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ASSENG/2015/64205

PAGE 10

Vol. II

Issue 133

Dibrugarh, Wednesday, November 30, 2016

The Effects of Antibiotics in Poultry in India

KOLKATA BOOK SEMIS BERTH WITH 1-1 DRAW AGAINST KERALA

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MoU signed between Mahabodhi Lord Buddha College of Namsai with SRRURDS Foundation of Thailand ET Bureau Namsai, 29 Nov: In a significant and positive development towards promoting cooperation and collaboration between the Govt. of Arunachal Pradesh and Thailand, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Surindra Rajabhat University Regional Development Strategies (SRRURDS Foundation) of Surin Province, North East of Thailand and Mahabodhi Lord Buddha College of Namsai District, Arunachal Pradesh at Golden Pagoda Eco-Tourist Resort this evening.

The MoU was signed in line with the development of friendly international cooperation with mutual interests in developing programs of academic exchange and for the purpose of establishing a long-term mutually beneficial association between the two institutes for fostering cordial relations between the people of the Arunachal Pradesh and Thailand.

The MoU was signed by Associate Professor Dr. Achara Phanurat, ExPresident of Surindra Rajabhat University Regional Development Strategies (SRRURDS Foundation) and Ven. Bhikkhu Panyaloka, Director of Maha Bodhi Lord Buddha College, Namsai in presence of the Deputy Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Chowna Mein and Mr Tharadol Thongruang, Minister Councellor, Royal Thai Embassy, New Delhi.

As per the MoU, both the institutes agreed to proceed the activities in academic and research cooperation, cultural activities for international development in educational institutions using international journals, magazines as a stage for academic exchange.

Deputy Chief Minister, Chowna Mein while terming the step as a significant one said, “This MoU has taken the Act East Policy in high spirit” and said that the Govt of Arunachal Pradesh is committed to bring Act East Policy into practical.

Contd. on Page 5

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Destruction of trees and encroachment mark Lekhapani range of Digboi Division Wild Life resources in Peril Laxman Sharma Digboi, Nov 29:

Calling upon an urgent attention of the Forest Minister of Assam Pramila Rani Brahma towards the discouraging picturesque of Lekhapani Range on multiple fronts under Digboi Division in Tinsukia District here this evening by a local NGO Green Buds Society, Debajit Moran the Secretary of the organization alleged that the range concern has been the worst victim at the hands of the miscreants carrying on various illegal trade thus gratifying their material lust at the cost of nature’s resources.

The office bearers of the said

organization who conducted a survey in the belt alleged that Lekhapani Range falling between Margherita and Jagun sharing common boundary with the neighboring state of Arunachal Pradesh has been marked by unabated hillock cutting in Lal Pahar Area , merciless felling of precious trees for timber trade and encroachment in Kenya and Tirap area. According to ground report, the forest department has turned a deaf ear towards the anomalies and irregularities though brought into light several times earlier.

Talking to this Journalist, Mr Moran Moran along with other activist of the NGO categorically alleged that the Ranger Bidhubushan Das who

significant to combat the menace. According to Mr Moran, the matter was appraised to Additional PCCF besides demanding a thorough probe into the case for the sake of the conservation of the flora and fauna kingdom where the wildlife property is on the verge of extinction due to deforestation and encroachment.

Illegal earth cutting at Lalpahar paharpur. Photo by Mithun Baruah has been officially accountable for any act of omission and commission within the range was always indifferent towards

the cause he was expected to accomplish. According to them, anti-nature activities hilllock cutting, merciless

felling of precious trees, gross encroachment in the said area was gaining momentum in his period and did nothing

On the other hand categorically describing NN Deka the present ACF of the Digboi division as ‘commission monger’, Mr Moran regretted that due to feeble administrative set up of the division, officials like Mr Deka dares collecting commission range wise thereby putting extra burden upon the rangers to go a step ahead and stretch to the fullest to open up avenues to earn extra compromising with the resources. The NGO claims of possessing enough evidences

to establish the anomalies and irregularities of the officials which they would produce before the competent authority including the forest Minister.

It may be added here that Mr Das who retires from his long service today has been transferred to Lekhapani Range from Jagun where he had served in his capacity for one year. He retires after one year and 8 months of service as Ranger from Lekhapani Range where according to Departmental colleagues Mr Das had done his best to serve the cause with limited departmental support and inadequate manpower and infrastructures.

