Tuesday,august 25,2015

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Vol. 1

Issue 83

Price -

Dibrugarh, Tuesday, August 25, 2015

5.00

Every Thursday & Sunday

Pages- 12

Bandh supporters vandalize public property during Dibrugarh bandh

ET CAPSULES Dead body of girl found

Curfew imposed at Barbaruah PS and Dibrugarh Sadar PS area A Staff Reporter Dibrugarh, Aug 24

Tension prevails in Dibrugarh even after the 12hour Dibrugarh bandh called

by Borpathar public in protest against the murder of Babul Dutta. Babul Dutta was allegedly murdered by three youths on Aug 20 at 11.40 pm when he was returning home. Babul Dutta, 45, was a social activist and resident of Borpathar, Kumar Gaon. All the educational institutions and business establishments were shut down which affected normal life in Dibrugarh. According to sources, on Aug 20 night near Laluka Gaon, Babul Dutta was on his motor bike and three youths were trying to loot a rickshaw puller, and when he tried to rescue the rickshaw puller from the clutches of the three youths an altercation ensued among

Itanagar, Aug 24: Lobsang Chotten who went missing on August 18 was found dead in a secluded location between Itanagar and Naharlagun national highway on Monday. The body was spotted by the Arunachal police search team who along with hundreds of civilians were on the search for the last six days. The details of events leading to her death are not known. The civil bodies have appealed to government for a proper enquiry into the cause of her death.

(Correspondent)

Murder in Golaghat Golaghat, Aug 24: An incident of murder has created much unrest at Rangajan in Golaghat. According to reports, a young man named George Induwar who worked as a labourer was returning home last night. Suddenly on his way home he was attacked by some unidentified miscreants. He died on the spot. Later the local people informed the police and police recovered his dead body.

Investigation into the matter is ongoing. (Correspondent)

Assam Police firing tear gas shell to disperse protesters at Barbarua in Dibrugarh on 24-08-15 during the 12 hours Dibrugarh bandh called in protest against the brutal murder of a local contractor Babul Dutta from Natun gaon area on Thursday night. Pic - UB Photos

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gress, but the party has never suffered. Meanwhile Senior BJP leader and Guwahati Lok sabha MP Bijoya Chakravorty welcomed Sarma's decision to join the party. "Sarma is no doubt a powerful and effective leader and his joining the party will definitely have a positive impact," said Chakravorty.

She said that the party would welcome him whole-heartedly when he joins it once the formalities were over. Asked about the reported opposition by a section of party workers

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Arunachal Assembly Speaker issued invalid documents to illegal migrants: Law student

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Following a compelling response in Shillong, Agartala, Aizawl & Imphal, Airtel 4G speeds are now available for customers in Tawang. Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel), the third largest mobile services provider globally with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, today an-

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US Set to Suspend Military Aid to Pakistan

The Odisha Police Bill, 2015 which is scheduled to be moved in the current monsoon session of the Assembly has several serious flaws, some of

BUSINESS

REGION

NEIGHBOURS

EDITORIAL

the last three years. Organic foods, which started out by occupying fewer shelves at retail stores, is now a Rs 300 crore business in the domestic market. The export market from India is even bigger at Rs 700 crore, according to industry experts.

the provisions are not in consonance with the national level committees and the apex court guidelines, said a cross section of people including representatives of all the major political parties excluding the ruling BJD.

Thailand's food industry, a key supplier to Western supermarkets.Andy Hall, 34, had previously been acquitted by a court last year on a defamation charge pursued by Thailand's Attorney General.But Natural Fruit.

months as adequately damaging to the Haqqani network, a U.S.-designated terror group. The U.S. Department of Defense has reportedly notified the Pakistani embassy in Washington of the development, according to a report by Dawn.

'Odisha Police Bill 2015 has several serious flaws'

Growing health consciousness and awareness about harmful pesticides has nearly quadrupled the size of organic foods in India in

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to Sarma's joining the party, she said that the BJP is a democratic party and allows all its members to express their opinion but it was also a very disciplined party and once a decision is taken, all abide by it. She also said that the BJP believes not in words but in work and the party aimed to set up a strong and stable BJP in the 2016 Assam

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The United States government will not certify Pakistan’s counter-terrorism operations in North Waziristan over recent

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ET Corresspondent Itanagar, Aug 24

Tarh Rekam, a law student, who seems to have grabbed the limelight for allegedly defaming Assembly Speaker Nabam Rebia, whom the former branded as being a god-

father to the illegal Bangladeshis in social media, today along with photographs and valid documents exposed the supposed highhandedness of the Speaker in this matter.

Rekam told the media that on 26th July, 2015, around 100 illegal immigrants had entered the State via Holongi (Assam)

without valid inner line permits and photos for identification. Rekam who witnessed this on the spot, admittedly enquired into the whole matter from the driver who dropped off the migrants.

Contd. on Page 3

ET Correspondent Lakhimpur, Aug 24

Lakhimpur District Deputy Commissioner cum District Magistrate Debeswar Malakar recently accorded permission to Wing Commander, Commanding officer of Air Force for using the Dullungmukh Firing Range for live bombing, rocketry and firing activities with effect from 1st August of this year to 31st July, 2016. The permission is accorded by the DC for the use of the Air Force limit of aforesaid range which is well within the jurisdiction of Lakhimpur District for the abovementioned period. Further it was also directed that the proposed area of Dullungmukh Reserve Forest to be used for the above purpose be cleared of humans, cattle, etc. The entry of any vehicle to that area is prohibited during the said period, especially between 9.30 am to 1.30 pm.

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Thai court indicts previously acquitted British activist A Thai court today indicted a British labour rights activist in a case linked to a report he co-authored alleging severe labour abuses in

Four-fold growth in organic food business in 3 years

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The Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) today condemned the demand of the State BJP unit for the resignation of the Chief Minister and the council of minis-

BJP’s sole aim is to destabilize the elected democratic government in Arunachal.

Such behavior will affect the smooth functioning of the State Govt. and adversely impact the working system, the Govt. employees, elected leaders and the businessmen in the State, APCC added.

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ters. “Have BJP leaders like Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Rajasthan Chief Minister, Vasundhara Raje and their council of ministers involved in Vyapam and Lalitgate scam resigned when there is CBI enquiry going on?” Asked APCC. APCC further alleged that

ET Bureau Itanagar, Aug 24

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Lakhimpur DC permits Air Force to use Dullungmukh as firing range

nounced the commercial launch of its high speed 4G services (also called LTE) in Tawang. Now, customers can experience high speed wireless broadband on Airtel 4G and get on to the digital superhighway to enjoy uninterrupted HD video streaming, superfast uploading and downloading of movies, music

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Tawang, Aug 24

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alleged that the Bharatiya Infra Project Limited (BIPL) that is executing the highway project has unnecessarily delayed the execution resulting in high escalation of costs.

Meanwhile, 1444 BCC

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to providing compensation for the land used. Momong is located 5 km to Chowkham.

The road at Momong is in bad condition and not motorable; big potholes and small pools of water on the road are liable to cause accidents. At the same time, it is

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km stretch of road where construction has been halted seems to have come in the way of development of the Namsai district. Overall 23.5 km of road has been blacktopped out of the 25 km of road from Namsai to Chowkham under verbal assurance with regard

APCC condemns state BJP’s demand for resignation of CM and council of ministers

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Airtel launches 4G services in Tawang

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Trans Arunachal Highway (TAH) construction at Momong village has been disrupted owing to an irksome issue of compensation. The 1.5 ○

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Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi today expressed regret at his former colleague Himanta Biswa Sarma leaving the Congress and joining the BJP, and said that he was once Gogoi’s blue eyed boy. “I had helped and supported him a lot, and he was a capable minister,” said the chief minister.

Gogoi also said that many have joined and left the Con-

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Bishnu Rana Namsai, Aug 24

Doomdooma, Aug 24 : a teenager named tanu churi of tarajan tea estate which falls under doomdooma police station ,died in a road mishap at dusk on saturday.according to information the deceased had jumped from a moving ape van as he was riding on its back as a result he got severe head injuries and succumbed on the way to the garden hospital.the angry mob of the garden damaged the vehicle and beat up its driver.they attacked on the police vehicle too when a police team arrived on the spot to pacify so police resort mild lathicharge to disperse the unruly mob. (Correspondent) ○

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Trans Arunachal Highway construction disrupted at Momong village

Teen died in mishap, mob lathicharged

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ET Correspondent Guwahati, Aug 24

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Assam CM expresses regret over Himanta Biswa Sarma leaving Cong

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Sonari, Aug 24: Abhiruchi Sports Day will be observed in Sonari also under the aegis of Charaideo District Sports Association along with the whole of the state on Sept 3. Accordingly, mass run will be held in the morning, athletics completion and felicitation and prize distribution ceremony will be held from 2-30 pm. (Correspondent)

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The United Organization of Arunachal (UOAP) under the leadership of Toko Obi as chairman and Atung Tana as secretary general has today reiterated its demand which include initiation of CBI inquiry into the alleged financial mismanagement by the incumbent State Govt. since 2011 and immediate resignation of

Abhiruchi Day

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Sonari, Aug 24: One person – Bijoy Nayak - was arrested in connection with the suspected rape and murder case of a young girl which took place in Mathurapur in Sivasagar district on Saturday night. Police said that they have got some clues of the girl being raped and murdered. (Correspondent)

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ET Correspondent Itanagar, Aug 24

1 arrested

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UOAP demands resignation of Arunachal CM on moral grounds

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PSBs’ physical branch network an advantage despite digital banking onslaught New Delhi, Aug 24

Despite the onslaught of digital banking, public sector banks hold an advantage in their physical branch network and can reap the benefits by optimizing channels.

According to a study conducted by JD Power and associates, an American marketing information services

PHYSICAL BRANCH VERSUS DIGITAL BANKING ØEven in highly "digitized" bank-

ing markets, 75% of customers sign into a bank by visiting a branch. ØWhen customers have a problem, one-third of the customers prefer to try and resolve it by visiting a branch. ØEven though digital channels are more efficient from a cost perspective, branches are not going to go away

ØWhen customer loyalty and branding are looked at, branches are an important part of customers’ experience. ØIn the US, virtual or digital customers, who use only the digital platform have far lower loyalty rates. ØPSU banks are sitting on a gold mine in the form of their physical branches.

firm, even in a highly "digitized" banking market like the US, 75% of customers sign into a bank by visiting a branch. Also when they have a problem, one-third of the customers prefer to try and resolve it by visiting a branch. Gerrit Kuyntjes, Vice President and General Contd. on Page 4

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PAGE 2

DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, AUGUST 25

Govt receives INR 90,000 crore proposal from global electronics companies

CBI seeks 3 more weeks to take over Vyapam case

New Delhi, Aug 24: The Central Bureau of Ahmedabad, Aug 24: ing quarter. The govern- Investigation (CBI) on Government has received ment has been pushing to investment proposals total- promote manufacturing in Monday filed an affidaling Rs 90,000 crore in the the country, especially elec- vit in the Supreme last two months for elec- tronics. While players like Court (SC) asking for tronics manufacturing in Samsung, Micromax and three more weeks to the country, with signifi- Spice have been assem- take handover of the cant interest in making bling handsets in India, Vyapam case from the mobile phones by local and foreign firms. "About Rs 90,000 crore worth of proposals were received in the last two months. There is hardly any company which has not shown interest to manufacture in India," said Ajay Kumar, Additional Secretary in Ministry of Communications and IT. India is already the fastestgrowing smartphone market and it is now also becoming the fastest growing manufacturing destination of phones in the world, said Kumar. Proposals worth about Rs 1.10 lakh crore have been received in the last 12 months from various companies for electronics manufacturing in the country under the Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (MSIPS). Out of this, over 80% have materialised in the last two months itself. According to CyberMedia Research, 24.8% of smartphones shipped in the country during April-June quarter of 2015 were made locally, up from 19.9% in the preced-

firms like HTC, Asus and Gionee have also evinced interest in setting up their manufacturing base here.

In the past few weeks, Xiaomi and Motorola, along with Lenovo, have commenced assembling smartphones in the country through contract manufacturing by Foxconn and Flextronics, respectively.

According to the Department of Electronics and IT, the demand for electronics in India is expected to reach $400 billion by 2020, while the sector has potential to attract $100 billion investment and provide jobs to 28 million people.

The government last month extended the MSIPS policy by five years to boost electronics manufacturing.

The scheme was originally approved by the government in July 2012. It provides capital subsidy of 20% in SEZ or 25% in nonSEZ units engaged in manufacturing of electronics items. The original scheme was for a duration of three years. (Agencies)

Former Army Officer on OROP Fast Hospitalised Agencies New Delhi 24: Colonel Pushpendra Singh, one of the retired military officers on a fast-unto-death over the One Rank One Pension issue, or OROP, has been rushed to the hospital after his health deteriorated today. Col Singh, 63, has been fasting for a week at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar, along with Havildar Major Singh. Col Singh, who retired from the Army's Granediers Regiment, has been replaced on the fast by another ex-serviceman.

The army veterans had gone on indefinite hunger strike on August 17 - as the protests demanding the implementation of OROP escalated on Independence Day. Veterans had hoped Prime Minister Modi would announce One Rank One Pension in his Independence Day address to the Nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort. The assurance from the PM on OROP, however, had failed to satisfy them. Two days later, 10 former service chiefs wrote to PM Modi, expressing "dismay" over the government's handling of the issue. The letter also mentioned the efforts by the police and civic officials to remove the protesters from the site as part of the security arrangements for the Independence Day. As the Prime Minister's Office stepped in the next day, the army veterans agreed not to escalate their agitation for

Political Parties Cannot Be Brought Under RTI, Centre Tells Supreme Court Agencies New Delhi, Aug 24: Political parties must not be brought under RTI or Right to Information Act as they are not public authorities, the Centre has told the Supreme Court. In an affidavit in response to a petition, the government has argued that political parties are not "public authorities" as they are not set up under the Constitution or any law enacted by Parliament - they can't be treated as an institution or establishment. "If political parties come under the RTI it will affect their smooth internal functioning. Political rivals will file RTI applications with malicious intent ," the government says. A petition by the NGO had said that political parties should be declared "public authorities" to bring them under the RTI Act. The petition also urged the court to ask political parties to declare all donations, including those below Rs. 20,000.

the next 10 days. But the three ex-servicemen had refused to call off their hunger strike. On Sunday, Mrinalini Singh, daughter of Union minister and former armyman General VK Singh had joined the protest, saying she would also ask her father to join the cause. The implementation of OROP has been on hold over what the Prime Minister had called "nitty gritty details" in his Independence Day speech. "It has been stuck for 20 years... Even I haven't been able to solve it yet," he had said, But he added that the government was committed and was "in the final stages of deciding". The ex-servicemen want the same pension as those of the same rank who are retiring now. The veterans want pensions benchmarked at the 2014 rates and reject the government offer of 2011 rates. Government sources say it would mean an expenditure of Rs. 20,000 crore instead of the expected Rs. 8,000 crore.

Madhya Pradesh government. It has also sought three weeks' time to engage its special prosecutors in the cases. CBI requested the court to allow state government's public prosecutors to continue

so that the routine hearings of the cases do not get affected. According to the CBI, 212 cases related to the scam have been identified till date. Of these, in 93 cases, final charge sheets have been filed,

List Of Phone Numbers Of Nursing Homes Tinsukia City Hospital & Research Centre Category: General Hospital Hospital Address: Gnb Road Near Bujhuri-786125, Assam Pin Code :786125 Phone Number :0374-2333349 Fax :0374-2350026/2339974

Dr.Bawaris Nursing Home Jeevan Jyoti Nursing Home Category: General Hospital Category: General Hospital Hospital Address: Parvathiya Road Hospital Address: Parbatia,Opp Hindi Girls High School-786125, Assam Tinsukia-786125, Assam Pin Code :786125 Pin Code :786125 Phone Number :(0374)2339756 Phone Number :0374-2336319 Fax :0374-2335334 Fax :0374-2350131

Pinewood Hospital Category: General Hospital Hospital Address: Subothoni Road Moniam Dewan Nagra-786125 Pin Code :786125 Phone Number :0374-2300730 Fax :0374-2339730

Help-Line APST BUS SERVICE Ph: 0360-2212338, 0360-2351490 NIGHT SERVICES Name of Routes Departure Distance(km) Bus Fare 1) Itanagar- Shillong ( Daily service) 5:00 pm 510 460/2) Itanagar-Nyapin(Mon, Thu, Sat) 2:00 pm 325 400/3) Itanagar- Aalo (Daily service) 2:30 pm 325 350/4) Itanagar-Daporijo (Daily service from Nlg)12:00 noon 432 470/5) Itanagar - Yingkiong (Alternate day) 01.00 pm 436 550/6) Itanagar - Seppa (Alternate day) 12:00 noon 385 420/7) Itanagar - Khonsa (Sun, mon, wed, thur) 1:00 pm 677 620/8) Itanagar - Namsai (Daily service) 1:00 pm 655 580/9) Itanagar - Koloriang (Alternate day) 2.30 pm 334 400/DAY SERVICE 10) Itanagar - Guwahati (Daily service) 6.00 am 395 350/11) Itanagar - Pasighat (Daily service) 6.00 am 270 250/12) Itanagar - Tirbin (Mon, thu & sat) 5.30 am 328 330/13) Itanagar - Bomdila (Daily except Fri) 6.00 am 346 320/14) Itanagar - Aalo (Daily service) 5.30 am 325 350/15) Itanagar - Sagalee (Sun, Tues & Thur ) 7.30 am 121 135/16) Itanagar - Pakke Kessang (Mon, Wed & Fri)7.00 am 160 200/17) Itanagar-Mengio (sun, tue &Thur) 6.00 am 198 230/18)Itanagar-Kimin/ H-Camp (Daily except Sat)12.00 noon 94 80/19) Itanagar-Gerukhamukh (Daily except Fri)12.00 noon 134 120/20) Itanagar- Balijan (Daily except Sun) 12.30 pm 105 105/21) Itanagar - Sonajuly (Daily except Sun) 01.00 pm 70 80/22) Itanagar - Jote (Daily except Sun) 07.00 am & 01.00 pm 22 30/23) Itanagar- Lakhimpur (Daily Service) 3.30 pm 64 70/-

Bordoloi Avenue, Paltan Bazar, Dibrugarh - 786005 Phone Numbers: 0373 - 2302219, 2302225

G M Hospital

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

AMC Road, Jalan Nagar Dibrugarh - 786 005

Archana Trauma & Orthopaedics Hospital

Brahmaputra Diagnostics & Hospital

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

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

Assam Medical College

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

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

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

Sanjivani Diagnostic & Hospital

Dr. Pawan Bajaj's Skin Clinic

Aastha Hospital

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

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

ferred the probe of all Vyapam cases, including related deaths, to the CBI. Earlier, the Special Task Force (STF) was investigating the cases under the supervision of the MP High Court-appointed

Special Investigating Team. Later, the CBI was asked to step in following a huge public and political outcry over several deaths linked to the scam, some of them unexplained. (Agencies)

ASTRO FOR YOU You will be torn between work and family as both try to grab your attention.

