammed Shami

Agencies Sydney, Dec. 12: Australian World No 13 Nick Kyrgios thinks his ATP-imposed suspension will stand him in good stead when he makes a push for the top 10 next season.

The 21-year-old rose to a career high ranking this year but his tour season ended with a $25,000 fine and a two-month ban from the ATP for not trying in a match at the Shanghai Masters.

The ban was reduced to three weeks after he agreed to see a sports psychologist.

"The ATP wanted me to see a psychologist to help me out and I've been doing that," Kyrgios told Fox Sports after helping the Singapore Slammers to the Indian Premier League Tennis title in Hyderabad on Sunday.

"It's actually been good, just relaxing a little bit, spending more time with my family and my girlfriend as well.

"So the suspension, one way to look at it, is getting more time off with the people you love and I've been training as well, so it's set me up in good stead for 2017.

"Obviously I wouldn't have

Real Madrid arrives in Japan to contest Club World Cup

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DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13

P12 Kohli describes Mumbai Test Told Jimmy Anderson win 'sweetest' in recent times to move on: Virat Kohli PTI Mumbai, Dec. 12: India skipper Virat Kohli on Monday described his team's emphatic win over England as one of the "sweetest" in recent times.

India removed the remaining four England wickets in the morning after they had resumed their second innings at 182 for 6 to script a massive win, which also helped the hosts to grab an unassailable 3-0 lead over the visitors in the five-Test series.

"It's a very special feeling.

The way the crowd came out here and supported it helped us push through the tough moments. I'm very grateful that it came off for us. This series win is probably the sweetest we've had in recent times," said Kohli.

Kohli, who was adjudged the Man of the match for his double ton, said the moment India had taken a huge first innings lead, they knew it was just a matter of time.

"The 231-run lead deflated the opposition, we saw their body language and knew the game was wrapped up when we had that lead," he said.

The 28-year-old said he was a bit nervous ahead of the match but setting realistic targets helped him as he blasted 235 -- his third double hundred this season.

"We haven't played on Indian wickets with too much bounce so the adjustment was very important. The plan was to get stuck in, I got away

Virat Kohli quickly," Kohli said.

"I was nervous before this game. We had a bit of a collapse so buckled down again. I kept the targets realistic, level the scores first then thought about the lead. An hour or two can change the complexion of the game.

"Credit to everyone. Vijay played a champion knock and it speaks volumes of his character. For Jayant, too, it couldn't have been any better. I was pretty focused on this game, a chance to seal the series."

After the Kohli-Jayant show, it was R Ashwin, who returned with sixwicket haul to dismiss England for 195 in their

second innings.

Kohli said:"We are running out of words to describe Ashwin. The impact he has had on this team. The batsmen have played second fiddle to his performances. Any team would love to have him. It's very difficult to get past him."

Virat also rubbed it in stating that they knew England would suffer because they did not have an extra spinner in their ranks.

"Both their spinners (Moeen and Rashid) bowled more than 50 overs and we knew that they would be bowling bad balls.

Devendro, Shiva, Manoj reach National Boxing Championship semis

Devendro Singh (Photo: Facebook) PTI Guwahati, Dec. 12: Devendro (52kg), Manoj (69kg) and Shiva (60kg) stormed into the semi-finals of their respective weight categories.

Indian boxers Laishram Devendro Singh (52kg), Manoj Kumar (69kg) and Shiva Thapa (60kg) stormed into the semi-finals of their respective weight categories at the senior men's National Championship on Sunday.

Shiva's bout, however, turned out to be an ugly one when his opponent, Ashok from the All India Police (AIP), allegedly head-butted the local star during their lightweight quarterfinal at the Sarusajai Indoor Stadium.

Despite winning the contest by a 5-0 unanimous decision, the 23-year-old Shiva's further participation in the tournament was jeopardised after being hit towards the end of the second round.

After completely dominating the first round, Shiva managed to floor his opponent with a volley of punches before a desperate Ashok head-butted him.

The injury seemed serious in nature with Shiva bleeding pro-

fusely before the ringside doctors attended to him.

The referee, however, allowed the bout to continue as Ashok targeted Shiva's face in the final round but the latter managed to keep himself out of the AIP boxer's grasp.