Meanwhile, what is noteworthy is how Padum Barpatragohain the present Ranger of Jagun who is attached to Lekhapani Range with effect from 30th Nov 2016 delivers to combat the alleged existing menace.

Govt bans cultivation of poppy in entire Lower Dibang Valley A Staff Reporter Roing, 29 Nov

Following reports of cultivation and trafficking of poppy and ganja at Bizari and Anpum villages under Dambuk circle, the district magistrate has issued an executive order prohibiting the cultivation of poppy and/ or its manufacture, sell, purchase, trafficking of drugs or psychotropic substances in the entire Lower Dibang Valley district with immediate effect.

Accordingly, all gaon burrahs, head gaon burrahs and general public have been advised to report any such cases to the police and administrative officers and office of the Deputy Commissioner of Lower Dibang Valley district, Roing for further necessary action.

Any lapse in implementation of this order and/or if any incidence of cultivation of poppy within their jurisdiction is found, the gaon burrahs or

Poppy flowers contain drug making substances head gaon burrahs shall be held personally responsible and necessary action shall be initiated against them.

It was also noted that narcotic drugs are being trafficked for sale at local markets and distribution in the district and neighbouring areas.

The DC reminded the people that it is illegal for any person to produce, manufacture,

cultivate, posses, sell, purchase, transport, store and/ or consume drugs or any psychotropic substances as per Narcotic, Drugs and Psychotropic Substance Act, 1985.

Other points like drug abuse leading to societal problems such as widespread drug abuse, increasing domestic violence and disruption of public tranquility were also taken into consideration while issuing the order.

Poi Pee Mau 2111, Tai New Year celebration begins at Namsai ET Bureau Namsai, Nov 29

The three days celebration of the “Poi Pee Mau Tai 2111” the New Year Festival of Tai People of Arunachal Pradesh begins at Namsai today.

Parliamentary Secretary for Planning, Chow Zingnu Namchoom inaugurated the three days festival extravaganza on behalf of the Deputy Chief Minister at Poi Pee Mau Ground amidst a huge gathering.

In his inaugural speech, Namchoom called for drug free society.

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DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30

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DA clarifies position on order, termed 12 hours Chakka bandh unnecessary Staff Reporter Pasighat, Nov 29: While reacting upon the 12 hours Chakka Bandh called along Pasighat-Pangin Road by villagers of Rengging Village demanding re-calling of DC’s order of dated 17th November 2016, the district administration has

clarified their position by saying that the protesters were unnecessarily dragging the administration over the order which was already suspended by the High Court on 25th November, Bani Lego, EAC, In-

Land acquisition meet between DC and BRO ET Bureau Yupia, 29 Nov: A meeting was held in the office chamber of Deputy Commissioner Tai Kaye on Tuesday with Border Roads Oraganization authorities, Raj Kumar, Commander, 756 TF and Chandrama Pradsad, OC 119 RCC in connection with land acquisition for

phase-II Kimin-Potin road and submission of estimate to BRO authorities after rectification.

During the meeting, the DC assured that the district administration will sort out pending issues expeditiously pertaining to Kimin-Poting BRO road.

HOROSCOPE Aries

Taurus

Gemini

Cancer

Leo

Have sympathy for those who need to vent today, Aries. Don't be surprised if people line up outside your door for a chance to bend your ear for an hour or two. Your mind is sharp.

You will be able to see to the core of any issue brought before you. More than likely, you will understand things intuitively. People will do well to take your advice on any issue they have.

You will probably want everyone to know how you feel today, Taurus. You won't be shy about expressing your emotions. Feel free to take the lead on matters, for you have the self-confidence and emotional stability to do quite well at the helm of the ship. Try not to let your mind trip over itself, however. You have the tendency to think about one issue so much that you completely lose perspective.

Put your foot down today, Gemini. Don't let others push you around. It could be that you're used to letting people have their way in order to keep the peace. The problem with this is that your dreams and goals may get lost in the shuffle.

Don't lose sight of your true destination. There's much more to life than you might see on the surface. Dig deeper.

Mentally, you're apt to do very well today, Leo. You will find that you can tackle just about any cerebral challenge that comes along. The most difficult aspect of the day will be dealing with your emotions. More than likely, you will feel a great desire for attention. You just want to be loved. Get up on stage and say what's in your heart. This isn't a good time to harbor your feelings.