You may reserve the evening for having fun. You crave to become famous and are likely to accomplish your ambition shortly.

You must learn to get to the root of a routine to keep things fresh today. Just learn the basic psychology of people and analyse the facts. All action and decision has a motive, you will need to understand the chain to get the most out of things.

An auspicious day awaits you. You will pay more attention to your family than to your career or at the work-front. This will mean the resolution of some long pending issues and projects at home. An enjoyable time with your family and children awaits you.

Today, Cupid will send its arrow right through your heart. You will be trembling with pain – the sweet pain of lust and love. But the overzealous Cupid may not stop at just that. Just to be completely sure, it will virtually do shooting practice at you. You can do nothing but tell your love interest how badly you have been hit. However, be as conservative as possible in your approach.

You will be in a very good mood today. You will inspire others to achieve substantial things in life. While you have been looking to take on an extremely challenging project, you have been unable to find the right opening so far. You ought to start such projects today. The obstacles in your way will fade away on their own and you will be easily able to find the path to success.

Today you will find yourself delving deep into your inner self. You will reap a lot of monetary rewards, and will be generous in spending it on your near and dear ones. You may make up for the pressures at work by entertaining yourself with material pleasures. You will seek the company of someone with whom you can have an intimate chat.

You shall be immersed in successfully completing all your remaining work today. Whatever work you undertake today you shall be able to do it to your best capability and successfully and your work ability will be praiseworthy.

You may find yourself at crossroads, wondering which path to take. Crucial decisions regarding your personal life may numb your thoughts. Let this not interfere with your routine or it may lead to complications at work and with loved ones. Avoid making any hasty decisions, and in case you cannot find an apt solution, then delay the decision altogether.

Stay stern, as it might be necessary to exercise your grit to get the desired results today. Your presence may be dominating at the workplace, but your subordinates will find your manner pleasing as you hold them in awe of you.

Do not get carried away by your success or the tables may turn.

Your investments, inheritance, receipts, etc. will keep your packets filled with cash. No sooner you try to put them in safe; there will be more than one reason for some expenditure. Keeping a watch on incomes and expenses both will help you avoid any monetary problems. Your maturity, practicality and experience will come to your rescue today. Also, you may have to work your socks off today, but eventually all the hard work will be paid off.

Do you wish to have a new car or any other property? Make the bookings today, as it is favourable day to make such purchases. You will prioritise your needs and consider available finances so that you can have your dream car or house.

In the evening, you will find solace in temple or any other religious places.

There are indications you will be in hot pursuit of leisure today. This will probably be in the form of a short trip to recharge your batteries, and is probably fuelled by your satisfaction in the realisation that the role you play within your organisation is consequential, satisfying as well as rewarding.

PRASAR BHARATI (India's Public Service Broadcaster) ALL INDIA RADIO : DIBRUGARH (M.W.529.1m/KHz567 F.M. 101.30 MHz)

List of hospitals in Dibrugarh with contact details & phone numbers, Assam Aditya Diagnostics & Hospitals

and 119 cases are yet to be investigated. The CBI has also sought SC clarification on whether it had to take over only 119 cases or all of 212 cases. On July 9, an SC bench headed by Chief Justice HL Dattu trans-

Paltan Bazar, Opposite Aditya Hospital Dibrugarh

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

Phone No.-03732325456 E-mail -dibrugarh@air.org.in Facebook Page-All India Radio Dibrugarh Programme Highlights 25-8-15 (TUESDAY)

5-35 A.M-Bhaktigeeti (Devotional Songs) 6-10 A.M-Swasthya Charcha (Health Programme) 6-25 A.M-Employment News 7-15 A.M-Aajir Dinto (Morning Information Service) 7-30 A.M-Geetanjali(Assamese Modern Song) 8-35 A.M-Surar Panchoi(Composite Programme of Assamese Film Songs) 9-05 A.M- Antara(Composite Programme of Hindi Film Songs) 12-15 P.M-Teachers' Broadcast 12-45 P.M-Sponsored Programme-"Ei Path Hoise Bikashar" 2-30 P.M-Western Music Programme 3-45 P.M-Programme in Miju Mishmi 4-05 P.M-Programme in Khamti 4-25 P.M-Programme in Wancho 4-45 P.M-News for Arunachal Pradesh 5-00 P.M-Programme in Idu 5-20 P.M-Programme in Tangsa 5-40 P.M-Programme in Nocte 7-15 P.M-Chah Shramikar Aasor 8-00 P.M-Bijnan Jeuti 9-30 P.M-Sahitya Kanan-1.Short Story by Dipali Bhattacharya Baruah,2.Self Composed Poem Recitation by Ranjit Gogoi 10-00 P.M-Classical Music. Artist-Debashish Dey Sd-/H.O.P

PAGE 3

DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, AUGUST 25

AITF and IFCSAP issue joint press statement on Naga peace accord ET Bureau Itanagar, Aug 24: A joint meeting of Arunachal Indigenous Tribe’s Forum (AITF), conglomeration of all apex Community based organisations of Arunachal Pradesh and Indigenous Faith & Cultural Society of Arunachal (IFCSAP) was held on 23rd August 2015, at Legi complex Itanagar, pertaining to the recent peace agreement signed between Government of India and NSCN (IM) on 3rd August 2015 and with reference to the press releases issued by both the organisations on 7th, 9th and 19th August 2015, in various local newspapers of the state.

The following are the unanimously decisions:

Assam flood situation claims 13 lives, relief operations on ET Correspondent Guwahati, Aug 24: The flood situation in Assam has taken a violent turn and till date has claimed 13 lives, and to deal with the situation the Assam government has sought an interim relief of Rs 500 crore for relief, rehabilitation and repair works in flood-affected areas. "We will seek Rs 500 crore as an interim relief from the Centre. Many areas are still under water, so the final assessment of damages will take some time," Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said at a press conference here.

The Assam government has adequate funds for immediate relief operations, but the Central assistance would be required to carry out repair works of the damage infrastructure, he said.

Gogoi, however, lamented the Centre has not released the amount that the state government sought after floods last year. Talking about the current situation, he said the rains have stopped in many places and water level was slowly coming down. "As soon as the water level goes down, we will start assessing the damages of roads, embankments, bridges and other vital infrastructure," Gogoi said. Till yesterday, the current deluge had claimed 13 persons across many districts in the state. The floods have affected 18 districts with the worsthit being Dhubri, Goalpara, Chirang, Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon. According to figures of the Assam government, over 6.16 lakh people from over 1,291 villages were currently suffering. The government has opened 260 relief camps and 1.79 lakh persons are taking shelter in those.

1. Based on the press statement issued by various Naga based organisations including NSCN (IM) in its recent Independence Day celebration from its headquarters Hebron, clarifying their stand on the vexed issue of Naga territorial integrity and sovereignty, the AITF, IFCSAP and other community based organisations of Arunachal Pradesh reiterated that the content of recent peace agreement between Govt. of India and NSCN (IM) should be made public at the earliest for the benefit of all stakeholders.

2.

When the NSCN (IM) has clarified their stand on public domain

about their principle of negotiations ie not compromising their demand of sovereignty and territorial integrity of all Naga inhabited area including some parts of Arunachal Pradesh, the opinion of likely affected people of Arunachal Pradesh must also be addressed before signing the final peace accord.

3. Appreciating and appealing all stakeholders for solving the vexed Naga issue at the earliest the AITF, IFCSAP and other community based organisations of Arunachal Pradesh very strongly reiterated that the territorial integrity of Arunachal Pradesh will not be compromised to fulfil the aspirations of

Nagas.

4.

This joint meeting of AITF and IFCSAP held on 23-08-2015 have resolved the conflicting press media statements of the two organizations and amicably resolved the misunderstanding due to communication gap with a very healthy discussion among the members.

5. This meeting also decided to appeal the state govt. to address and restore the sanctity of all religious places in Arunachal Pradesh by protecting them from encroachment and other natural calamities. The immediate attention is drawn towards the protection of land surrounding the Buddhist Gumpa near Siddartha Hall Itanagar.

IPAK suspects Naga peace accord impacts Manipur's territorial integrity David Mayum Imphal, Aug 24: While expressing suspicion over the content of the IndoNSCN (IM) peace accord, the leader of Indigenous People’s Association of Kangleipak (IPAK), Sapam Cha Jadumani, stated that Central government’s proposal to consult with the people of Manipur and Chief Minister, Okram Ibobi Singh indicates that there is something wrong with the agreement.

Speaking to media persons at a press conference at the state BJP office here today, Jadumani said that the agreement might have affected the territorial integrity of the state of Manipur even if the Centre assured to respect the sentiments of the people of Manipur by not disturbing the boundary

of the state.

It is a widely held notion that the Centre metes out a step-motherly treatment to Manipur.

The Nagaland that was once a part of Assam became a state of India on 1 December 1963 while Manipur got statehood afterwards in 1972. IPAK along with BJP Manipur has jointly drafted a memorandum in the matter of Framework Accord between the NSCN (IM) and Government of Manipur. The memorandum will be submitted to the Prime Minister on 26, August.

State BJP President Th Chaoba also said that BJP central leaders will never distort the integrity of the state. Meanwhile, All Assam Manipuri Students Union (AAMSU) has extended monetary assistance to Samom

Sunilkumar of Uripok who has been undergoing medical treatment at Guwahati after sustaining serious injury during the ongoing mass movement for introduction of Inner Line Permit System in Manipur.

A team of AAMSU handed over a sum of Rs 2000 to the family members of the ILP protestor.

While addressing a gathering at a convention held at DNNK Girls High School regarding the ILP movement, president of the union said that the demand for introduction of ILPS in Manipur is constitutional and in accordance with the political rights of the people of Manipur. In support of the ongoing ILPS movement, the Union is ready to extend all possible help to the Joint Committee on Inner Liner Permit System.

NCTE recognized B.Ed course inaugurated in Lakhimpur DIET ET Correspondent Lakhimpur, Aug 24: Among the District Institutes of Education and Training (DIET) all over the country, the Lakhimpur District Institute of Education and Training situated in the Azad area of the district has achieved the glory of being the first institution to have introduced Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) course. Today the B.Ed course, recognized by National Council for Teacher ’s Education (NCTE), affiliated to Dibrugarh University was inaugurated. On this occasion, a meeting was held in the DIET premises in a befitting manner. The programme began with the lighting of ceremonial lamp by Debendra Nath Bhuyan, President of

Lakhimpur District Senior Citizen Association; former Principal of Dhemaji College chaired the meeting which was inaugurated by Nabin Chandra Dutta, the former Principal of the DIET. Gobin Chandra Borah delivered the welcome speech. Rukma Gohain Baruah, the Principal of Lakhimpur Post Graduate Training College participated in the meeting as the Chief Guest. He delivered a thought provoking speech on the inaugurated course explaining the redemption of education in Lakhimpur District.

Apart from him, a host of prominent educationists and intellectuals of the district like Rekha Phukan, Narayan Borgohain Lakhi Bora,

Tileswar Borah, Thagiram Bhuyan, Bhogendra Konwar. Dr. Hemanta Baruah, Ghana Mahanta, Girindra Bhorali, etc. took part in the meeting as Chief Guests and delivered speech on the relevant subject.

Pranita Das sang a Borgeet in the programme while Kankana Gogoi performed a Kathak Dance. It is to be noted that regular classes for the launched course will start from tomorrow. A total of 35 students have got admitted in the first batch of the course.

Nine faculty members out of which five are contractual and four regular will render their service by teaching the course in the Institute.

Sensex crashes over 1200 points for biggest intra-day fall in over seven years ANI Mumbai, Aug. 24 : The 30-share Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange plummeted by over 1200 points on Monday. A short while ago it was reported that there was a drop of over 1,077 points to 26,289 in afternoon trade. At one stage, the

Sensex had crashed over 1,200 points, for its biggest intra-day fall in seven-and-a-half years.

The National Stock Exchange (Nifty) had slumped 339 points, to 7,961 a short while ago.

The massive market selloff wiped-out more than three lakh crore rupees

worth of investor wealth.

The markets were battered down on intense, across-the-board selling by investors, amid a global sell-off, on worries that the Chinese economy was slowing more than expected. The Chinese stock market was down a massive 8.5 percent.

Other key Asian bourses in Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore had slumped between 2.4 percent and 5 percent. European markets in the UK, Germany and France had been beaten down by between 2.4 percent and 3 percent respectively. (ANI with inputs)

Workers are busy constructing the passage to Rang Ghar in SIvasagar under a beautification programme by ASI.

Pakistani terrorist Naved's handlers identified by NIA, more arrests likely ANI Jammu, Aug 24: In what could be a major breakthrough, the NIA has identified people who gave shelter to captured Pakistani terrorist Mohammad Naved Yakub?. ANI quoted NIA sources as saying that more arrests were likely in the Udhampur terror attack case.

Meanwhile, Naved, a resident of Pakistan, will make a confessional statement before a magistrate here on Wednesday regarding the role of the terror outfit in carrying out strikes like the Udhampur at-

tack in Jammu and Kashmir.

Naved, in his early 20s, was produced before a Special NIA court here today amid tight security and later taken to Chief Judicial Magistrate where the investigating agency informed that the accused was willing to give a confessional statement, official sources said.

Naved along with his accomplice Mohammad Noman alias Momin had carried out a terror strike on a BSF convoy on August 5 in Udhampur killing two personnel of the border guarding force. Momin was

killed in retaliatory fire while Naved was foxed and nabbed by two villagers whom he wanted to kidnap. Naved was extensively questioned for over a fortnight by NIA and sleuths of intelligence agencies during which he identified the truck driver Khursheed Ahmed Bhat, who had since been arrested. The Lashker terrorist also provided a picture of Abu Qassim, terror outfit's South Kashmir-based commander, on whom the agency has announced a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh to any

information leading to his arrest. NIA has released a photograph, which it had recovered during raids at various terror hideouts in Kashmir Valley, of one of the accused identified as Abu Okasha, a resident of Khyber Paktukhwa in Pakistan.

The agency also announced a cash reward of Rs five lakh on information leading to his arrest.

A similar cash reward has been announced for the fourth accomplice Zhargham who infiltrated into India with Naved and others from Gulmarg sector in the valley. (Agencies)

24-hr shutdown in Sonitpur ET Correspondent Sonitpur, Aug 24: A 24hour shutdown in Sonitpur to protest against alleged army custodial death of a "militant" partly hit normal life in the Assam district.

According to officials, business establishments were

closed at Gohpur, Biswanath Chariali, Naduar and some other parts of the Sonitpur district. The bandh was called by some adivasi groups protesting the alleged custodial death of alleged Birsa Commando Force militant

Sonagadi Nag. The bandh was supported by Assam Tea Tribe Student Association, All Adivasi Student Association, Adivasi Mukti Sangram Samittee along with Birsa Commando Force and ceasefire group Adivasi Peoples' Army. The

family members of the Birsa Commando Force militant have filed an FIR alleging that he had died in army custody. The charge was countered by the Army which too has filed an FIR claiming that the BCF ultra did not die in its custody.

AACWA welcomes High Court’s order of CBI probe into Arunachal CM’s alleged corruption ET Bureau Itanagar, Aug 24: The All Arunachal Contractor Welfare Association today welcomed the hon’ble Gauhati High Court order for CBI

probe into allegations of corruption by the Arunachal Chief Minister Nabam Tuki.

However, the association said that demand of the CM’s resignation at this point is not

justified. It added, the final verdict of the court as per CBI report must be awaited and if he is found guilty then the CM should resign on moral grounds. The association said

that at this time, state policies and programmes for development of the state should be prioritized and the government supported in its endeavour to this end.

UOAP demands resignation of Arunachal CM on moral grounds Contd. from Page 1 Chief Minister and his council of ministers on moral grounds. UOAP has welcomed the report of the Gauhati High Court order for a CBI inquiry into allegations of irregularities

in awarding contracts by the incumbent Chief Minister when he was the State PWD minister in 2010. To stress its demand the organization will organize a peaceful mega vehicle rally on 31st August, 2015 starting from Nirjuli to I.G. Park Itanagar. As a

corollary to their demand, the members extended their full support to the investigating agency CBI. The members said that the CM should step down from the post on moral grounds "so that there are no political interventions

during the whole investigation process". The organization has submitted three memorandums to the State Governor based on the same demand. But the group said there was no response from either the Governor or the State Govt. as of today.

Trans Arunachal Highway construction disrupted at Momong village Contd. from Page 1 informed that compensation for the said road has been already deposited to DC Namsai on 22 July

last. However due to delay in the compensation disbursement, the BIPL and BRO are in a puzzled state and much worried. BRO is strictly monitoring the construction of the highway

with a view to ensure quality. On the other hand, the stakeholders are pleading the BRO to release their land compensation at the earliest and facilitate early construction of the road for

the welfare of the people of the district. They also expressed disappointment over the inordinate delay caused by the district administration in dealing out the compensation.

Arunachal Assembly Speaker issued invalid documents to illegal migrants: Law student Contd. from Page 1 It is said that the migrants are labourers working for the Speaker in construction works.

Rekam has admittedly checked their ILPs and found that they were fake, with no seal and signature

of the issuing authority and no photo identity was also attached; he later sent them back but in a short time, the same migrants have entered again after the matter was dealt with by the Speaker through phone.

The Speaker on Thursday had warned of filing

a defamation and money suit against Rekam and the latter informed today that the former had settled the money suit at Rs. 10 crore. Speaking to the media here, Rekam an LLB student said that the fight has just started and he is ready for the legal battle with the Speaker.