Shiva's father Padam Thapa said the boxer was being treated by the doctors available in the stadium but will proceed to the hospital for further treatment.

"As of now, there is no confirmation from the doctors... we are taking him to the hospital after getting basic first aid," Thapa said after his son's bout.

Padam further alleged that such boxers often turn up at tournaments just to "intentionally" disrupt prospects of the medal contenders.

"I have seen a number of such boxer coming to tournaments just for that reason (intentionally hurting the opponents) as they are themselves incapable of doing anything in the game," he said.

Earlier, 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Manoj overcame stiff competition from Jammu and Kashmir's Ashish before registering a 41 win by split-verdict in their Welterweight quarter-final.

The two-time Asian Games bronze medallist used all his experience to thwart any chances of Ashish gaining the upper hand with his height and reach.

"Guwahati is lucky for me...after the gold at the National Games here, I also bagged the same medal recently in the South Asian Games.

Hopefully, it gets third time lucky for me," he said.

Manipur's Devendro faced a tough fight from Haryana boxer Niraj, before emerging victorious by a 3-2 split decision.

The 24-year-old Asian Championships and Commonwealth Games silver medallist had to sweat hard with his trademark tempo as the Haryana lad matched every punch in the Flyweight category contest.

"Happy that I am now in medal contention. But it was a tough contest. My opponent is a talented one and I am sure he can do well in future tournaments," the diminutive boxer said.

Among others, in the Welterweight category, Ankush Hudda of Chandigarh thrashed Andy Chauha of Mizoram 50 while Delhi boxer Prayag Chavhan also emerged victorious over Manish of Madhya Pradesh to enter the semis.

In the Light Flyweight (49kg) division, Akshay of Maharashtra defeated Vipin Kumar of Chandigarh after the referee stopped the bout in first round, while Bahadur Rana of Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) beat Mizoram's N.T. Lalbikkiama with the referee stopping the bout in the second round this time.

Shyam Kumar of Railways Sports Control Board (RSPB) defeated Neeraj of Delhi and Haryana boxer Amit outdid V. Jyoti Swaroop of Andra Pradesh, both with unanimous decisions.

Also when you bowl your pacers less in this kind of a track, they lose confidence because when they are brought into the attack, they think of restricting runs rather than taking wickets."

His counterpart Alastair Cook was left rued the missed chances and lost opportunities which saw them suffer their third defeat and lose the five-Test.

"I thought 400 was a pretty good score on that wicket.

Keaton played really well, at 230 for 2 maybe should have got 450. Historically, 400 is a good score on this ground. In the second innings, we had our chances. We aren't taking

those chances at the moment," Cook said.

"Virat played an extraordinary innings but we had a chance on 60-odd to get him. Those are things that the game changes on.

We are in it for three days but not good enough to stay in it. We have not been good enough to match India."

England also did the tactical blunder of coming into the match with four seamers and Cook admitted it was a mistake to not have an extra spinner.

"We wanted to see what four seamers would look like because on the tour they have given us control and our two best spinners have been Mo (Moeen Ali) and Rash (Adil Rashid)," Cook said.

"When you batted first you didn't need that extra seamer, so that was a mistake. We had a chance to restrict the lead.

We would have been in the game. But that isn't really good enough.

"To me, we batted better in this game than the previous two. I go back to the chances we missed, we could have bowled India out for 400."

Asked about Kohli, Cook said: "Virat is in incredible form, having one of the series you dream of. Clearly one of the great batsmen of our generation."

India and England will next play the fifth and final Test at Chennai starting on December 16.

Jintu Gogoi Memorial football from Dec. 14 Sports Reporter Dibrugarh, Dec. 12: Thirteenth Captain Jintu Gogoi, Veer Chakra Memorial Football Tournament will be organised by ‘Dao Division’ under Operation SADBHAVANA, as a mark of tribute to Kargil Martyr and Assam ‘Bir Chilarai’ Captain Jintu Gogoi, Veer Chakra at Chowkidinghee field, Dibrugarh from 14 December to 24 December 2016. The tournament aims to promote the spirit of ‘Good Will’ amongst the local population and also promote sports. It will be organised in association with Dibrugarh District Sports Association (DDSA).