Your heart is in the right place today, Virgo, so feel free to share your good mood with others. Keep things simple and straightforward. Try not to complicate issues with unnecessary garble. Streamline your thoughts and actions. You will find that you can be much more efficient when you cut out the aspects that aren't pertinent or absolutely necessary. Follow your heart.

Libra

You may find it hard to get rolling today, Libra. It's likely that you're caught in a gridlock between your mind and heart. Be careful about letting this tension build. The most important thing for you today is to relax. Tackle things one step at a time and finish one project before starting another. You could get overwhelmed if you have too many things on your plate at once.

Scorpio

You're apt to be spurred into action by strong forces that don't want you to take a break, Scorpio. Keep in mind that the more you resist, the more you will be pushed and pulled by outside sources.

If you find yourself in a bind, take a deep breath and calm down. Act from a point of neutrality instead of a point of anger or defensiveness.

Capricorn

Feel free to let it all out today, Sagittarius. It's finally your turn to stand up and say what you feel.

Don't let others push you into places you don't want to be. The key is to probe deeply with your penetrating mind and share your incredible insights with others. Don't be surprised if your actions cause some tension. Don't let this stop you from doing what you feel is right.

Emotionally speaking, you're probably doing quite well today, Capricorn. You have extra self-confidence to draw on to tackle your projects.

The one difficult aspect of the day probably has to do with some sort of mental challenge that for some reason just isn't making sense. Don't continue to beat a dead horse. If things don't want to budge, let them sit. Tackle them later.

Aquarius

You might be in a bit of a jam today, Aquarius, when one person or situation doesn't work well with what you're thinking, and another doesn't fit well with what you're feeling.

There's a clash taking place that may be difficult to reconcile, especially if you remain stubbornly in your position. The more flexible you are, the better off you will be.

Pisces

puted area which was to be decided/resolved in a Kebang through Circle Officer (Kebang). On receipt of Chief Secretary’s clarification message over the letter of the Rengging villagers, I had made it clear that the order was only to give a permanent solution

of the claims and counter claims over the said areas.

“However, High Court had suspended our order of 17th and 18th November 2016 in a judgement passed on 25th November a copy of which was also served to the DC office by a office bearer of Rengging

Today is a good day for you to follow through, Pisces. Normally you're much better at tagging along or simply going with the flow of the situation.

This way of doing things has proven quite effective for you in the past. Indeed, it has gotten you far. What you have now is a different situation.

The things you've started will do you no good until you complete them.

village on 27th November.

In view of this, the 12 hours Chakka bandh on 28th November demanding re-calling of DC’s order was meaningless and it was simply an attempt to mock us”, resented DC incharge, Bani Lego.

As a district administration, we would never do anything that would hamper development which is a part of the government. Our effort was only to resolve the case by calling a local Kebang through CO (Kebang) as there was cross complaint against

that particular quarry site.

While further clarifying his position, Lego told this reporter that, district administration always stands for the welfare of the public and an attempt to mislead the image of the administration before public is highly condemnable.

State level Consultation on Accelerating Progress toward ‘GOOD NUTRITION FOR ALL’ ET Bureau Itanagar, 29 Nov: The Directorate of Family Welfare, State Health Society, National Health Mission (NHM), Government of Arunachal Pradesh hosted a State level Consultation on Accelerating Progress toward Good Nutrition for All in Arunachal Pradesh in collaboration with the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and the India Institute of Public Health Shillong (IIPHS) on November 29, 2016 at the State Banquet Hall, Itanagar.

The meeting was organised to disseminate findings of the India Health Report: Nutrition 2015 (IHR) for the state of Arunachal Pradesh. The state has made considerable improvements in health and nutrition status of women and children over the last decade.

For instance, among all the states of India, Arunachal

Pradesh has achieved the fastest decline in stunting rates of under-five children in the last decade. As per the latest estimates, 28.4 percent of underfive children are stunted in the state. The consultation aimed to discuss the lessons and challenges involved in improving nutritional indices with key stakeholders from the state.