He also said that the Speaker has tried to force his relatives to compromise and withdraw the facebook post but he denied. Tarh Rekam said there is no separate court for VIPs and he said he will attend the first hearing on 17th September, 2015.

Airtel launches 4G services in Tawang Contd. from Page 1 and images. Airtel 4G is available to customers across a range of smart devices including mobile phones, dongles, 4G

hotspots and Wi-Fi dongles.

Speaking on the occasion, DC Tawang Duly Kamduk thanked the Team Airtel led by Shri Dulen Kalita, Zonal Sales Manager for bringing 4G ser-

vices to this part of India.

Further, he called on the service provider to connect uncovered areas like Lumla and Zemithang. At a time when services provided by BSNL are not reliable, private participation

is the need of the hour. Earlier in the day, the Airtel team visited and distributed sweets along with textbook, notebook and other school stationery at Manjushree Vidyapith orphanage. (DIPRO)

PAGE 4

DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, AUGUST 25

Literary pensioner Rotiprova Gogoi felicitated in Sonari

ET Correspondent Sonari, Aug 24: A felicitation ceremony was organized today at the residence of literary pensioner Rotiprava Gogoi in Sonari to felicitate Gogoi for being selected for literary pension by the state government this

year. The programme was organized by Sonari Mahila Samity and Sonari Lekhika Santha during which the litterateur was felicitated by the organizations. Runu Hondique, Chairperson, Sonari Municipal Board and litterateur, social

worker Gunalata Saikia, Phula Konwar, Bela Bora, Hiranya Borgohain, Nibedita Phukon, secretary of Sonari Sakha Sahitya Sabha Indira Phukon Kakoty, Sashi Hazarika, Principal, BPBM HS School, social workers

Swapon Kar, Robin Bailung were present during the felicitation programme. In yet another felicitation ceremony organized by the Charaideo district committee of Tai Ahom Yuba Parishad, Assam (TAYPA) at Siu-Ka-Pha Junior College to felicitate the litterateur who was also the former President of All Assam Lekhika Santha and former Principal of Sonari College several distinguished persons like Robin Konwar, former Principal of Sonari College, subject teacher of PKB Girls HS School Moni Gogoi, Nibedita Phukon, Kalpana Baruah was present. The programme was anchored

by Bhrigu Hatimuria, the President of the Charaideo district committee of TAYPA.

Cong workers block NH37 at Teok-Jorhat, demand immediate repair of badly damaged Highway

Sallekhana or Santhara is not suicide but a religious vow: Jain Samaj has said that the Sallekhana or Santhara is not suicide as quoted by the High Court but it is a religious vow to be performed by the Jain Community members until the last moment. The Jain religion which is being practiced and followed in India since time imme-

morial is a scientific religion and there is no scope to perform any violent activity; that is why Sallekhana or Sadhana cannot be considered as being violent or unscientific religious activity, the community said. The judgement delivered by

the Rajasthan High Court has been strongly criticized by the Jain Samaj of Golaghat and today a delegation of Jain Samaj, Golaghat met the Deputy Commissioner and submitted a memorandum to the PM and urged review of the judgement.

Congress workers impose blockade demanding improvement of NH ET Correspondent Sivasagar, Aug 24: In line with the statewide protest called by APCC, along with other 15 districts of the state, Sivasagar District Congress Committee too in association with the Sivasagar Block Congress staged an one hour blockade of the NH 37 in front of the Dorika Bridge near Sivasagar town on Monday from 11 am to 12 pm in which several hundred Congress workers including Debabrat Saikia, the MLA of Nazira, Kalyan Gogoi, Ajit Ranjan Gogoi, the president of Sivasagar district Congress, Secretary Prameer Gogoi, Bijit Dutta, Mahmud Ali and others took part. The protesters shouted slogans against the central government for the pathetic condition of the highways in Assam. Debabrat

Saikia said before the media that the present policy of the BJP led central government of abolishing the former policy of 90% central grant and 10% state contribution is the main reason for the poor condition of the na-

tional highways and unmitigated flood impacts in the state.

Hundreds of vehicles got stuck at both ends of the Dorika bridge during the blockade. It may be mentioned that the protesters distributed leaflets describing

the reason for the blockade.

Later the protesters handed over a memorandum at the hands of Tapan Gohain, with the magistrate was present on the spot, demanding immediate improvement of the highways.

Jain community people submit memorandum to DC in connection with Rajasthan High Court verdict A Staff Reporter Dibrugarh, Aug 24: Around five hundred people of Jain Samaj today organized a peace procession in protest against a harsh verdict given by the High Court of Rajasthan in connection with Jainism. In the whole of India today the people from the Jain Community organized peace processions. “Our country named Bharat after the son of the first tirthankar of Jainism 'Shri Shri Shri 1008 Rishavdev'. After that the rebuilding of Akhand Bharat was completed under the leadership of Chandra Gupta Maurya who took the path of salvation by taking Jain Sanlekhna/Santhara around 2400 yrs ago,’’ said Amit Jain.

He said Sanlekhana/Santhara is an integral and very essential part of sadhna for salva-

Assam Cong leaders stage protests across the state against alleged failure of NHIDCL ET Correspondent Guwahati, Aug 24: Assam Congress leaders, including MLAs and MPs, staged an hour long blockade of national highways at 26 places across Assam today. The protest was against the alleged failure

of the National Highways Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) in maintaining the roads. APCC president Anjan Dutta alleged that the NHIDCL, a company owned by the ministry of road trans-

port, highways and shipping under Union minister Nitin Gadkari, has not been able to maintain National Highways 37, 37A, 15 and 52 from the time the company took over the maintenance and construction of highways

in April. “The poor condition of the roads is causing tremendous inconvenience to the public and Centre has not responded to the state government's pleas to maintain the roads,” Dutta alleged.

Uber further expands to Guwahati and three other Indian cities

ET Correspondent Teok, Aug 24: The National Congress Party workers of Teok-Jorhat today blocked the National Highway 37 at the heart of Teok town for one hour demanding the Central government to urgently repair the badly damaged National Highway 37 in the the state. There were more than five hundred protesters at the 37 National Highway blocking the highway including Kaliapani block congress president Mr Rebot Baruah.

ET Correspondent Golaghat, Aug 24: In a recent judgement delivered by the High Court of Rajasthan, it was declared as an offence to perform Sallekhana or Santhara by the Jain Community. The Jain Community has reacted to this judgement. It

Congress workers block national highway in Jorhat demanding immediate repair of all NH in Assam. Pic - Nekib Ahmed

tion as per Jain religion. Jain monks used to take food and water only once in a single day throughout their life and at the last stage they also leave food and water too to leave this uni-

verse without any wants. This last process of leaving everything after achieving every goals is called Sanlekhana. “It is a sadhna which has been declared as suicide (a crime);

Jain people believe that the decision is against their right to religion and has become an obstacle to achieve the post of Tirthankar in the coming era,’’ said Amit Jain. It is also to be noted that Jain is now a religious minority community too. The peace procession was started at 11.30 am from Padmawati Bhawan to DC Court. Approximately 500 people including children, men and women joined this rally. The people of Jain Samaj in whole of India also shut down their business for the day. A memorandum was presented to the Prime Minister of India through Deputy Commissioner of Dibrugarh to pass a bill in the parliament against this infringement of the right to religion of the Jain People.

ET Bureau Guwahati, Aug 24 : Within a month of debuting in seven Indian cities, Uber is continuing on its expansion spree and today announced its entry into four more Indian cities. The taxi aggregating service will now be operating in Guwahati, Nashik, Thiruvananthapuram and Vadodara. With the addition of these new cities, Uber now operates in 22 cities across India. Starting its services in Bengaluru, Uber then expanded to Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad,Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, and Kochi. Recently, it launched in

Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, Indore, Mysore, Nagpur, Surat and Visakhapatnam.

People in Guwahati, Nashik, Thiruvananthapuram and Vadodara signing up for Uber can use the promo code ‘INDIA22’ to avail free rides.

These new users will get three free rides worth Rs 200 each, and this offer is applicable till the end of September.

“We’re excited that the Uber family just got bigger to include four more vibrant cities (Guwahati, Nashik, Thiruvananthapuram and Vadodara). Uber has a simple goal, to provide access to reliable, safe and affordable trans-

portation options for hundreds of millions of commuters across the country and the addition of these new cities to our network take that vision deeper into India,” Neeraj Singhal, Head of Expansion for India & the Subcontinent, Uber said.

“We continue to see exponential growth and adoption in new markets, and are thrilled to be creating thousands of entrepreneurship opportunities for people as driver partners on our platform as we expand into more cities,” he added.

The expansion comes less than a week after Uber an-

nounced that it plans oninvesting $1 billion or Rs 6,400 crore in India over the next nine months. This investment will be used for expanding operations to new cities, develop new products and payment solutions, as well as touch a million trips per day in the next six to nine months.

Uber recently received funding from Tata Opportunities Fund, reported to be around $100 million. Last week, it also partnered Airtel to offer free Wi-Fi facility in cabs, as well as the option to use Airtel Money as an additional method of payment via the app.

Bandh supporters vandalize public property during Dibrugarh bandh Contd. from Page 1

them and a youth hit (Babul Dutta) from the back side and he fell down on the street.

Later, he was rushed to the Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH) where doctors declared him brought dead. Police said on Aug 22 three youths were arrested from Laluka Gaon in connection with the murder. They were identified as Saddam Haque, 19, Rakib Ali, 19 and Wakib Rahman, 19 who are residents of Laluka Gaon under Amolapatty.

An FIR was lodged vide

case no. (678/15) under section 302 IPC by the family members of Babul Dutta at Amolapatty police outpost.

Today, an agitated mob burnt tyres in protest at Amolapatty and gheraoed the Amolapatty police outpost shouting slogans against the police. The agitated mob took out a procession and occupied the main streets and gheraoed Dibrugarh Sadar thana demanding that the accused be hanged. In some areas bandh supporters vandalized public property. The local people of Borpathar also came out in protest against the brutal murder of Babul Dutta. However,

visibly, Dibrugarh district administration has failed miserable to control the agitated mob from destroying public property.

Dibrugarh Superintendent of Police, Rana Bhuyan, said, “The situation was under control.

In some areas the bandh supporters vandalized public property. We have deployed security forces in the sensitive areas.

Barbarua was mostly affected due to the bandh, the local people came out in protest and damaged public property. Curfew was imposed at the Barbarua area to prevent any untoward incident’’.

One of the eye witnesses said, “When the agitated

mob tried to pass from the Panchali area, some antisocial elements carried sword and hammer to stop the agitated mob.

They also manhandled a media person and used abusive language with the media person and tried to snatch the camera of the media person’’. “Curfew was imposed at Barbarua area which was mostly affected. No incident was reported from the others areas. We are trying our best to prevent any untoward incident,’’ said M.S Manivannan. Section 144 was promulgated in Dibrugarh town from 8 pm to 6 am. In Borbarua tear gas was fired to control the agitated mob.

Assam CM expresses regret over Himanta Biswa Sarma leaving Cong setback to the congress in Assam, Parliament Secretary of Revenue Assembly polls. Pradan Baruah has tenMeanwhile in another dered resignation from Contd. from Page 1

his post. Baruah submitted the resignation to the Chief Minister following the announcement of former

Congress minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to join BJP. Baruah is likely to join the BJP very soon.

PSBs’ physical branch network an advantage despite digital banking onslaught Contd. from Page 1

Manager, JD Power Asia Pacific, said even though digital channels are more efficient from a cost perspective, branches are not going to go away. "When we look at customer loyalty and branding branches are an important part of their experience. In the US, virtual or digital customers, who use only the digital platform have far lower

loyalty rates. That means they defect much more easily, they stay with the bank shorter and it is more difficult to retain them. Banks have to be careful and cannot simply take the economic model of branch rationalization and cost efficiency," he said. JD Power, which is well known for its research in the automotive sector, is now expanding to cover the country's financial services industry in collaboration with

Percipient, an Asia-based technology and analytics company. According to Navin Suri, CEO of Percipient, the banking industry has reached a stage where products are all commoditized and the only differentiating factor is customer experience and the way the bank uses data. He added that PSU banks are sitting on a gold mine in the form of their physical branches, considering that the average size of

private and foreign bank branches has halved to 1000-1500 square feet and is now showing in crowds and queues.

"PSU Banks have to only gain from optimizing their channels. There isn't anything that is going to be taken away," he said.

He added that more study was required on the customer profile and transactions in order to align the branches with the other offerings of the bank. (Agencies)

Two persons killed by wild elephants

Tezpur, Aug 24: A person was killed and houses destroyed by a herd of wild elephants in a tea estate in Sonitpur district of Assam on Monday, a forest official said. The herd of wild elephants came out from the Kaziranga National Park in search of food and entered Monabari Tea Estate under Behali police station this morning and a person was trampled to death when he came in front of the herd, Divisional Forest Officer (Sonitpur East)

Sivasish Das said. The herd also damaged four houses in Nankebasti No 6 line in the garden.

The dead has been identified as 38-year old Mahavir Bhorsagar. The herd had come out in search of food as the Park has been inundated with flood water. The forest employees later pushed back the herd towards the Park. Das said that two persons have been killed by wild elephants in East Sonitpur division this year. (Agencies)

Tripura CM meets Arvind Kejriwal

Tripura, Aug 24: Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar on Monday met his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal to discuss centre-state relations. A Delhi government official said: "Sarkar was positive about the upcoming chief ministers' conclave on

the federal structure to be organised by the AAP." Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was also present at the meeting at the Delhi secretariat. The Aam Aadmi Party will organise a chief ministers' conclave on centre-state relations in September. (Agencies)

'Odisha Police Bill 2015 has several serious flaws' Bhubaneswar , Aug 24:The Odisha Police Bill, 2015 which is scheduled to be moved in the current monsoon session of the Assembly has several serious flaws, some of the provisions are not in consonance with the national level committees and the apex court guidelines, said a cross section of people including representatives of all the major political parties excluding the ruling BJD. Issuing an open appeal to legislators, the citizens forum has said the role of the Leader of Opposition has been compromised in the proposed legislation.

There should be a Police Complaint Authority in each district apart from having a state-level Complaint Authority. The complaint authorities should be composed of

independent members/investigators from fields like judiciary, academia etc and be headed by a former Judge. The 'Security Commission' should have the Opposition leader, a former retired Justice of High Court as its members. There should not be more than three members from the government including the Chief Minister or Home Minister, Chief Secretary or Home Secretary and DGP. There should be five non-political members be appointed in the manner recommended by the apex court. It must have representations from marginalized communities including woman, said the note floating points for discussion and amendments in the Assembly. With regards to appointment of the DGP,

the Bill should state that the government appoints a DGP from amongst the three senior most officers from the department who have been empanelled for promotion to that rank by the UPSC as duly approved by the security commission. Necessary fullproof mechanisms should be in place to prevent illegal arrest and arbitrary detention and vio-

Darjeeling on Tuesday.

According to officials, there will be a colourful programme involving thousands of boys and girls from schools and colleges. GTA chief Bimal Gurung's deputy, Ramesh Alley, and other dignitaries including Arup Biswas, the minister for housing and youth affairs, will share the dais with the CM, sources said. Interestingly, north Bengal development minister Gautam Deb's name has not been printed in the invitation card for the event. Chief minister and Trinamul Congress chief, Banerjee, has asked Biswas to take care of the party organisation addi-

lators must be booked and punished. It was felt that the government must make the draft Bill public to call for comments and opinion and a wider debate and pending this it could issue executive orders to implement the directives of the apex court.

Former ministers Ganeswar Behera, Panchanan Kanungo, BJP representative Lekhasri

Samantsinghar, Suresh Panigrahi of the CPIM,advocate Biswapriya Kanungo and others participated in the discussions to formulate their objections to the proposed Bill and suggest amendments. The directives of the apex court in Prakash Singh vs Union of India, should be followed both in letter and spirit, they said. Responding to the directives of the Supreme Court, the Odisha government has tabled a new Police Bill named as the Odisha Police Bill 2015 on 16 February and supposed to have debate in the current Session of Odisha Legislative Assembly. Unfortunately, the Bill has not only ignored the key concerns of the people, but also diluted the important directives of the Supreme

Most northeastern states want to remove the 'no-detention policy' Agartala, Aug 24: Most northeastern states want to remove the 'no-detention policy' at the elementary school level (up to class eight), Tripura Education Minister Tapan Chakraborty said here on Monday. "The demand to withdraw the 'no-detention policy' at the elementary school level was raised at the 63rd meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) held in New Delhi," Chakraborty told reporters. He said: "The eight north-eastern states along with most states of the country are not only against the 'no-detention policy' but are also in a awkward position due to the lack of trained teachers even though the Right to Education Act (RTE), 2009, made this mandatory." These issues were discussed at the CABE meeting which was held under the chairpersonship

of Union Human Resource Minister Smriti Irani in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Chakraborty said that the CABE meeting decided that the states would formally provide their views to the central government on 'no-detention policy', in

writing, within 15 days.

"We would send our views against the 'no-detention policy' within this week.

However, we (Tripura) and most of the other states want to continue the CCE (Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation). The

Mamata launch a 'Clean and Green Darjeeling' project Siliguri, Aug 24: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to arrive here on Monday.

She is expected to head for the Hills where she will launch a 'Clean and Green Darjeeling' project. The project is an edition of Nirmal Bangla, akin to the Centre's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, and in Darjeeling, it will be launched for the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) areas, however, in the absence of GTA chief Bimal Gurung. The district magistrate of Darjeeling and principal secretary of the GTA will jointly organise the launch programme at Chowrastha in

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DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, AUGUST 25

tionally in the Hills. The CM will be arriving at Bagdogra at around 2.30 pm and leave for Darjeeling. There is no official programme in the plains on Monday, the sources said. Banerjee will be coming down to Siliguri and leave for Kolkata on 27 August

after attending a meeting on the Tribal Development Council at the Darjeeling Tourist Lodge on 26 August. According to sources, the CM will announce 'huge' financial assistance for the execution of the Clean and Green Darjeeling project.

People in Darjeeling are, meanwhile, preparing to welcome the chief minister and organise a motor cycle rally and form a human chain involving thousands of students on Tuesday. The state government has also stressed on the need to set up community toilets in Darjeeling Hills, the sources said. Apart from that, rainwater harvesting and spring sheds with financial support from the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme will be implemented in the Hills.