The tournament has over the past few years, evolved as an ideal platform for the youths of Assam to showcase their passion for the game and give them a launch pad to bolster their sporting talent.

The tournament not only patronises the sporting talent in Assam but also propagates the universal message of ‘Peace through Sports.’ The Captain Jintu Gogoi, Veer Chakra Memorial Football Tournament is unique by itself as it has free entry for all the participating teams.

The tournament will be played on knock out basis, in accordance with the rules laid down by the Indian Football Association (IFA). Sixteen Professional teams of Upper Assam will participate in the tournament including one team from Army (i.e. parent unit’s team of Captain Jintu Gogoi,

VrC). The teams have been placed into two pools. Teams in Pool ‘A’ are Lengrijan T.E Football Club, Billungoni Football Club, S.K.A.C. Football Academy, Singlijan Football Club, Dibrugarh B-Division XI Football Club, Garhwal Regt, Dibrugarh Rly Div Sports Club and Haluwating Football Club (Amguri). Teams in Pool ‘B’ are Tinsukia Rly Division Sports Club, Duliajan Football Academy, Cricket Club Dibrugarh Football Club, Tamulbari Football Club, Rupjyoti Sangha Football Club, Khowang Football Club, Sonowal Kachari Students Union Football Club Tengakhat and Moran Town Football Club.

The tournament will be inaugurated by GOC, Dao Division and Honorary Flying Officer TR Gogoi, father of Captain Jintu Gogoi, Veer Chakra on 14 December 2016 at 12:40 PM at Chowkidinghee field followed by inaugural match. Parents and relatives of Captain Jintu Gogoi, Veer Chakra will be the special guests during the opening and the closing ceremonies of the tournament.

Participating teams will be awarded prizes. The winner and the runners up team will be felicitated with the Captain Jintu Gogoi, Veer Chakra Memorial Football Tournament trophies.

DCCC beat Jeoti Moral Sports Reporter Dibrugarh, Dec. 12: Dibrugarh Cricket Coaching Centre defeated Jeoti Moral Sangha by eight wickets in the senior division cricket league tournament organized by Dibrugarh District Sports Association at DDSA stadium here today.

Put into bat, Jeoti Moral Sangha were bowled out for 61 in 19.5 overs. Pragyan Sharma scored 9 off 8 balls.

For DCCC, Ritesh Thakur, Sunil Lachit, Nitesh Rawat and Dipen Gogoi shared two wick-

ets a piece conceding 8, 9, 9 and 16 runs respectively.

In reply, DCCC scored 62 for two in 10.2 overs. Ripunjoy Dutta and Debanjan Tinsingha scored 20 runs each respectively. Chow Chowmin Chowkhow Barua contributed 14 off 10 balls with two boundaries.

Pragyan Sharma took two wickets conceding 29 runs for Jeoti Moral. Ritesh Thakur was adjudged man of the match.

Tomorrow, Cricket Club of Dibrugarh will play Evergreen Club.

Told Jimmy Anderson to move on: Virat Kohli PTI Mumbai, Dec. 12: Virat Kohli's maturity as a captain came to the fore on Monday as he made light of Jimmy Anderson's comments about his technique urging the England veteran to "move on" after Ravichandran Ashwin had also told him the "importance of accepting defeat".

Anderson in his post-match press conference on Sunday had made an uncharitable comment that Kohli's technical deficiencies was not at display because the pitches in India which is devoid of bounce and there is lack of movement.

This was after Indian captain has pulverised the England attack scoring 640 runs in 4 Tests.

When Anderson came into bat, Ashwin was seen talking to him and it was Kohli and the umpires who intervened.

Asked about the incident, Virat portrayed an elderly statesman like attitude.

"It was the first time I was trying to calm things down at a time when he is (Anderson) involved. Ashwin was not pleased with whatever he had said in the press (yesterday).

Ashwin told me on the ground, I had no clue about it. I was laughing about it, but Ashwin was not too impressed," Kohli told media persons.

"He (Ashwin) let him know, not using bad words at all, I think he said he was pretty disappointed in what he said and it's important to accept defeat and things like that.

You know how Ashwin is, to the point he can really strike you well without using bad words. That's exactly what happened. Later on, I told James these things happen and it's time to move on," Kohli showed that he is ready

to put an end to the controversy.