Banerjee took initiatives to set up several community toilets in the Hills during her last visit to Darjeeling. (Agencies)

CCE system should continue up to class ten standard," he added. CCE refers to a system of schoolbased assessment that covers all aspects of students' development. The minister said that the Left Front government strongly sup-

ported the plan for a new education policy, a process initiated by the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre. "It was decided in the CABE meeting that the proposed new education policy would be discussed from gram panchayat level to national level to evolve a consensus by involving all stakeholders. This consultation process would be completed by September," he said. According to the minister, the Left Front government wants universalisation of education.

"Without universalisation of education, how digital India would be implemented in the country?" he asked.

Education ministers and representatives of states and union territories were present in the CABE meeting along with senior officials of the central and state governments. (Agencies)

NNC rejects peace pact signed between Centre and NSCN-IM Itanagar, Aug 24: The Naga National Council (NNC) has rejected the peace pact signed between the Union Government and NSCN-IM earlier on August saying that it will bring further division and distrust among the Nagas. NNC vice president Thepushuyi S Keyho in a letter to R N Ravi, interlocutor for Government of India on Saturday referred to two peace pact inked earlier and claimed that both the agreements with the Centre to end the Indo-Naga issue only succeeded in multiplying and magnifying the problem due to exclusive and manipulative approach. "As seemingly significant as the present Peace Accord appears to be, it is just between Centre and NSCN-IM, one of the many Naga Political Groups (NPGs)," he said. "Though indications are given on the part of both Centre and NSCN-IM to be inclusive in its approach, it is still a matter of serious speculation about the framework of the agreement to safeguard the rights and aspiration of the Nagas as envisioned by the pioneers of NNC," he pointed out. "Perhaps peace is the guiding force and logic of this agreement as the name of the agreement itself suggests but the truth of the Indo-Naga conflict is about the sovereignty of the Nagas, a cause for which much lives have been sacrificed and peaceful life compromised and not primarily about peaceful co-existence or development even," he added. "Is the Centre gearing up to repeat another error in history? Is the Centre too blind to see the truths of history? Is it still thinking that the aspiration of the Nagas can be forced or bribed into pale silence by special packages?" he asked adding the NNC is not yet prepared at any cost to deviate from its "original outcry". (Agencies)

Northeast may conduct joint elephant census to avoid errors in counting Kolkata, Aug 24: The central government may simultaneously launch a elephant census in West Bengal and the northeastern states in 2016 to prevent repetition and avoid errors in counting, an official said on Monday.

"We have conveyed this

idea to the central government in a recent meeting and when the approval comes, the counting will occur simultaneously in north Bengal and northeast Indian states since the elephants move along the corridors between these states," said West Bengal

chief wildlife warden B.R. Sharma. Sharma said this would ensure no animal is counted twice or omitted.

The next census is scheduled between February and April 2016. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Re-

sources, in north-eastern India, the endangered species range extends from the eastern border of Nepal in North West Bengal through western Assam along the Himalaya foothills as far as the Mishmi hills in Arunachal Pradesh. From

here it extends into eastern Arunachal Pradesh, the plains of upper Assam, and the foothills of Nagaland. Further west, it extends to the Garo and Khasi hills of Meghalaya to parts of the lower Brahmaputra plains and Karbi plateau in Assam. In

Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, and the Barak valley districts of Assam, isolated herds occur. The elephant distribution is contiguous with those of Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar.

There are around 9,000 elephants and 22 corridors

in the north-east Indian states, said Sharma. In addition, Sharma said a plan to establish a transboundary protected area for Royal Bengal tigers across the Indian as well as Bangladesh side of Sundarbans has also been conveyed. (Agencies)

Court, they said. It does not have a provision for district level police complaint authorities and even in the state level authority it does not include criteria or selection process for members, does not provide independent investigators. The State Security Commission's composition provided for under the Bill does not conform fully to any of the three suggested models of the Supreme Court.

The Leader of the Opposition and retired Judge are absent.The Bill leaves out a selection process and only provides that two "non-political persons" are to be nominated by the Government - this must be corrected. Also, the SSC should have representation from marginalized sections.

(Agencies)

India is the fifth biggest producer of e-waste in the world Kolkata, Aug 24: In between classes a small group of five girls of Jadavpur University sneak out to collect discarded mobile phone batteries, headphones and computer parts as part of a campaign to control the menace of ewaste.

Rishika Bhowmick and her friends from the arts department of Jadavpur university are on a mission to collect and recycle all e-waste generated from their campus.

"We are collecting ewaste from all departments in our campus and also from individual students and teachers. Everyone is cooperating with us. Now we have collected hundreds of such discarded items," the comparative literature student told. Only the engineering faculty at the state-run university has a dedicated bin for e-waste. "But every department generates such waste. We don't want the waste to litter around the campus and so we have started this drive to collect and sent it for recycling," Bhowmick said. India is the fifth biggest producer of e-waste in the world, discarding 1.7 million tonnes of electronic and electrical equipment. E-waste is harmful to human health due to the presence of many toxic elements.

Another aspect of the students campaign is to raise awareness amongst the new generation. Using the discarded computer and mobile phone parts, the students decorated a path along the campus recently. As part of the 'Microsoft Create to Inspire 2015 Fellowship' program the students, who have formed Bazinga group, were taught on how to remove the toxic parts from the e-waste so that it is safe to recycle at home.

"We can recycle many items using our creativity at our homes.

The rest should be sent to authorised e-waste recycling units," the students who would soon be starting the ewaste campaign in St Xavier's College and Presidency University said. (Agencies)

Panaji Court rejects bail plea of Alemao in Louis Berger case ANI Panaji, Aug 24: A Panaji Special court on Monday rejected the bail plea of former Goa Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Churchill Alemao in connection with the Louis Berger bribery

case. Alemao was arrested on August 5, by Crime Branch and is presently in judicial custody. After the court granted anticipatory bail to former chief minster Digamber Kamat in the same case on Wednesday.

Delhi Police arrest man who eve teased girl on Sunday

ANI New Delhi, Aug 24: Delhi Police on Monday arrested a man accused of eve teasing a girl on Sunday night. Earlier, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Pushpendra Kumar on Monday said that Jasleen Kaur, the girl eve teased in Tilak Nagar yesterday, will be given 5000 rupees for her bravery. In a Facebook post, Kaur shared the snap and details about an eve teaser

Smriti Irani's latest allegations against Rahul Gandhi are as fake: Shobha Oza New Delhi, Aug 24: All India Mahila Congress (AIMC) President Shobha Oza on Monday condemned Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani's allegation against Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi. She took to Twitter to express her views on the matter and wrote: "Smriti Irani's latest allegations against Rahul Gandhi are as fake as her Yale degree." Irani, who fought election from Amethi, attended a rally there on Sunday and alleged that Rahul sold off 65 acres of land, which was actually allocated to a bicycle factory, to a charitable trust run by his family. She also said that the Gandhi family has so far not fulfilled their development promises to Amethi. (Agencies)

SBI PO 2015 results out on sbi.co.in New Delhi, Aug 24: The State Bank of India (SBI) has announced the results of it Probationary Officer (PO) exam on its website sbi.co.in. The SBI PO exam results 2015 have been declared as per the scheduled. This year, SBI PO exam for Main Exam (Phase-II) took place on July 26, 2015, to fill 2,393 vacancies.

Candidates, who have cleared the SBI PO written exam, will have to now go through the Group Discussion (GD) and Personal Interview (PI) rounds, expected to take place on Sep 7.

(Agencies)

who had heckled her at a traffic signal while travelling at around 8 p.m. on Sunday. As per Kaur, it wasn't just his obscene comments, but also his sheer audacity and the inaction of the people around her that spurred her to share her story and shame the offender.Kaur has lodged a police complaint against the accused along with his photograph and bike number. However, there has been no report of his arrest so far.

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NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, AUGUST 25

India asks UN Tribunal to reject Italy's plea to hand over marines accused of killing its fishermen ANI New Delhi, Aug 24: India on Monday asked a UN Tribunal to reject the plea for release of Italian Marines who have been accused of killing fishermen in Kerala into Italy's custody. Massimiliano Latorre andSalvatore Girone, the Italian marines accused of killing unarmed Indian fishermen off Kerala coast in 2012. India has asked the UN tribunal to reject Italy's plea, asserting that it has full jurisdiction as the incident took place in its exclusive economic zone. A UN tribunal was delivering its ruling today on Italy's plea that two of its marines accused of

killing Indian fishermen in 2012 should be handed over by India and tried in their own country. Italy has based its appeal on a UN law that grants jurisdiction in such cases to the country that owns the ship involved in any incident at sea. The country has asked the International Tribunal on Law of the Sea to restrict India from taking action against its marines. Latorre and Girone were on board the oil tanker "Enrica Lexie", and are accused of killing two unarmed Indian fishermen off the Kerala coast on February 15, 2012. Italy maintains that the shooting took place in international waters and

that the fishermen were mistaken for pirates. Sergeant Girone is out on bail in India and sergeant

Latorre has been given permission by the Supreme Court to stay in Italy for another six

PM Modi sent a letter with a set of postal stamps and coins to the Emir of Qatar Dubai, Aug 24: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sent a letter along with a set of postal stamps and coins to the Emir of Qatar, appreciating the Gulf nation's support for the first International Yoga day. India's ambassador to Qatar Sanjiv Arora on Sunday handed over the letter to Qatar's Foreign Minister Khalid

bin Mohammed Al Attiyah to present it to country's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Arora also presented a commemorative set of postal stamps and coins that were specially commissioned in India on the occasion of the first International Day of Yoga (IDY) on June 21 this year. Attiyah said he

would hand over the letter along with the souvenir to its highest destination immediately. The items sent by Modi are a token of India's appreciation for Qatar's support for the IDY initiative. The items were handed over to Attiyah during a meeting in which strong ties and multidimensional coopera-

tion between India and Qatar were discussed, including issues related to the welfare of the large and diverse Indian community in the Gulf country. The UN General Assembly declared June 21 as 'International Day of Yoga' less than three months after Prime Minister Modi had proposed the idea. (Agencies)

"Other methods" to bring fugitive gangster Dawood : Home Secretary R K Singh New Delhi, Aug 24: BJP MP and former Home Secretary R K Singh on Sunday advocated covert strike to bring back fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim but said it would require a direction from the Prime Minister. Arguing that Pakistan will "shamelessly" deny that Dawood is not there, Singh, in an interview , said if he has to brought back, then "other methods" will have to be adopted. He said "other groups" can be funded and trained to undertake an operation. Asked

what was stopping Indian agencies to undertake such an operation, Singh said, "political determination and decision". "The Prime Minister and the Home Minister will have to tell their agencies that this has to be done. Then this will be done," he said.

Pitching for a strong retaliatory action against terror attacks in the country originating from Pakistan, Singh said India has to become like Israel otherwise "people will keep hitting us and we will keep getting hurt". Asked if he meant the way US undertook

an operation in Pakistan to kill Osama, he said, "not exactly but something similar". Singh's comments came just hours after Pakistan canceled the NSA-level talks with India. New Delhi was all set to

Onion price hike: Congress Women Wing protest outside BJP HQ ANI New Delhi, Aug 24: Congress Women Wing on Monday staged a protest outside the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) head-

quarter over onion price hike here. Congress leader Shobha Oza, one of the protesters, said: "The inflation is raising and the government is unable to

control black marketing."

"Prices of essential commodities are continuously rising. We are protesting to wake them up," she added.

J-K Govt assures rehabilitation of landslide-hit people Jammu, Aug 24: Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh on Sunday met landslide-affected people in Kathua district and assured them that the government will rehabilitate them to safer areas. Singh, who led a team of senior officers, visited landslide-hit area in MorhaChuhara village in Billawar

town of Kathua on Sunday and interacted with affected people, an official spokesman said. As many as 40 houses and a government school building were damaged in the landslide at the village on the night of August 20. The Dy CM said that government will identify the land for the rehabilitation of the affected

people. He promised full help to the people and said that exgratia relief will granted to them as per SRRF norms.

Singh asked the officers to immediately conduct a survey assessment of the affected people and damage caused to the infrastructure and houses and submit a report. (Agencies)

present new evidence of Dawood's stay in the neighbouring country in the proposed meeting.

Singh hinted at the possibility of carrying out an operation in a third country. "Many people go outside Pakistan.

That opportunity is there but our agencies need direction". He also talked about a botched operation to target Dawood. However, Singh made it clear that he cannot say it is confirmed and he does not have any evidence. "A group was being trained to target Dawood but he had people in Mumbai

police on his 'pay roll' who were alerted. The Mumbai police came saying there is a warrant against them. But I cannot say it is confirmed.

I have just heard...I don't have evidence," he said.

The BJP leader strongly opposed talks with Pakistan saying that everyone in the world knows it is a "snake pit" which not only patronises terrorists "but also where terrorists are born". "Every time their credibility is down, they want to talk to India to show to come in parity with India. We should not allow that," he said.

(Agencies)

months for medical treatment. India's representative told the tribunal that the marines "used auto-

matic weapons without warning and shot in head and stomach of the two fishermen...This case is not covered by Article 97 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea but rather a double murder at sea." The Italian government's version was short, straightforward and misleading, India said in the tribunal hearing at Hamburg. India has also challenged Italy's contention that it has kept Sergeant Girone as a "hostage". "It is surprising that Italy is insensitive to the interests and plight of the victims of crime and is adopting a discriminatory attitude," India said in its submission.

Tony Abbott makes historic visit to indigenous activist's grave

Canberra, Aug 24: Tony Abbott on Monday became the first Australian prime minister to visit the resting place of Indigenous land rights activist Eddie Koiki Mabo, the media reported. Abbot visited the grave on Monday on Murray Island in the Torres Strait of northern Queensland state.

Abbott laid a wreath on Mabo's grave. The activist died in 1992 just months before his 10year legal battle for native title rights proved successful. "This was a warrior, not simply a strong man physically, but a strong man culturally and spiritually, who decided that he would take on the legal establishment," Abbott said.

"He would take on the

previously settled view of Australian law, and good on him for having a go, and ultimately good on our system for being able to accommodate Eddie Mabo and the other plaintiffs' cry for justice." The Meriam people of Murray Island danced the Malo Kap to commemorate Abbott's arrival, a warrior dance reflecting the sacred rituals of the island. The prime minister on his visit is being accompanied by Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister Alan Tudge and secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet Michael Thawley.

(Agencies)

A biker allegedly abused a young woman New Delhi, Aug 24: A case of sexual harassment and criminal intimidation has been registered against a biker who allegedly abused a young woman in Tilak Nagar here, Police said on Monday. "We have registered an FIR against the biker under sections 354(a), 506 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code. Investigation has begun and teams have been sent to arrest the accused," a police official said. Police said Delhi University student Jasleen Kaur was abused at a traffic signal in Tilak Nagar area in Delhi around 8 p.m. on Sunday.

"A man made obscene comments at me today

(Sunday) at around 8 p.m. near Aggarwal, Tilak Nagar. He was on a silver Royal Enfield, vehicle number DL 4S CE 3623.

When I told him I am clicking his picture and I'm going to file a complaint against him, he responded

by posing for a picture and said, "Jo kar sakti hai kar le. Complaint karke dikha, fir dekhiyo kya karta hun main (Do whatever you like. Complain and see what I do then)," Jasleen says in her Facebook post.

She said what disturbed

her more than the obscene remarks was that 20 passers-by heard what the accused said and no one intervened. "No one stood up for me," the complainant said. "I was trying to cross the road when I came in front of the bike.

When I pointed at the red signal and said he should have stopped, he began making obscene remarks," Jasleen said. Within 14 hours of posting the picture on the Facebook, police registered the FIR on charges of sexual harassment, criminal intimidation and use of word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman. (Agencies)

Cong MLA among 5 persons killed as truck rams into train Anantapur, Aug 24: A Congress MLA from Karnataka was among five persons killed when a speeding granite-laden truck rammed into BangaloreNanded Express train after breaking the closed gate at a level crossing in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh in the wee hours on Monday. The truck

broke the closed boom gate at Madakasira after "overlooking all safety warnings" and hit the H-1 coach of the Nanded-bound train at around 2.20 AM. Four coaches -- H1, B-1, S-1 and S-2 -- were derailed in the mishap which disrupted traffic on the route, the South Western Railway said. Venkatesh Naik, Con-

gress MLA from Deodurg in Raichur district of Karnataka who has been a four-time Lok Sabha MP, was among three passengers killed on the spot, DIG of Anantapur, K Satyanarayana said, adding two others were injured and shifted to hospital in Bangalore. A railway employee and the truck driver were

among five persons killed in the accident, railways said.

However, the DIG said the truck cleaner was killed in the midhap while the drive fled. He said it appeared the truck's brakes had failed, but the actual cause of the accident will be ascertained after an inquiry. The AC bogie was crushed and three sleeper coaches of the train

also derailed in the incident, he said. Anantapur district borders Karnataka and is located around 350 km from Hyderabad. Many trains were affected in the section and have been diverted, according to Railway officials. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said it was an unfortunate incident and conveyed his condolences to the families of the

victims. He said ex-gratia will be given to the affected.

In a statement, Railways said the manned level crossing gate was closed to facilitate safe passage of Train No 16594 and red flasher light showing danger was on and continuous siren/hooter was sounded to warn the road users. Besides, there are speed breakers before the L

C Gate and the area is welllit, it said. The loaded vehicle approached the level crossing at high speed, broke the closed boom gate and hit the H-1 coach of the running train. The truck driver did not heed to any of the warnings, the Railways said, adding it resulted in derailment of four coaches. (Agencies)

DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, AUGUST 25

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NEIGHBOURS

Final version of constitution Thai court indicts previously acquitted British activist tabled in Nepal Updated Kathmandu, Aug 24: Nepal's final version of constitution has been tabled at the Constituent Assembly (CA) meeting for deliberations among parties. The Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) Chairman Krishna Prasad Sitaula on Sunday tabled constitution bill amid protests by Madhesbased parties and Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal.

Eleven fringe parties boy-

cotted the CA meeting, expressing displeasure over the seven-province model proposed in the final version of constitution. Presenting the draft, CDC Chairman Sitaula said constitution drafting process has reached a final stage and asked all the dissident parties to remain in the CA process and express their displeasure. As Madhes Janadhikar ForumLoktantrik led by Bijaya

Kumar Gachhadar also boycotted CA meeting on Sunday, now all Madhesbased regional parties have stood against the draft constitution. Deliberations on the final version of constitution will begin on Wednesday .After the deliberations among CA members, lawmakers will register their amendment proposal on the final version of constitution.(Agencies)

Pak PM Nawaz Sharif to visit Pak Kazakhstan from tomorrow Islamabad, Aug 24: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will pay a two-day official visit to Kazakhstan from tomorrow during which he will hold talks with top Kazakh leadership on issues of mutual and bilateral interest."Prime Minister Sharif will undertake visit to Astana on 25-26 August. The Prime Minister will be accompanied by a high-level delegation," Foreign Office said in a statement.It said the invitation for the visit was extended by Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Sharif will hold meetings with President Nazarbayev and Prime Minister Karim Massimov and discuss bilateral relations and exchange views

on regional and international issues of mutual interest. A number of Agreements/MoUs are expected to be signed during the visit, according to the statement.

Pakistan values its close and brotherly relations with Kazakhstan and their ties are marked by cordiality and cooperation in diverse fields, it added.The two

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will pay a two-day official visit to Kazakhstan from tomorrow Sharif will hold meetings with President Nazarbayev and Prime Minister Karim Massimov and discuss bilateral relations and exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest A number of Agreements/MoUs are expected to be signed during the visit The ties between the two nations are based on mutual respect, shared perceptions and common desire to promote peace, stability and development in the region

countries share common views on major regional and international issues and cooperate closely in multilateral forums including the UN, SCO, ECO and OIC, it said. It said the ties between the two nations are based on mutual respect, shared perceptions and common desire to promote peace, stability and development in the region .Sharif's visit to Kazakhstan is reflective of his vision to enhance and strengthen Pakistan's relations with Central Asian Republics based on "deep historical and cultural bonds" .Pakistan was among the first few countries that recognized and established diplomatic relations with Kazakhstan after its independence in December 1991.(Agenies)

Mangala Samaraweera returns as Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister

Bangkok , Aug 24: A Thai court today indicted a British labour rights activist in a case linked to a report he co-authored alleging severe labour abuses in Thailand's food industry, a key supplier to Western supermarkets.Andy Hall, 34, had previously been acquitted by a court last year on a defamation charge pursued by Thailand's Attorney General.But Natural Fruit, the company at the heart of the dispute, has filed a string of its own criminal and civil cases against Hall, the most serious of which was accepted today."We have learnt that the Southern Criminal Court has agreed to hear the case against Andy Hall for defamation and violation of the Computer Crimes Act," Hall's

A Thai court has indicted a British labour rights activist in a case linked to a report he coauthored alleging severe labour abuses in Thailand's food industry.

defence lawyer Nakhon Chomphuchat told media.Hall has been ordered to appear in court on Oct 19 for a plea hearing, Nakhon added with the court expected to decide today whether he gets bail.

The labour activist, who is based in Thailand, faces up to seven years in jail if convicted.Both Thailand's criminal defamation and computer misuse laws have been criticised by rights groups for their broad wording and the ease with which they can be used to stifle investigative work.

Hall's 2013 report centred on working conditions at a Natural Fruit factory in southern Thailand levelling accusations of forced and child labour, unlawfully low wages and long hours.

Titled "Cheap Has a High Price" and published by the Finnish civil rights group Finnwatch, the report redoubled scrutiny of Thailand's food industry which has faced years of allegations of mistreatment of its mainly migrant labour force. Natural Fruit, a major supplier to the European

drink market, has denied the allegations in Hall's report and launched a slew of court cases against the Briton, including a civil case seeking $10 million in damages.

The company was unavailable for comment today.

Thailand's Attorney General is also appealing last year's acquittal. Hall stands by his research and has accused the company of trying to detract from the report's damning findings through legal action .In a statement Finnwatch execu-

tive director Sonja Vartiala described the court case as "a saga of intimidation already lasting 30 months aimed at nothing but gagging a human rights defender". "Regrettably the court chose instead to press on with a trial of these unfounded charges," she said.

Thailand has long turned to migrants from poorer neighbours Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos to help keep major industries afloat, from seafood and food processing to construction. The

Myanmar delays release of nationwide electoral registers to September Yangon, Aug. 24: Myanmar's Union Election Commission has delayed the release of nationwide electoral registers to September instead of late August for the upcoming general election scheduled for Nov. 8, according to the commission today. The commission had planned to publicize the voters' list nationwide starting Aug. 23 but since deadly flood was occurring across the country especially in the month of August, the publication of the lists was forced to postpone, it said.The voters will have 14 days to verify their

legitimacy to vote, the commission added. There are 32 million eligible voters across the country, according to the commission. Candidates are set to canvass for election in their respective constituencies starting from Sept. 8 to Nov. 6.According to a preliminary candidate list announced by the commission over the weekend, a total of 6,189 candidates including 323 independent ones have so far registered to run the November election. Of the total, 5,866 candidates are nominated from 93 political parties.Of the 5,866 political party candi-

dates, the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), led by U Htay Oo, account for 1,134, while the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) , led by Aung San Suu Kyi, tops with 1,151.Of the 1,134 USDP candidates, 318 will contest for seats in the House of Representatives (Lower House), 165 in the House of Nationalities (Upper House) and 651 in the Region or State Parliament .Of the 1,151 NLD candidates, 325 will seek seats with the Lower House, 167 with the Upper House and 659 with

the Region or State Parliament.According to the commission's earlier figures, of the 1,171 constituencies designated for the vote at four levels of the parliament across the country, 330 constituencies will be contested for the Lower House, 168 for the Upper House, 644 for the Region or State Parliament and 29 for national race representatives.The commission is still scrutinizing the nomination of candidates from political parties and the list of candidates will be finalized by Aug. 27.

(Agencies)

Three int'l MoUs at first Colombo ATPF Today

Colombo, Aug 24: Mangala Samaraweera was on today sworn in as Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister for the third time in a simple ceremony by President Maithripala Sirisena.58year-old leader took the oath of office along with two other ministers as the first Cabinet appointments of the new government elected after August 17 parliamentary polls.The remaining cabinet Ministers are scheduled to take oaths tomorrow. Wijeydasa Rajapaksha took oath as the Minister of Justice and DM Swaminathan as the Minister of Rehabilitation.

Samaraweera returns to the post for the third time in his career. He held the position from 2005 to 2007 under

former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, and for the second time between January 2015 and August 2015.With Sirisena's victory over Rajapaksa in January, he was appointed the foreign minister in the new government.Sirisena's Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) have joined hands to govern the country after the UNP failed to win absolute majority.Meanwhile, the copartners of the SLFP's broader alliance United People's Freedom Alliance are crying foul protesting Sirisena's decision to drop them in the national list of the UPFA to Parliament.Each party is al-

located a portion of a total of 29 seats depending on the number of cumulative votes polled.The UPFA which is also led by Sirisena won 12 seats. Sirisena nominated all of his allies over looking nominees from copartners."We are extremely disappointed that agreements with smaller parties have been ignored and other people have been appointed," said Somaweeera Chandrasiri, a national list aspirant from the leftist Mahajana Eksath Peramuna.

The decision on the national list appointment has been made with the UPFA's executive committee approval, said Piaysiri Wijenayake of the National Freedom Front, who is also a national list aspirant. (Agencies)

Colombo, Aug 24: The first ever series of international MoUs to blossom under Sri Lanka's new consensual government are scheduled to go live tomorrow 23 August in Colombo-and the historic pacts are centred around none other than Sri Lanka's global trade. "Sri Lanka EDB is proud to host the 28th CEO meeting of the Asian Trade Promotion Forum (ATPF) in Colombo. ATPF has honoured Sri Lanka by bringing this series to Colombo for the first time in its history" said Bandula Egodage (Chairman & CEO of EDB) on 21 August.EDB CEO Egodage was addressing his top officials on 21 August during the preparatory meeting on the 24-26 August pioneering ATPF sessions in Colombo.EDB CEO Egodage was addressing his top officials on 21 August during the preparatory meeting on the 24-26 August pioneering ATPF sessions in Colombo. "This is the first time that this APTF CEOs meeting is held in Sri Lanka. EDB is hosting the 28th CEO meeting of the ATPF in Sri Lanka from 24-26th August 2015 in partnership with HSBC"

RAB 2 commanding officer attached to headquarters

Dhaka, Aug 24: RAB 2 Commanding Officer Colonel Masud Rana has been attached to the headquarters after he was sued on charges of abducting and killing Chhatra League's Hazaribagh unit president ArjuMia. RAB's legal and media wing Director Mufti Mahmud Khan told the media that Masud Rana was attached to the headquarters on yesterday. Yesterday, a case

was filed against three RAB officials including RAB 2 Commanding Officer Colonel Masud Rana on charges of abducting and killing Arjun. Arju was the prime accused in a case filed over the brutal beating of 17-year-old Raja on theft allegations in Hazaribagh, who succumbed to his injuries on August 17.The Chhatra League leader died on August 18 in what RAB said

was a gun battle.Arju's brother Masud Rana filed the case with Dhaka's Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court, mentioning five people as witnesses. After the case was filed, Metropolitan Magistrate Shahriar Mahmud Adnan said an order leader Arju killing on whether the court would take cognizance of the charges against the RAB members would be given on August 25. (Agencies)

said EDB Chairman Egodage, and added:"ATPF is a gathering of Trade Promotion Organizations (TPOs) in the Asian region consisting of 24 member countries and was initiated by Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) the Japanese government related organization that works to promote mutual trade & Investment between Japan & the rest of the world. The objective of ATPF is to enhance trade in the region and strengthen networking among members. The CEOs of member TPOs from Japan, Sri Lanka, China, Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong, India, Nepal, Macao, Chinese Taipei, Vietnam, Australia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Malay-

sia, Pakistan, Philippines, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Singapore, Cambodia, Brunei, Laos, and Myanmar meet once a year to discuss important issues on international trade promotion and other relevant matters, including results of joint projects and plans for future events. Around 40 member delegates from 19 ATPF member countries are taking part in this event with other distinguished invitees -both foreign and local. The specially designed logo for the CEOs meeting in Sri Lanka is scheduled to be launched by the President Maithripala Sirisena at Hotel Taj on the eve of 24 August. More importantly, three EDB MoUs with three Asian TPOs-that is

Sri Lanka-Hong Kong's HKTDC, Sri LankaKorea's KOTRA and Sri Lanka-Thailand's DITP MoUs are to be signed on 24 August."EDB hosted technical trade sessions will continue on 25-26 August at the same venue with the participation of 40 visiting international delegates. According to Geneva's International Trade Centre, ATPF is a world's leading regional TPO grouping ranking along with Red IberoAmericana (SpanishAmerican TPO network), the Groupement EuropĂŠen pour la Promotion du Commerce International (GEPCI, the European Grouping for International Trade Promotion).

(Agencies)

junta has launched a crackdown on the fishing industry after the European Union this year threatened to place the kingdom under an export ban unless more was done to tackle abuses in the crucial sector. Last month Thailand was also kept on the bottom rung of the United States's annual ranking for countries accused of turning a blind eye to human trafficking, alongside nations like Libya, North Korea and Eritrea.

(Agencies)

Nepal opens Everest to climbers for 1st time since avalanche Kathmandu, Aug 24: Nepal has opened Mount Everest to climbers for the first time since an earthquake-triggered avalanche in April killed 19 mountaineers and ended the popular spring climbing season. Japanese climber Nobukazu Kuriki will be the first to attempt to scale the world's highest peak since the quake. Nepal's tourism minister, Kripasur Sherpa, gave Kuriki the climbing permit at a ceremony in Kathmandu yesterday .Kuriki plans to leave for the mountain on Tuesday by helicopter and then reach the summit in midSeptember. The autumn season is considered a difficult time to attempt Everest and is generally avoided by climbers. The earthquake in April killed nearly 9,000 people in Nepal and also destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes and buildings.(Agencies)

Pakistan lodges protest with Afghanistan over cross-border firing Karachi, Aug 24 : Pakistan has lodged a strong protest with Afghanistan over crossborder firing in which four Pakistani troops were killed and as many wounded when Afghanistan-based militants attacked a military check post with rockets in the Khyber Agency .According to the media, Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that rounds fired by terrorists from the Afghanistan side hit an 8,000-feet-high Pakistani post in the Akhandwala Pass. Pakistani troops gave a matching response and succeeded in eliminating the group of terrorists, said ISPR. The bodies of the soldiers were flown to Peshawar from where they will be sent to their native villages for burial. (ANI)

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DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, AUGUST 25

Implementing food security in NE Tripura and Mizoram, all set to show the way Attaining food security is a matter of prime importance for India where more than a-third of its population is estimated to be absolutely poor, and as many as one half of its children have suffered from malnourishment over the last three decades. Several important issues have emerged in the context of food security in India. The green revolution initiated in the late 1960s was a historic watershed that transformed the food security situation in India. It tripled food grain production over the next three or four decades and consequently reduced by over 50 per cent both the levels of food insecurity and poverty in the country – this was achieved in spite of the increase in population during the period, which almost doubled. The country succeeded in the laudable task of becoming a food self sufficient nation, at least at the macro level. The prevalence of undernourishment in the total population also decreased from 25 to 20 per cent during the period of 1990 to 2000, and as many as 58 million individuals were estimated to have come out of the poverty trap.

The absolute number of poor persons came down from 317 million to 259 million with other livelihood indicators such as the literacy rate and longevity increasing substantially.

Government of India has taken several steps to increase agricultural productivity. These include schemes like; Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), National Food Security Mission (NFSM), Development and Strengthening of Infrastructure facilities for Production and Distribution of Quality Seed, National Horticulture Mission (NHM), Rainfed Area Development Programme (RADP), Integrated Scheme of Oilseeds, Pulses, Oil Palm and Maize (ISOPOM), Gramin Bhandaran Yojana, etc. In addition, Government has also improved the availability of farm credit; implemented debt waiver; introduced better crop insurance schemes; increased Minimum Support Price (MSP), improved marketing infrastructure, etc.

Keeping all these in mind, the Tripura and Mizoram governments have almost computerised their Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) to implement the National Food Security Act (NFSA). The government will start implementing the food security act from next month. In Mizoram, so far, over 98 per cent of the total 241,272 ration cards have been digitised.

Around 706,000 people in Mizoram will be covered by the food security scheme. This includes coverage of around 1.36 lakh most poor people under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) scheme. Unfortunately most northeastern states are yet to complete the computerisation of the entire TPDS and setting up of call centres, both mandatory to implement the Act. Under the NFSA, which came into force on July 5, 2013, each eligible person would get 5 kg food grain a month at Rs.3 per kg for rice, Rs.2 per kg for wheat and Re.1 per kg for coarse cereals through the state governments. The NFSA entitles up to 75 per cent of the rural population and up to 50 per cent of the urban population to receive food grain at subsidised prices. The NFSA was passed in Parliament when the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government was in power at the Centre. The deadline for implementing the same has been extended thrice though.

Concerning women safety Nagaland emerges safest state for women in India A study released by the National Crime Records Bureau suggests that smaller states like Nagaland, Lakshadweep are the safest for women. However, there are some names in the list that also come as a surprise.

Crime against women has been a menace prevalent in our society for ages. From instances of rapes to domestic violence, women have been subjected to heinous crimes. Much has been written and talked about states like Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, etc. being the states most prone to crime against women. The northeastern state of Nagaland, which in the recent past grabbed headlines over a peace accord and a key Army operation following an ambush by NSCN(K) terrorists, has emerged as the safest state for women in the country. According to the NCRB data, there have been 67 instances of crime against women in 2014. Considering the female population of the state, the rate of total cognizable crimes against women is as low as 6%, making Nagaland the only state with a single digit figure in this regard.

Lakshadweep, the union territory, a group of 36 islands, is also among the safest places for women in the country. With just four instances reported in 2014, the rate of total cognizable crimes against women stands at 10%. Formerly known as Pondicherry, the Union Territory comprising just four districts stands tall in the list as the third safest region in the country. As many as 77 cases of crime came to light in 2014, keeping the rate of total cognizable crimes against women in the south Indian Union Territory at 10.6%. Tamil Nadu the southern state is the first big state to feature among the safest in India. The state currently ruled by a female chief minister, J Jayalalithaa, recorded 6325 instances of crime against women. But owing to its female population, the rate of total cognizable crimes against women in Tamil Nadu stands at 18.4%.

Also Manipur, the northeastern state, connecting the Indian sub continent to Southeast Asia, often grabs the headlines in connection with ethnic violence. But the NCRB data has brought back the state among those safest for women in India. With 337 instances in 2014, the northeastern state has recorded a rate of 26.7% of total cognizable crimes against women. Meghalaya, with the name meaning the abode of clouds, is also a relatively safer place for women in India. Around 388 instances of crimes against women came to light in the 23rd most populous state of the country which brings its total cognizable crimes against women to 28.8%.

The last but not the least, Bihar is probably the most surprising state featuring in the list of the safest states and Union Territories for women. While the number of instances of such crimes stands at over 15,000, the huge population of the state keeps the rate at 31.3%.

US Set to Suspend Military Aid to Pakistan The U.S. government will withhold certification of Pakistan’s counter-terrorism operations against the Haqqani network. ?......Ankit Panda The United States government will not certify Pakistan’s counter-terrorism operations in North Waziristan over recent months as adequately damaging to the Haqqani network, a U.S.-designated terror group. The U.S. Department of Defense has reportedly notified the Pakistani embassy in Washington of the development, according to a report by Dawn. The non-certification of the Pakistani counter-terror campaign, known as Operation Zarb-e-Azb, will block the release of a new tranche of U.S. financial assistance for the Pakistani military from the Coalition Support Fund (CSF). CSF support had been extended for a year with a specific stipulation that the U.S. Department of Defense would certify the effectiveness of Pakistani military operations in North Waziristan against the

Haqqani network.

The development would drive a major wedge between the United States and Pakistan, two allies who have grown apart over their divergent interests and priorities in stabilizing the broader Afghan-Pakistan border. Beyond the financial implications of the blocked CSF tranche, the development will deal Islamabad a politically damaging blow. As the Dawn report notes, given the recent deterioration in ties with Kabul amid allegations from the Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, that Pakistani has inadequately reigned in crossborder terrorists, including militants affiliated with the Haqqani network, the U.S. government’s decision to withhold certification vindicate Afghan perceptions.