Rival captain Alastair Cook termed it as something that has been blown out of proportion.

"It was a bit of a sour end really. A disappointing end in terms of how well the spirit between both sides has been.

It was clearly reference to what Jimmy said yesterday which has kind of been blown out of all proportions which it can happen here," said Cook.

But in a veiled manner, Cook did not forget to mention that he endorsed what his main fast bowler had said.

"He was just stating a fact which if you asked Virat is probably quite true. But yes, it was obviously just ticking up for their captain, which I thought was slightly unnecessary," he added.

Dhelakhat edge past Nakhrai Yuva Sangha Sports Reporter Dibrugarh, Dec. 12: Dhelakhat Football Club defeated Nakhrai Yuva Sangha 31 in the A-division football league 2016-17 Tinsukia Zone of Tinsukia District Sports Association organized by Dibru United at Janamukh playground in Tinsukia today.

For Dhelakhat FC, Anu Juria scored hat trick goals in the 13, 25 and 65th minutes. Anu Juria scored the first goal through header and the next two goals were scored from the midfield. Mandiup Neog scored the lonely salvo for Nakhrai Yuva Sangha in the 64th minute.

In another match between Sripuria Club and Sheupur Football Club was ended in a goalless draw. One point each was shared between the two teams.

Tomorrow, Dhelakhat Football Club will lock horn with Sanjib Brahma Football Academy.

I want to continue for another 3-4 years: Mary Kom PTI Guwahati, Dec. 12: MC Mary Kom pulled no punches as the celebrated Indian boxer announced her intention to stretch her career by another "three-four" years and while the 2018 Asian and Commonwealth Games remain her "main focus", Tokyo Olympics, she said, is also not out of the radar yet.

The London Olympics medallist and five-time world champion recently decided to go back to the light flyweight (48kg division) amid speculation that it is among the two categories that the International Boxing Association (AIBA) is pushing for inclusion in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The 33-year, a mother of three, is back in the ring with renewed hopes.

"I am attending the national camp at IG Stadium. I just want to continue for another threefour years. If 48kg is included in 2020 Olympic Games, I will give it a shot and try win a gold medal for my country," Mary Kom said.

She added, "I have started training and though I could not participate in the boxing nationals due to the Parliament session, I want to represent India in international competitions. 2018 Asian Games, Commonwealth Games are main my focus and I will also look to compete in other official international competitions."

Aiming to groom potential boxers for future Olympics with world-class coaching and infrastructure facilities, the effervescent pugilist's Mary Kom Regional Boxing Foundation (MKRBF) today entered into an agreement with Petroleum Sports Promotion Board

MC Mary Kom (PSPB).

"Women boxing is becoming more popular. I just want to give back to my sport and my nation. To produce more champions from my academy, that is my dream. I have gyms and outdoor rings to train the underprivileged youngsters.

"People might think how would I be able to devote time being a MP, but this has been a long-time dream. Most of the boxers suffer from poverty, so if I can do something for them that will be a great achievement for me, besides my medals."

The PSPB agreement entails extending support towards refurbishment of the residential block and in addition granting Rs 75 lacs in a five-year period for facilitating the sportspersons at the academy.

Besides, State bank of India and Sports Authority of India have also come forward to assist the academy.

"SAI is supporting us under its extension scheme through which each trainee boxer gets Rs 600 per month, one kit.

We are getting financial assistance through NDSF (National Sports Development Fund). SBI has given Rs 2 crore for building a hostel."

Mary Kom is happy that the boxers have a national federation in place after many years.

She said, "It's a very good thing. Boxers gain more exposure through participation in competitions so it's really good that there is a federation now in place."

Mary Kom was accompanied by her husband Onler Karong, who is also the MKRBF's managing director.

After a rather disappointing year, Mary Kom will have something to cheer about as she will be honoured with the AIBA Legend's Award for her stellar career so far during the world body's 70th anniversary celebrations on December 20.

The agreement was executed by S Halder, Member Secretary and K LTejwani, Joint Secretary PSPB with Onler, Co-Founder and Managing Director, MKRBF in the presence of BC Tripathi, President, PSPB and Mary Kom.

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Editor: Prahlad Hammey

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