The suspension of the next CSF tranche, once confirmed, will certainly sour U.S.-Pakistan ties,

which haven’t been quite normal since 2011, when the United States’ most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden, was killed by U.S. commandos in a raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

With Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s scheduled state visit planned for October, Washington will have some time to work out their differences. The extent to which the CSF tranche suspension will affect Pakistan’s defense spending is unclear—reports earlier this year suggested that Islamabad had counted “payment from the United States’ coalition support fund for coalition forces in Afghanistan who are using Pakistani territory for logistic support” as part of its overall budget.

Pakistan received last month’s tranche of $337 million from the United States, though suspension now will mean Islamabad will fall short of receiving

the expected $1.5 billion in CSF aid for the current fiscal year.

In a coincidence of timing, reports that the U.S. government would withhold certification of Pakistan’s counter-terrorism operations came as Pakistan and Russia concluded a major defense deal

for the sale of four Mi-35 Hind attack helicopters. As I noted last year, Russia lifted its self-imposed arms embargo on weapons deliveries to Pakistan, taking advantage, in part, of Islamabad’s recognition of souring ties with the United States and Moscow’s own search for new defense cus-

tomers. The Mi-35 deal could lead to a broader Pakistan-Russia defense relationship but there will be some constraints for the two sides as they seek to expand cooperation, particularly Russia’s significantly broader defense commercial relationship with India.

The Strategic Costs of TPP Failure “The U.S. can hardly afford to squander any tools in its foreign policy toolkit.” ?......Andy Morimoto The Trans-Pacific Partnership is in trouble. Trade ministers failed last month to conclude the massive 12nation trade deal by their hoped-for summer deadline, putting negotiations in danger of collapse.

This is a problem.

Trade advocates argue that letting the TPP die would be a significant lost opportunity for the global economy. But there’s a potentially bigger problem here – one that may have serious consequences for both U.S. national security and regional stability in the Asia-Pacific.

Just consider the strategic backdrop against which last month’s negotiations occurred. Maritime disputes flaring across the South China Sea. Tensions rising between Beijing and Tokyo. Perennial friction between China and Taiwan and a growing nuclear stockpile in North Korea.

If the TPP falls through, it could greatly hurt the America’s ability to stabilize the fraught geopolitics of Asia.

Some have argued that a TPP failure would be a net positive for regional stability. The deal, they claim, would isolate and provoke China, and should therefore be abandoned. But this

view is blinkered.

Given the high trade volumes and trade arrangements across the Asia-pacific, China stands very little chance of being isolated. Moreover, Chinese officials have other ventures on their minds. According to He Weiwen, a former Chinese Commerce Ministry official, “the Chinese are more or less neutral because we have our own agenda, pushing forward ASEAN plus six and the Silk Road.”

In fact, there are a

number of reasons to believe that the opposite is true: that a TPP failure will cause a number of strategic problems for the U.S. in the Asia-Pacific.

First, failure would mean stunting the growth of America’s Pacific partners. This is problematic for two reasons. Most importantly, fewer states would be devoting fewer resources to meet shared challenges like counterterrorism and climate change. In addition, as countries get richer and

more interdependent, they become more invested in the well-being of their neighbors. And while free trade, interdependence, and prosperity do not guarantee stability and peace (see: World War I), they do create conditions that make conflict less appealing.

Second, failure would create more potential for instability and crises. Consider a hypothetical scenario in which China and one of its neighbors along the South China Sea (say, Vietnam) get into a serious

spat over territorial claims.

With the TPP, this spat would be less likely to escalate into a full-blown crisis, as China understands that the U.S. is more inclined to intervene in situations that threaten its growing trade interests.

Without the TPP, there is less clarity about U.S. resolve, so the potential for miscalculation and escalation increases.

Third, failure would send a strong signal that the U.S. no longer has the political will to lead in the region. This would come at a time when allies are already uncertain of U.S. commitments. Earlier this week, for example, Japan’s trade minister expressed disappointment in last month’s trade meetings, saying “every TPP country wondered why the U.S. was quick to give up the conclusion without its usual relentless persistence.” If the U.S. allows negotiations to collapse, it would demonstrate the Obama administration’s declaration – that the U.S. is “all in, when it comes to the Asia-Pacific” – to be hollow. This has important geopolitical implications. If Asia’s great powers perceive the U.S. to be unserious about its role in the region, this will increase the incentive for the powerful regional states

(i.e. China and Japan) to jockey with one another for regional hegemony.

Finally, failure would be a missed opportunity for the U.S. economy – and America’s ability to project strength abroad rests on its economic foundation at home. According to an analysis from the Peterson Institute, U.S. income gains under the TPP would be significant, potentially adding $59 billion per year by 2020. Failing to conclude the TPP would forego these potential gains, and would make it more difficult for the U.S. to stem the defense cuts put in place by the sequester and invest in our military presence in the Asia-Pacific.

The Nobel Prize winning economist Thomas Schelling noted that “trade is what most of international relations are about.

For that reason trade policy is national security policy.” Today, U.S. trade policy – and indeed, its national security policy – are in danger of falling apart.

Getting something as big and complicated as the TPP across the line won’t be easy. But given the smoldering flashpoints across Asia, the U.S. can hardly afford to squander any tools in its foreign policy toolkit. The stakes are too high.

Abuse of Newcomers In Educational Institutions

Sir, Ragging is a form of abuse of newcomers in educational institutions, wherein some senior students force the gullible newcomers to undergo several forms of mental, physical and sexual torture. The juniors are usually too frightened to resist this organized group of tormentors. The torture of innocent students often runs for months and involves the same batch of students being physically and mentally abused by the same and/or different groups of seniors (including those from the opposite sex) over and over again. Ragging can be thought of in terms of verbal, physical and sexual aggression. A single act may be a combination of more than one of these. Bullying is not only restricted to academic institutions. Workplace bullying is also attracting attention.

The ill effects of ragging which include all the dimensions – right from physical injury through beating, hitting by objects or by forcing to perform dangerous tasks to sexual abuse by forced stripping, forced masturbation, forced unnatural sex, etc. And eventually the victim bears the brunt of the psychological effects including constant fear, loss of concentration, inferiority complex and guilt resulting in decline in academic performance and feeling of insecurity arising out of exploitation. Also, another factor that is perpetuating ragging is the use of alcohol in hostels. The prevalence of unhindered, nonprohibited flow of liquor in the hostels may be denied by the authorities but it is a naked fact prevalent in most of the professional colleges. Under the influence of alcohol, the students in

their early ages are easily swayed by emotions, and their so-called hidden machismo comes out and they set out on their mission to "improve and guide" the juniors and put them on "right paths," as according to them the junior students know nothing about this cruel world.

Putting the guilty behind bars and suspending them from the college might be one of the solutions but it is not the only solution. One has to think of this in the context of a psycho-social problem. The solution, apart from punishment as deterrence to ragging, must also suggest ways to build up confidence in the relationships of juniors, seniors and the authority.

Yours etc.

Priyanka Handique

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

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

Op

DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, AUGUST 25

PAGE 9

d e Government servants’ kids to be sent to

Why Sweden is the next big education hub for Indian students government schools: A judicial overreach?

Jayadev Calamur Visiting the Nobel Prize museum, taking a field trip to the Volvo Plant, understanding the minds of the people behind Skype and Ericsson— sounds exciting, doesn't it?

Now take a step back and consider interning and subsequently working at one of these places. All you now need is a proper college degree.

We're given to understand that 1,338 Indian students went to Sweden to complete their masters' degrees in 2014. "This is almost double the numbers seen in 2012, when around 750 Indian students obtained degrees from Sweden," said Fredrika Ornbrant, the Swedish Consul General in Mumbai.

Why Sweden?

Besides being amongst the most progressive, creative, free-thinking and well-educated countries in the world, the Master's programmes in Sweden are taught in English. "While free education was the norm as part of the country's welfare programme, the government decided that it wanted the right set of students, and implemented a fee structure.

A Master's programme can cost between Rs 6 lakh and Rs 13 lakh per year, minus accommodation (approximately Rs 60,000 per month), which is a lot lower than the fees of some of the colleges in the United Kingdom and United States," said Fredrika.

Linguistically Speaking While some Swedish universities rank amongst the best in the world, the belief that the courses were taught in Swedish, led international students not to opt for Sweden as a destination for higher studies. Do note however, that learning Swedish is not a must even if you're keen on exploring the

Tests IELTS – for International Students GMAT – for students pursuing an MBA

Dhruv Tejaswi

country and its culture. But if you still have an interest in learning the language, then do note that all universities offer part time or fulltime courses for international students.

Workwise Students are also allowed to work while studying, but are expected to complete 40 hours of course time per week, according to studyinsweden.se, the go-to guide for international students who want to study in Sweden.

Unique programme An education in Sweden is not just about the grades.

The practical-oriented syllabus, enables students to adjust to the way corporate life functions. In fact, students are expected to write a report similar to a work report, for which they are

Fees Anything between Rs 6 lakh and Rs 13 lakh, depending on the course Accommodation is Rs 60,000 per month

graded. Frederika cites the example of an international student, who was a straightA student in college, but found it difficult to get a job, because she wasn't an active networker. "Questioning the teacher if you disagree with his/her viewpoint, networking and meeting new people are as important as getting good grades, because this is how you can get a job," explains Fredrika.

Life after college Graduates are given six months to find a job or establish their own start-up.

People with a minimum of four years of service are eligible for a permanent resident permit. In 2014, Sweden simplified the rules to enable PhD students to receive permanent residence permits.

Currently, seven out of 10

Stats 1,338 Indian students studied in Sweden in 2014 750 Indian students studied in Sweden in 2012

Swedish companies in India are in the process of employing people, and a degree from Sweden can only help. In addition, many of these organisations have established bases in India, which gives the student the opportunity to come back, and implement what they have learned in Sweden in India.

While funding would be your responsibility if you decided to launch a start-up in Sweden, there are institutions and universities that support and advise entrepreneurs. Another advantage of studying in Sweden is that the country's 36 universities are under the government's jurisdiction, and as such are recognized in other parts of the world.

Apply Find your programme Check entry requirements and deadlines Apply at Universityadmissions.se Wait to receive a notification of acceptance

After Sanjiv Bhatt’s Termination From Duty: A Modest Proposal For Mr. Modi Abhishek Jha The run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections saw Modi’s public image metamorphose from that of a tainted chief minister accused of deliberate inaction during riots to the man who could salvage India from all its problems, deliver and develop. It would be unthinkable now to be reminded that this man, who is an instant favourite with industrialists, had once been questioned and mistrusted by them due to the riots. Since then, however, he worked hard to bring the metamorphosis to fruition. The Tata Nano plant set up at Sanand, the hiring of the lobbying firm APCO Worldwide for

strengthening brand Gujarat, the Vibrant Gujarat summits were all part of the project. It also helped that the SIT submitted that it did not find enough evidence to proceed against him, which was immediately dubbed ‘a clean chit’ and cleared the path to the final throne.

But the hot seat hasn’t been as comfortable and empowering as Modi would wish. One last thorn persists and those who feel that justice remains undelivered in the 2002 carnage have put all their weight behind that last thorn, namely Zakia Jafri. To bury the ghosts of 2002 and to emerge spotless, Modi needs to delegitimise that force. To that end, the work

has been relentless. The probe initiated against Teesta Setalvad regarding exhumation of corpses of riot victims, who as a member of Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) is assisting Zakia Jafri in her case, is a case in point. In 2012, the Supreme Court bench had said the following about it: “This is a hundred percent spurious case to victimise the petitioner (Setalvad)” and that“this type of case does no credit to the state of Gujarat in any way.”

A year earlier, in 2011, Sanjiv Bhatt, an IPS officer who had submitted before the SIT that Modi had asked his administration to “let Hindus vent their anger“, was suspended for dereliction

of duty and insubordination. He had failed to report at his post as the principal of the Police Training College, Junagadh, because he was “to appear in the various court cases and [before] the G.T.NanavatiAkshay Mehta judicial commission“. In the same year he was arrested within 48 hours after he filed another affidavit claiming that Modi and Amit Shah had asked him to destroy documentary evidence regarding the murder of Haren Pandya. Interestingly, Pandya, a minister during Modi’s chief minster-ship, had testified undercover before the Krishna Iyer tribunal in 2002 that Modi had wanted Hindus to vent their anger after the Sabarmati Express was set on fire.

On July 14 this year, just a few weeks before the hearing on Zakia Jafri’s revision plea was to begin, CBI raided Setalvad’s office and residence citing FCRA violations even when demands for a thorough probe in Vyapam case were being raised with great frenzy. The CBI went so far as to demand custodial interrogation of Setalvad and her husband. Bombay HC, however, denied CBI the custody saying that it did not “find any threat to the sovereignty and integrity of the state or a threat to its security or economic interest” if the couple remained free and even granted them anticipatory bail. “A citizen may conduct social activities and may have a different point of view, which may not be liked by the government. However, in a democratic state, a citizen

A lot is being spoken about the Allahabad High Court’s decision.

A decision which mandates that the children/wards of Government servants, local bodies, politicians, judiciary and all such persons who receive perk, benefits or salary from the State exchequer or public fund, send their children/wards in the age of receiving primary education to the government schools. This decision comes in the background of sad state of primary and secondary education in the government schools whether it is with regard to appointment of teachers or infrastructure or basic facilities like drinking water and sanitation.

What is the case about?

The case is a bunch of writ petitions filed before the Allahabad HC broadly on the procedure of appointment of teachers to the government schools. These writ petitions are an offshoot of the Court’s earlier decision which struck down certain provisions of UP Basic Education (Teachers) Service (Fifteenth Amendment) Rules 2012 which only considered the educational qualifications and did not give any weight to the scores of Teachers Eligibility Test in preparation of merit list for the recruitment.

It is pertinent to observe that nowhere in the case have the petitioners prayed for improving the conditions of the government schools. No relief has been prayed before the court to order the children/ wards of the government servants,

politicians etc. to be sent to the government schools for primary education.

Is the court’s order enforceable?

With no specific relief prayed with respect to improving the conditions of the government schools, as a parting note, the court’s order can only be termed as an observation regarding the state of education in government schools and is only an obiter dictum. The order of the court that Chief Secretary of the UP government has to ensure its implementation is untenable.

The judgement is nothing short of judicial overreach where policy matters are best to be left with the Executive and the Legislature. The court’s assumption that sending the children of government ser-

vants and politicians would improve the conditions of the government school has no evidentiary base either in the form of research or study and harps on the assumption.

In fact, the court even goes on to state that a penal provision should be made for flouting of the orders.

The SC has clearly stated that though strict compartmentalization of functions of the legislature, the executive and the judiciary is not envisioned in the Constitution, one organ of the state cannot usurp to itself the essential functions of the other. The lack of good policy and implementation is the failure of the government and the executive and the Court cannot take up the responsibility of their functions.

What is the take-away from the judgement?

The judgement highlights the absolute apathy of the system and the failure of public education system throughout the country where majority of the students receive education.

The high drop-out rate in government schools and the allocation of huge amounts of money on education by the governments disappearing without any facilities or improvement in the government schools is a telling tale of the public education system in the country. It is high-time that the government fixes the broken education system and ensures that the realisation of constitutional goal of right to free and compulsory education up to the age of 14 years a reality.

India No 1 in the world for duration of female leadership, reveals Pew Research report According to Pew Research Center reports, women heads of state or government are rare, though their numbers have increased in modern times. But usually, women leaders do not rule the country for a long time either.

Currently there are 18 female world leaders, out of which 12 are heads of the government and 11 are elected as female heads of the state, according to United Nations data. Half of these women leaders are the first women to hold their country's highest office.

Number of female leaders has more than doubled since 2005. According to a study by World Economic Forum 63 out of 142 nations have had a female leader who has led the government or the state at some point in the 50 years till 2014. But in nearly twothirds of these nations a woman was in power for less than four of the 50 years, which includes the 11 countries which have been led a woman for less than a year.

India is the only country in the world which was led by a woman for the longest period, with former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and President Pratibha Patil. They both

collectively served the country for a good 21 years in the past 50 years.

Bangladesh and Ireland followed India with 21 years of female leadership. Countries with the shortest duration of female leadership are Austria, Ecuador and Madagascar where the female leader led for just two days. Pew Research report say that Austria's female leader served an interim period but in Ecuador and Madagaskar, female leaders were dominated by male politicians and were forced

out of their position.

Sweden has never had a female head who led the government. According to the Pew Research report, Iceland had a female president or a prime minister during 20 of the past 50 years which is the fourth most in the world followed by Finland and Norway with 12 and 11 years respectively.

The following graph shows that the public generally trusts women more than men, in the United States.

Except for risk-taking and deal-making, women seem

to posess all other qualities essential to make good political and business leaders, more than men do.

Mexico has also never seen a women as chief executive. The first ever female prime minister of Canada served for just four months.

Overall, there is a positive trend in female leadership around the world. Women also seem to make better leaders overall. But there is a glass ceiling, and traditional attitudes persist in some societies.

may have his or her point of view,” Justice Mridula Bhatkar said last week.

Soon after the suspended IPS officer, Sanjiv Bhatt, was sacked.

The Union Home Ministry termination order, following a recommendation from the Gujarat government, signed on 13th August had 11 charges against Bhatt similar to the ones that had led to his suspension. Bhatt tweeted after he learnt of his termination: “Finally removed from service today after serving 27 years in the Indian Police Service. Once again eligible for employment. Any takers?” His

son’s letter praising him for his courage has gone viral.

Setalvad is cheered every time she comes clean before the courts. Both Setalvad and Bhatt do have the sympathy of a large group of people in the country. It is not unique to those who stand against Modi. Durga Shakti Nagpal, the IAS officer who took on the sand mafia in UP, got a lot of support when she was suspended. A lot of people look up to such officers as honest people fighting a corrupt and powerful system. Their everyday struggles against this system makes them identify

with them.

Of course, whenever such action takes place, the state argues that it is in accordance with guidelines, statues, laws, procedure, etc. One would also like to believe that that is true.

However, few people who have held the high office of the Prime Minister have invested as much energy in building their public image as Mr. Modi has. So, in the rare case that the charges being filed against these people are false, are spurious, wouldn’t it hurt his public image? Maybe in the enthusiasm of defending the country

against anti-national people, of freeing the country of people who do not follow procedure and orders, a case or two might have been exaggerated. He should understand that this is a mistake. Every charge that emerges to be “hundred percent spurious” is likely to weigh against him if the courts give a green signal to a fresh investigation after hearing Jafri’s plea. In the public eye, it has already begun to tarnish him again and maybe the industrialists will start to groan again. A little humility can save him that.

PAGE 10

DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, AUGUST 25

Faster refunds earn I-T department accolades

Four-fold growth in organic food business in 3 years Mumbai, Aug 24: Grow- used in the food industry, ing health consciousness products that are believed and awareness about harm- to be free of such substances ful pesticides has nearly will grow exponentially. quadrupled the size of or- "Three years back, this ganic foods in India in the market was approximately last three years. Organic Rs 70 crore. We are growfoods, which started out by ing at a very healthy rate occupying fewer shelves at year on year. In the last 5 retail stores, is now a Rs years, shelf space given to 300 crore business in the organic foods has tripled. domestic market. The ex- However, retailers are yet to port market from India is realize the full potential," even bigger at Rs 700 crore, said N Balasubramanian, according to industry ex- CEO, Sresta Natural perts. Consumers are opt- Bioproducts, who claims its ing for healthier eating brand 24 Mantra is the habits which is driving en- largest player in organic trepreneurship in organic foods in India. The comfoods, prodding retailers to pany is present in key catoffer greater shelf space to egories like atta, brown brands in this category. As rice, honey, tur dal, turper industry estimates, the meric, juices and breakfast category is currently grow- cereals in organic foods. ing at 50 per cent per an- Given the growth of this num. Industry experts be- market, 24 Mantra, which lieve with growing talk is present in more than 125 about the bad effects of cities across India, is planchemicals and pesticides ning to extend to ready to ORGANIC FOCUS Organic food is now a Rs 300 crore business in 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 the domestic market.

1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 The export market from India is even bigger at Rs 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 700 crore, according to industry experts.

1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 Three years back, this market was approximately 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 Rs 70 crore.

1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 If the monthly household expense for a family of 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 four on grocery is in the range of Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000, 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 a switch to a brand of organic food would cost Rs 1,2001234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1,500 more per month.

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cook traditional products like pongal, poha, khichdi and millet dosa as well.

Mohit Khattar, MD & CEO, Godrej Nature's Basket said awareness around polluted ground water near industrial area, increasingly chemical laden environment in general or the harmful impact of chemicals in day to day food has added to the consciousness of consumers. "It definitely makes them want to change simple things around them.

And one of the things they

can change easily is adopting a healthier and more sustainable way of life. It is this context that organic products are seeing increased acceptance and growing popularity," said Khattar. Godrej Nature's Basket, which has been a pioneer in bringing and selling organic products like tea, pasta, sauces, across its stores, plans to enhance the range of organic options further and making the availability of these more consistent. Or-

ganic packaged food comes at a premium to the regular variety of packaged commodity. If the monthly household expense for a family of four on grocery is in the range of Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000, a switch to a brand of organic food would cost Rs 1,200-1,500 more per month. "This is almost the same as what a family would spend on a movie outing over a weekend," said Balasubramanian.

(Agencies)

Loan swap proposed by Govt. for discoms Vadodara, Aug 24: While refusing a fresh bailout to electricity distribution companies, the Centre has asked state governments to issue bonds for raising funds at 8.5-9 per cent and help the power firms swap their high-cost loans, raised at 13-14 per cent, to improve their financial health. The move will take care of the legacy issues.

For future funding, the power ministry is reading the riot act and has clearly told state governments with weak discoms to cut the aggregate technical & commercial (AT&C) losses to 15 per cent, which in Jharkhand was estimated at

close to 42 per cent and at around 32 per cent in parts of Uttar Pradesh. Sources familiar with the talks said that during consultations with the states, the power ministry has clearly said that they need to undertake 100 per cent metering and keep the farm sector on a separate grid. In fact, funding from schemes such as Integrated Power Development System and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana is also linked to reforms. In an interview last week, financial services secretary Hasmukh Adhia said that talks have been initiated with Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and

Haryana. Discoms in Rajasthan, UP, Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand are seen to be under maximum stress with high amount of debt as well as accumulated losses. The poor health is also putting pressure on banks, which at the behest of the Centre had extended a financial restructuring plan without any asset backing. Although the discoms are backed by state governments, any delay in repayment of loans will increase the headache for the state-run lenders, grappling with mounting bad debt. Discoms in Rajasthan are estimated to have combined losses of nearly Rs

80,000 crore and are yet to implement some of the reform steps that would have entitled them for transitionary support. Another problem is the inability of the discoms in the state to revise tariff between 2005 and 2011.

Even now, along with West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, the tariff order in the state was issued late. In Tamil Nadu, losses are estimated at around Rs 14,000 crore.

In UP, all discoms are dogged by losses. The Centre has offered a Rs 5,000crore helpline through REC and PFC. PFC CMD M K Goel confirmed that talks have been initiated

IOC's INR 9300 crore stock sale could get muted response, say economists

Mumbai, Aug 24: Indian Oil Company's offer for sale (OFS) today could get a muted response despite its balance sheet being propped up by a softer global crude prices and domestic oil subsidy reforms that have improved the margins of the oil marketing companies (OMCs), said analysts.

Indian Oil Company (IOC) will offload 10% of its stake on Sunday and expects to raise around Rs 9300 crore.

Anis Chakravarty, chief economist and senior director at Deloitte India, said past trends have shown that the response

to the OFS has usually been "muted" compared to government expectations. Chakravarty said that the timing of the share sale of public sector undertaking (PSU) was very important. He said the market was currently contracting and that may not work well for the OFS even though there are positive trends of global crude oil prices easing and reforms in the sector which has helped OMCs to improve their margins. The Deloitte economist said since the GDP has started declining, the government has been overambitious in setting their disinvest-

ment has been setting ambitious divestment target because of the declining GDP and is able to meet just a small portion of it," he said. The government has been missing its disinvestment target for the last five consecutive years. Disinvestment secretary Aradhana Johri has reportedly expressed difficulty in achieving the target for the current fiscal, saying Rs 30,000 crore was a more realistic figure considering the current micro and macro conditions. On Friday, while speaking to the reporters, she expressed confidence in the Indian economy and stock market, which she feels was an "outlier among emerging markets". "I am quite confident that ment targets to crimp fis- the Indian stock market cal deficit and meet the is an outlier among the annual target for it. Be- emerging market. Invessides relying on sale of tors we have been talkshares in PSUs, the gov- ing to also have the ernment was depending (same) view. Of course, heavily on revenues there is the daily situaearned from spectrum tion to be watched. Insale. The government is dian market has done looking to raise Rs well compared to other 69,500 crore in the cur- economies, especially rent fiscal by divesting among emerging market, stocks in major PSUs like and there is lot of hope IOC, OIL, Nalco, and interest. As I said, NMDC, ONGC, NTPC we do think that we will and others. Till now, it be able to sell our has already earned Rs stocks," she said. On 3,300 crore through Coal India Ltd stock sale offloading of stake in that is plagued by provarious PSUs and expects tests from trade unions, to garner around Rs she was not sure whether 9,300 crore from IOC. it would be taken this "Since 2010, the govern- year or not. (Agencies)

with some states. "We are looking at some transition funding as part of the talks that the government has initiated with the states to work out a road map. After all, health of discoms is critical for revival of the power sector," Goel said.

There are of course others such as Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Telangana, where the order for 2014-15 was not issued, resulting in widening of losses. Jharkhand and Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam in Uttar Pradesh received the worst ratings in the annual ICRApower ministry study.

(Agencies)

New Delhi, Aug 24: The government has speeded up tax refunds with some taxpayers getting them within a week of filing returns.

The quick response has helped the tax department win accolades – a rarity given that in the past it has faced criticism for holding up refunds to show healthier government finances. "Historic! I-T refund in less than a month of filing! Jai Ho!" tweeted Bhaskar Bhattacharya, a former MNC executive.

Others such as chartered accountant Kamlesh Vikamsey and Krish tweeted that they received refunds within a week and

10 days, respectively. Although there are cases of taxpayers still complaining of delayed refunds, officials said there are fewer instances than in the past.

The government is now looking to improve the process further. "Have noted the other suggestions regarding I-T refunds. Will have them looked into," revenue secretary Shaktikanta Das tweeted.

During April and May 2015, refunds are estimated to have increased to Rs 39,000 crore, compared to around Rs 32,000 crore a year ago, sources said. In number terms, the increase is more impressive with 39

lakh refund cases being cleared during the first two months of this fiscal year, compared to around 20 lakh last year, pointing to a near doubling of the cases.

In fact, the process has become smoother from the last financial year itself as the government issued refunds of Rs 1.12 lakh crore, compared to Rs 89,000 crore in 2013-14 - an increase of around 26%. In all, over 1.35 crore refunds were issued during 201415, which was 31% higher than the 1.03 crore refund cases in the previous financial year. (Agencies)

$40 fall in international oil prices, hits fresh six-and-a-half year low Beijing, Aug 24: International crude oil prices fell below $40, hitting a fresh six-and-a-half year low.

Prices fell 2.1% to $39.61 a barrel on Monday morning. Oil prices have been under pressure on worries about staggering demand from China as worries about the country's economic health worsen with every passing day. Expectations of excessive supply from the OPEC countries, led by Saudi Arabia, has also been keeping oil prices to make its exports more down. Demand for com- competitive in the global modities and oil has been markets. Recent factory staggering from China, the output data indicated that world's second largest factory activity shrank at its economy on the back of fastest pace in almost sixslowing growth in the and-a-half years in August. country. China devalued its On Monday, China's currency two weeks ago by Shanghai Composite Index nearly 5% in three tranches plunged 7.7% to a five1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 FRESH FALL 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 International crude oil fell 2.1% to $39.61 a bar1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 rel on Monday morning.

China devalued its currency two weeks ago by nearly 5% in three tranches to make its exports more competitive in the global markets.

1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 On Monday, China's Shanghai Composite Index 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 plunged 7.7% to a five-month low, and erasing its year1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 to-date gains. This month alone, it is has lost 10% 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123 earnings.

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month low, and erasing its year-to-date gains.

This month alone, it is has lost 10% earnings.

On the other hand, dwindling demand from around the world hasn't prompted OPEC countries to cut supply, leading to a supply glut. The US has also cut its demand for oil from the OPEC countries, on the back of its shale production, thereby widening the demand-supply gap.

Oil sanctions were recently lifted from Iran, which will only further add to the world's oil supply going ahead. (Agencies)

Our business philosophy is 'customer first': Bandhan Bank founder-MD and CEO Kolkata, Aug 24: The country's youngest lender Bandhan Bank kicked off operations on Sunday with a loan book of Rs 10,500 crore, 501 branches and 1.43 crore account holders. The bank has started business with a paid-up capital of Rs 2,750 crore, against the minimum prescription of Rs 500 crore, and plans to raise an additional Rs 480 crore

by issuing shares to the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC).

The interest rate for the savings bank account has been fixed at 4.25 per cent for a balance up to Rs 1 lakh and 5 per cent for balance above Rs 1 lakh. For term deposits, the maximum interest rate has been fixed at 8.5 per

cent for one to three years, with an additional 0.5 per cent for senior citizens.

Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, founder-MD and CEO, Bandhan Bank, said, "Our business philosophy is 'customer first'. We are a universal bank and we will have equal respect for all our customers – big and small.

Bandhan has opened 60,000 accounts after it started its

BANDHAN BANKING

123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 The country's youngest lender Bandhan Bank kicked off operations on Sunday 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 with a loan book of Rs 10,500 crore, 501 branches and 1.43 crore account holders.

123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456

The bank has started business with a paid-up capital of Rs 2,750 crore, against the minimum prescription of Rs 500 crore, and plans to raise an additional Rs 480 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 crore.

123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 The interest rate for the savings bank account has been fixed at 4.25 per cent for 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 a balance up to Rs 1 lakh and 5 per cent for balance above Rs 1 lakh.

For term deposits, the maximum interest rate has been fixed at 8.5 per cent for 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 one to three years, with an additional 0.5 per cent for senior citizens.

123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 Bandhan has opened 60,000 accounts after it started its operations.

In the first day of its banking operations, Bandhan received about Rs 80 crore 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 deposits.

123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 Bandhan, which has 2,022 service centres, plans to expand its network from 50 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 ATMs to 250 and raise its branch count to 632 branches in 27 states by the end of 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 2015-16.

The bank currently has 71 per cent branches in rural India, of which 35 per cent are in unbanked rural pockets.

123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 The bank, which is based out of Bengal, has 220 branches in the state, followed 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456

by Bihar (67), Assam (60), Maharashtra (21), Uttar Pradesh (20) and Tripura (20), 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456 and Jharkhand (15).

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operations. In the first day of its banking operations, Bandhan received about Rs 80 crore deposits." Bandhan is the first private lender launched in Bengal in six decades since bank nationalization, started offering zero-balance savings accounts from day one. Praising Bandhan's financial inclusion initiative, finance minister Finance minister Arun Jaitley, who inaugurated the bank in Kolkata on Sunday, said Bengalis are known for intellectual qualities but Ghosh has proved that they can be good entrepreneurs as well. "I hope this will lay the foundation stone for Bengali entrepreneurship." Bandhan, which has 2,022 service centres, plans to expand its network from 50 ATMs to 250 and raise its branch count to 632 branches in 27 states by the end of 2015-16. The bank's base rate for the time being would be 12 per cent. The high base rate is owing to its dependence on bank funds so far. The bank currently has 71 per cent branches in rural India, of which 35 per cent are in unbanked rural pockets.

The bank, which is based out of Bengal, has 220 branches in the state, followed by Bihar (67), Assam (60), Maharashtra (21), Uttar Pradesh (20) and Tripura (20), and Jharkhand (15). Ghosh said Bandhan, which received RBI's final nod to commence its banking operations in June this year, would initially stay away from corporate lending and only concentrate on rural unbanked areas and offer regular banking services to low and middle income households, especially in the eastern India. (Agencies)

"It's not easy to return her serve. I had chances to break her, but she served really well in important moments."

DIBRUGARH, TUESDAY, AUGUST 25

PAGE 11

Halep

Kohli gets first win as captain as India hit back to level series Colombo: Ravichandran Ashwin produced another magical spell to scalp five wickets as India notched a series-levelling 278-run victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka, denying the legendary Kumar Sangakkara a fairytale farewell from the game. Set a daunting target of 413, the islanders caved in rather tamely, bundled out for a meagre 134 in 43.4 overs shortly after the lunch break, allowing the Indians to restore parity in the three-match series. Wily off-spinner Ashwin again did the bulk of the damage, finishing with superb figures of five for 42, as the Lankans capitulated spectacularly to give Virat Kohli his first Test win as captain with almost two full sessions to spare. It was a commendable show by the Indians, who dominated the match right from the first day and made amends for their shock defeat in the first Test in Galle, where they lost despite being in

the driver's seat for most part of the game. It was a disappointing end to Sangakkara's stellar career as he not only failed with the bat in both the innings but had to deal with the added misery of seeing his team go down tamely. No-

Guptill guides Kiwis to win over SA; level series

An unbeaten century from opener Martin Guptill eased New Zealand to an emphatic eight-wicket victory over South Africa in the second One-Day International at Senwes Park. Set a modest 205 for victory, New Zealand cruised to their target with 33 balls to spare on the back of Guptill's 103 not out as they finished on 207 for two. The victory levels the three match series at 1-1, with the deciding match to be played in Durban on Wednesday. After winning the toss and electing to bat, South Africa never got momentum in their innings and were bowled out in the final over for 204, not helped by losing their last three wickets to run outs.

New Zealand bowled with accuracy on a slow wicket as the Proteas batsmen managed to breached the boundary rope on just 15 occasions. Only middleorder batsman Farhaan Behardien found any sort of fluency as he accumulated a neat 70 from 87 balls to give the

home side some sort of target to defend. Rilee Rossouw and AB de Villiers both got starts in the top-order, but could not kick-on. The innings ended in farce when Aaron Phangiso, Dale Steyn and Imran Tahir were all run out, with Vernon Philander the common denominator at the other end. Credit must go to the way the New Zealand bowlers stifled the run rate though, with seamer Doug Bracewell the pick as he recorded figures of three for 31 in his 10 overs. The tourists never looked troubled in their reply as a 126 run opening stand between Guptill and Tom Latham laid the platform for the emphatic win. Guptill's ninth ODI century took 134 balls and while it lacked the brutality of some of his other international hundreds, was skilful batting on a pitch most other batsmen found difficult.

Debutant George Worker finished on 20 not out as he put on 67 with Guptill for the third wicket. (Agencies)

body expected the game to end so quickly. Sri Lanka lost seven wickets for 58 runs by the lunch break, which was taken early owing to a rain interruption.

Amit Mishra trapped last man standing Dushmantha Chameera to seal the issue,

triggering off scenes of celebration in the Indian dressing room while the players hugged each other on the field. Apart from Ashwin's mesmerising bowling effort, leg-spinner Mishra chipped in with three wickets for 29 runs,

while the pace duo of Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav claimed a wicket apiece.

For the home team, opener Dimuth Karunaratne provided a semblance of resistance with a gritty 46-run knock, which came off 103 balls. None of the other toporder batsmen could hang around for long, making the job easier for the rampaging Indians. Sri Lanka's day got off to the worst start possible, losing a wicket to the first ball of the morning. Starting at their overnight score of 72-2, skipper Angelo Mathews was caught behind off Umesh Yadav in the 22nd over and almost immediately the slide began. The collapse started thereafter as Ashwin got great purchase from the fifth day pitch. He struck with the sixth ball after the mini-break, removing Lahiru Thirimanne, who was caught at silly point by substitute fielder Cheteshwar Pujara. In the very next over, the 36th

bowled by Ishant, Jehan Mubarak edged the first ball he faced to second slip which India skipper Virat Kohli gleefully accepted.

In the 37th over then, Dhammika Prasad stepped out of the crease and mishit one high off Ashwin, holing out to Mishra at midwicket. Two overs later, Ashwin had his second five-wicket haul of this series when he bowled opener Dimuth Karunaratne. Three overs went by without a wicket as dark clouds hovered above the ground, bringing the possibility of thundershowers as per predictions.

With 14 minutes to go for lunch, Mishra removed Tharindu Kaushal, trapping him leg before, but, thereafter, a sudden rain shower stopped play, forcing the umpires to call for an early lunch. India took five deliveries after the break to wrap up the proceedings and bring themselves back in the series.

(Agencies)

Federer denies Djokovic history bid Cincinnati: Roger Federer avenged his Wimbledon final loss to Novak Djokovic by beating the top-seeded Serb 7-6(1), 6-3 to capture his second consecutive Western & Southern Open title. The Swiss second seed, playing Djokovic for the first time since losing to him in the Wimbledon final for a second straight year last month, brought his record number of Cincinnati titles to seven with the win. Federer, who did not concede a service break all week, easily handled his service games throughout the match, losing only 13 points on his serve. He also employed an attacking style that gave Djokovic fits, winning 15 of 21 net points in the first set. After cruising through the first set tiebreak, Federer earned the only break of the match in

the second game of the second set en route to sealing the win in 90 minutes. "I tried to really mix it up on his second serve and I was hoping to serve good enough myself to keep me

out of trouble," Federer said in his courtside interview.

"He had that one bad game at the beginning of the second set, which made the difference in the match." The win will give Federer a jolt

Serena all set for US Open with Cincinnati title in bag Cincinnati: Defending champion Serena Williams finished her last US Open tune-up in style by beating Romanian third seed Simona Halep 6-3, 7-6(5) to win the Western & Southern Open. For the top-seeded American, the Cincinnati triumph sent a message that she is in top form as she now sets her sights on a calendar sweep of the four grand slams at the August 31-September 13 US Open. "I don't care if I win, lose or break even," said Williams.

"I'm ready to start (the US

Open), get it over with and be done and go on to the next event." Halep had a solid start and broke Williams in the opening game of the first set but the American, who turns 34 next month, recovered to win the final five games of the first set.

In the final set, the opponents traded early breaks but Williams took it to another level in the tiebreak and wrapped the match up in 99 minutes. "I tried to keep fighting," said Halep, now a loser in six of seven career matches against Williams.

"It's not easy to return her serve.

I had chances to break her, but she served really well in important moments." Halep, who also lost the Toronto final last week, will take over second spot in the world rankings. It marked the fifth title of the year for Williams following wins at the Australian Open, in Miami and at the French Open and Wimbledon. The win was also the 69th career title for Williams and moved her ahead of Evonne Goolagong and into fifth place on the all-time list. (Agencies)

of confidence going into the August 31-September 13 US Open where he will be seeking a sixth title at Flushing Meadows and first since 2008. With the win, Federer also denied longtime rival Djokovic from completing the set of all nine ATP Masters titles and took a 21-20 edge in career head-to-head meetings. "It's now the fifth time I've been in this final. I guess I'll have to wait until Roger retires," Djokovic joked. "I knew coming into the match he was going to be aggressive. No question about it. So I tried to handle it. I did well until the tiebreak in the first set. After that, he was just the better player." Federer will now move into second spot in the world rankings on Monday, which means the two rivals could meet again in the final at Flushing Meadows.

(Agencies)

Anand beaten by Nakamura in Sinquefield opener

St. Loius: Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand suffered a surprising first round loss at the hands of Hikaru Nakamura of United States in the Sinquefield Cup, in St Louis, the United States. Starting the tournament with a double black, the Indian ace defended pretty well for a long time before Nakamura crashed through after persistent pressure. The first round of the event started with a bang, all games ending decisively. As in the first edition of the Grand Chess tour, Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria caused the biggest upset for the second time running when he defeated World champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway in what was a repeat of the Norway tournament opener in June this year. Anish Giri of Holland also repeated his success against Alexander Grischuk of Russia while in the other two games of the day, Levon Aronian of Armenia was brilliant in his fine victory against Fabiano Caruana of the US and Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave progressed at the expense of 'wild-card' Wesley So, also from the host federation. With five winners on the first day, the event started in a unique way as in recent history such a high number of decisive games are hard to find. Anand, however, was a little unlucky to lose from an equal position against Nakamura out of a Catalan opening where the Indian played black. Getting out of the opening unscathed, he had to defend patiently as Nakamura continued to hunt for an advantage and it was only after some errors by the former that the American picked up a pawn on move 40. Anand resigned after three more moves rather prematurely in opinion of some masters but the pressure was immense in addition to the material deficit. Carlsen lost after coming across a new idea by Topalov early in the opening. The World champion sacrificed a piece for some dangerous compensation but it was the calm response by the Bulgarian that saved him the blushes in the end. Methodically Topalov liquidated to an endgame where his extra piece was simply too much. Aronian played the game of the day, crushing Caruana with his white pieces. The Queen's gambit declined met with a severe attack by the Armenian star and Caruana was helpless after Aronian spotted a brilliant rook sacrifice to rip apart black's position. The game lasted 39 moves. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave punished Wesley So for an audacious approach out of an English opening. The former Filipino went for a pawn grab in the opening but black always had enough compensation in form of pieceactivity. Vachier-Lagrave won a rook for minor piece in quick time and never looked back. The tournament has a total prize fund of US $300000 in addition to the 15,0000 prize fund at stake for the top three finishers of the grand chess tour that started with the Norway tournament and will end with the London Chess Classic in December this year. There are eight rounds still remaining in one of the strongest ever tournament that has eight of the top 10 in world rankings participating. (Agencies)

21st All Assam Ranking Table Tennis Championship concludes

La Liga: Hard time for big clubs as Madrid manager Benitez makes sorry start

If former Valencia coach Rafael Benitez was hoping for a rousing win on his return to La Liga after 11 years he was sorely disappointed as Real Madrid drew a blank in Asturias. Benitez suffered an embarrassing setback in his first La Liga outing in charge of Real when they were held to a 0-0 draw at promoted Sporting Gijon in their opening match of the season. Real's expensively assembled squad, including FIFA Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, the world's most expensive player, could not find a way past Gijon's

determined defence at the Molinon. Gijon goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar was on fine form, particularly against Ronaldo, while Real's approach play looked lethargic and too many passes went astray. Gijon -- whose resources are a fraction of those of their illustrious visitors -- also created chances and when Arnaldo Sanabria headed against the underside of the bar in the first half, television replays showed it may have just crossed the goalline. "The gap between us and Madrid is immense," Cuellar said. "They are one of the

best teams in the world but humility and solidarity won the day," he added. Real captain Sergio Ramos said some selfcriticism was needed. "Anything other than a win is not good," added the Spain international.

"But we shouldn't take anything away from the opponent. They pressured well high up the pitch in the first half."

There were no such problems for Real's great rivals Barcelona, who got their bid for a sixth La Liga title in eight years off to a winning start when Luis Suarez buried a fine volley shortly after halftime to secure a hard-fought 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao. The Spanish and European champions' victory at the San Mames, in which Lionel Messi had a firsthalf penalty saved, was sweet revenge for Barca following their 5-1 aggregate defeat by Bilbao in this month's Spanish Super Cup. It came at some cost, however, as both midfielder Sergio Busquets and fullback Dani Alves picked up injuries that ended their participation in the game. "We know that these kinds of matches give us strength in our effort to win La Liga," Suarez said after the match. "We also

knew that they would be a very difficult, very tough opponent," added the Uruguay striker. A well-organised and hard-pressing Bilbao made life difficult for Barca in the early stages before Suarez was tripped by Gorka Elustondo in the penalty area in the 30th minute and Messi stepped up to take the spot kick.

Bilbao goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz made a fine diving stop, becom-

ing only the second man after Valencia's Diego Alves to save a penalty from both Messi and Ronaldo. It was Messi's 14th failed spot kick for Barca on the Argentina captain's 63rd attempt.

Barca made the breakthrough in the 54th minute when Suarez found space in the area and smashed a superb volley into the net from Jordi Alba's chipped centre. (Agencies)

A Staff Reporter Dibrugarh, Aug 23: The 21st All Assam Ranking Table Tennis Championship at the DDSA indoor stadium concluded with the following results registered in the finals across different categories: Cadet boys' - Ankit Saharia of Guwahati beat Nil Akash Dutta of Golaghat 3-0 Cadet girls' - Swati Raaj of Guwahati beat Akankhya Deka of Guwahati 3-1 Sub junior boys' Mohsin Ahmed of Dibrugarh beat Zubayer

Arsad Boruah of Guwahati 3-0 Sub junior girls' Trishna Gogoi of Golaghat beat Shirley Boruah of Guwahati 3-2 Junior girls' Akankshya Bhuyan of Dibrugarh beat Sneha Bhowmick of Guwahati 4-1 Junior boys' - Zeedan Gogoi of Dibrugarh beat Agniv Bhasker Gohain of Dibrugarh 4-2 Women's - Mahasweta Batsallya of Guwahati beat Mallika Gogoi of Duliajan 4-1 Men's - Sadul Alam Ahmed of Dibrugarh beat

Kaushik Kr Phukan of Dibrugarh 4-1 Youth boys' - Zeedan Gogoi of Dibrugarh beat Shankab Gautam Baruah of Golaghat 4-0 Youth girls' - Kritika Upadhayay of Guwahati beat Trisha Gogoi of Golaghat 4-1 The tournament was organized by Milan Jyoti Sangha in association with Dibrugarh District Sports Association under the aegis of Assam Table Tennis Association.

Sarbananda Sonowal was present during the prize distribution ceremony.

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Soothe Your Irritated Eyes Well, eye irritation and redness is very common these days due to the pollution which we have to face everyday. The moment we step out of our homes we are welcomed with all sorts of dust and contaminated air which not only affects our skin and body but also our eyes as well. So here are few home remedies to solve the problem of eye irritation Cold compress: Splash ice water on the face and eyes. Then, take ice packs or ice cubes, wrap them in a clean cotton towel and place it on closed eyelids. This helps relieve the eyelids and irritated eyes.

Chamomile: Add 1 teaspoon of dried chamomile flowers to 1 cup of boiled water. Steep for 5 minutes, strain, let cool, and use as an eyewash. May also be made into a compress. OR, add 12 drops of tincture of chamomile to 1 cup of boiled water, cool, and use as an eyewash.

Cucumber Slices: This is one of the most common remedies which

effectively treats eye irritation and inflammation. Cut two slices of cucumber, place in ice cold water for 10 minutes and place them on your closed eyelids for 10 more minutes. The cool cucumber soothes your eyes. Closing and resting your eyes also helps reduce soreness.

Tea Bags: Tea contains bio flavonoids that fight viral and bacterial infections and can help reduce inflammation. Put a moist green or black teabag on the affected eye for several minutes. Repeat several times a day. If your eye is swollen, moisten the teabag with cool water. The tannic acid in the tea will soothe the itching. A weak solution of tea may be used as an eyewash.

Water: Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Intake of extra fluids helps to keep the eyes hydrated.

Chilled Spoons: Place four metal spoons in a glass of ice water. When chilled, place one spoon on

Tips for flower arrangement at home

each eye. As the spoons begin to warm, switch them with the spoons chilling in the glass of ice water. Continue until swelling subsides. The cool temperature of the metal spoons constricts the blood vessels, which helps decrease redness and puffiness in the eye area.

Aloe Vera Juice: Freeze aloe vera juice and

then mix with a little bit of cold water and using a clean piece of cotton, place this mixture over your eyes.

VERY soothing!!

Castor Oil: Many commercial eye drops contain castor oil.

Purchase a clean dropper, wash it thoroughly with soapy water, and rinse well.

Suck 100-percent pure castor oil into the clean dropper. Administer one drop of oil into each eye. Repeat this three times a day or as needed. The castor oil will soothe the eye and reduce the swelling and redness.

Warm Milk and Honey: Honey has amazing antibacterial properties. Making an eyewash with warm milk and honey can help to soothe and treat conjunctivitis. Use equal parts of both honey and milk, making sure the milk is warm (not boiling). Mix together the remedy and keep stirring until the honey becomes smooth in the milk.

Use an eyedropper and drop 2-3 drops into your eye several times a day. Alternatively, you can use this mixture as a compress. The anti-bacterial properties in the honey and the soothing effects of the milk will start

to work immediately.

Apple Cider Vinegar: Mix 1 Tbsp pure apple cider vinegar with a cup of water. Use this mixture to wash your eyes by using a cotton ball. Use apple cider vinegar which contains “mother”. “Mother” is malic acid which fights against bacterial infections.

Potato: Grate a potato and place on the eye. It is an astringent and will help reduce the inflammation. The potato may also be made into a poultice and placed over the eye for 15 minutes. Do this for three successive nights.

Rose Water: Rose water is also helpful when a person has sore eyes. The procedure is simple, just take a cotton ball soaked in rose water and place it over the eyes.

This will provide immediate relief and most of the burning will be gone after about five minutes.

Baking Soda: Make a soothing eyewash by mixing 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda in 1/2 cup of water. Submerge your eye completely in the solution, doing your best to hold it open and roll it around for one full minute.

Decorate your blank wall

A single bloom can make a difference to your home.

Remember a few things while arranging flowers.

Trim them, decide on the height of the flower depending on the vase you have. Save larger leaves and stems with leaves on them to fill in around the flowers. Drape some of the greenery over the container's rim. "Flowers in the house enhance creativity. Live flowers also have healing energy, they bring good luck, love, grace.

Chrysanthemum's, for example, bring wealth. Yellow flowers balance emotions."

- A single sunflower enhances fame and fortune. The yellow colour adds to the home's happiness.

- Break the traditional ways of flower decor, hang the flowers in glass vases with wires and contrast the colour themes. Do not keep the stem long.

- Chrysanthemum arrangement in tube bottles look minimalistic and classy.

- Orange lily is good for fame and wealth. Put them in a recycled vase.

Here are some easy ways how you can turn a blank wall into the funkiest area of your house.

Do you have a blank wall staring at you every day you get up? Well, think and look at it no more! Just get down to business and decorate it with these easy ideas and make the wall your favorite part of the house 1.Paint it bright: Select a bright, cheerful color and paint the wall with it. You can also select more than one color and let your imagination play all over the wall. Think of single shades, dual tones, horizon-

tal or vertical stripes.

2. Hang paintings: Do you have a few paintings lying in your closet wrapped in a brown paper? Take them out and hang them on the wall.

3. Think wallpaper: Colorful wallpapers with funky prints are in vogue. They not only help decorate your wall in a different fashion, they can also easily hide cracks and blots on the wall.

4. Do the dishes: Use some of your old, exotic round plates and hang them in a fashionable way on the wall. Think out of the box

Cure your low blood pressure While high blood pressure is much talked about and people are aware of its symptoms and effects, not many know about low blood pressure.

In fact, it affects a large number of people worldwide. Very often people do not realise they are suffering from it and often dismiss it as an one-off case of feeling dizzy or ill. It could be a sign of a serious issue with the heart, endocrine or even signal neurological disorders. Severe low blood pressure can block oxygen and vital nutrients from flowing to the brain and hence shouldn't be taken lightly.

Causes There can be plenty of reasons why you may be suffering from low blood pressure.

Dehydration: Drinking enough water is extremely essential for your well-be-

ing. If you are one of those who gets dehydrated easily, you must do something about it. One needs to drink more fluids than one loses.

If you are one of those who works outdoors, ensure you keep sipping on liquids like lemon juice. This will help keep the weakness in check.

Pregnancy: If you are pregnant, there is a good chance your pressure might drop.

This is normal but get yourself checked if it becomes too frequent.

Heart issues: Some heart problems could cause blood in your body to not circulate properly.

Deficiency of nutrients: A lack of some essential vitamins such as B-12 and iron can lead to anaemia, which in turn can result in low blood pressure.

Solution - Increase your salt intake: Generally people are told to

avoid using too much salt in their diet. For people suffering from low blood pressure, salt can help. Check with your doctor though before turning to salty foods.

- Drink more water: Water is necessary for your basic body functioning. It also helps prevent dehydration.

Don't forget to increase your water intake if you're constantly feeling giddy.

Home remedies: Take a cup of the raw beetroot juice twice daily. It is one of the best home remedies for low blood pressure. Drinking a cup of strong black coffee can also help. Some people suggest making a paste of almonds and drinking with lukewarm milk.

Exercise: Include a little exercise in your daily regime. A walk or a quick swim can help circulate the blood.

Green tea or black tea?

Though green and black tea are obtained from the same plant, there are quite a few significant differences between them. Research demonstrates that there are similar health benefits in almost every tea. Experts tell us more...

GREEN TEA – Green tea leaves aren't fermented and hence, do not go through the oxidation process that black tea undergoes, making it extremely rich in the EGCG (epigallactocatechin gallate), a popular antioxidant known for fighting cancer, cardiovascular conditions and more.

Green tea contains 1/4th of the caffeine that coffee has, making it healthier. Since oxidation is arrested, it is believed that more polyphenols are preserved.

It supports weight loss programmes that include

diet and exercise. Green tea leaves is good for afternoon breaks and meditation in the evening. It is less acidic and so, washes off acidic waste. Pure organic green tea creates a detoxifying effect, giving you glowing skin, boosted metabolism and stronger immunity.

Make the perfect green tea.

Bring 220ml water to 80°C. Add two grams of green tea leaves. Let it sit for three minutes. Strain and serve.

Do not add anything.

BLACK TEA – The EGCG in black tea is destroyed during the fermentation process. Hence, green tea is ahead of black tea in its antioxidant quality and quantity. Black tea contains 1/3rd the amount of caffeine your coffee contains. It hydrates the body and strengthens the immune system with bacte-

ria-fighting antioxidants and promotes blood flow to the brain. It improves focus and concentration. It is a morning 'eye-opener'.

Black tea and coffee are more acidic. Mild black tea needs lemon to kill acidity.

Make the perfect black tea.

Bring 220ml of water to 100°C. Add two grams of black tea leaves. Let it sit for four minutes. Strain and pour. Optionally, you could add lemon, sugar, cream, milk etc NOTE: Do not mix teapots if you are preparing different types of teas. Do not over boil the water. Green tea is delicate and boiling water may burn the leaves, destroy its properties and drive the aroma away.

Pour or make tea only in clean, dry and warm cups and teapots.

and see how you can place them.

5. A funky clock: Go spend some cash and buy a funky, classy wall clock that speaks volumes about your personality.

6. Photo collage: This will make you want to stare at the wall till your day ends.

A collage of pictures of your loved ones is one of the finest ways to decorate the wall.

7. Get creative: Picture origami, hand knitted pieces of cloth, teddy bears or simple crafts; these can lift your wall and make it very lively.

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