CONSIDERABLE IMPROVEMENT

P. N. Thungon, Mission Director, NHM, welcomed the participants of the consultation and highlighted that “such a consultative meeting was the first of its kind and the state can benefit from such interactions across stakeholders”. Dr Tana Natung, Nodal Officer (MCH), NHM provided an overview of the demographic profile and status of nutrition while highlighting the logistical challenges posed by the scattered nature of the state’s population. The chief guest of the event, Dr Moji Jini, Direc-

Ø As per the latest estimates, 28.4 percent of under-five children are stunted in the state.

ØAmong all the states of India, Arunachal Pradesh has achieved the fastest decline in stunting rates of under-five children in the last decade.

Ø The consultation aimed to discuss the lessons and challenges involved in improving nutritional indices with key stakeholders from the state. tor of Health Services, released the state nutrition dashboard for Arunachal Pradesh, which

Arunachal Pradesh seeks to become adventure tourism hotspot

provides a comprehensive overview of key nutrition indicators and their multiple determinants at the state level in the form of easy-to-read infographics to inspire and inform efforts to accelerate reductions in under nutrition in the state. In his keynote address, Dr Jini shared his observations about the cultural practices in the state such as wet nursing and mouth-to-mouth feeding of babies and the need to research their effects on nutritional outcomes. He also suggested that “there is a need to include a public health expert/specialist at the policy level for effective planning of nutrition policies”.

particular, she added, “despite the commendable improvements in nutritional status, micronutrient deficiency in women and children continues to be a problem in the Northeast including Arunachal Pradesh”.

Professor Sandra Albert, Director, IIPHS provided an overview of the health and nutrition status of the Northeast and drew attention to the hidden hunger that continues to exist among our people. In

This was followed by a panel discussion chaired by Shri Lego, Director, Health & Family Welfare. An eminent group of representatives from key departments discussed how the current rate of improvement in

Bridge of Hope is a childcare project of Believers Church, which provides a holistic development for children living in severe poverty through

ET Bureau Mechuka, 29 Nov: Encouraged by a 50 per cent growth in tourist arrivals over the past few years, Arunachal Pradesh is seeking to promote the strategic border state as an adventure tourism hotspot to draw the young and the daring.

The state, abutting China, is already known for its natural beauty — picturesque hills and valleys, landscapes snowed white in winter, famous monasteries, unexplored passes and tranquil, high-altitude lakes — and registered about five per cent growth in tourist footfalls in 2015. What was missing were adventure hotspots.

“With the focus on adventure tourism and showcasing exotic tourist spots, the state has been organising many themebased events like the Tawang festival, Ziro festival of music, Arunachal spring carnival, adventure at Mechuka as also the Kameng river festival. The objective is to create a buzz among local youth and tourists outside the state,” state Tourism Department Director K. Lekhi.

A project has been sanctioned under the Swadesh Darshan scheme for integrated development of new adventure tourism with central assistance of around Rs 97 crore ($14 million).

According to Tourism Department data, arrivals in 2015 stood at 3,57,933 against 3,41,178 in 2014. In the last decade, arrivals jumped manifold from 3,255 in 2000 to 2,31,252 in 2010. Between 2011 and 2015, inflows surged by 50 percent from 2,37,980 in 2011.

Being a sensitive state, foreign tourists visiting in groups of two or more require the Protected Area Permit for a period 30 days. Domestic tourists also require an Inner Line Permit.

“We have eased the proce-

dures for providing permits and one can carry out the process from Delhi, Kolkata and Guwahati,” Lekhi said.

“Over the years, the number of tourist arrivals has been increasing. Theme-based festivals and events around the year helped to achieve sustained growth,” Arunachal Pradesh Tourist Information Officer Takom Kena.

The land of dawn-lit mountains is endowed with green forests covering over 80 per cent of its 83,743 sq km area, besides rivers like Kameng, Subansiri, Siang and Tirap.

Such resources make Arunachal an ideal place for adventure sports like trekking, angling, boating and rafting.

Gauging the potential for adventure sports, the Centre has set up the country’s first adventure sports institute — the National Institute for Mountaineering and Allied Sports (NIMAS) — at Dirang in West Kameng district to provide structured training in mountaineering as well as aero and aqua sports.

“Arunachal is the most suitable place for conducting air, water and land-based adventure sports. For example, Mechukha is best for paragliding and trekking, and Tawang for parasailing and river rafting. Apart from Mechukha, we are giving a thrust in Anini, Rupa and Tawang to adventure tourism,” state Directorate of Youth Affairs’ Adventure Cell In-charge K. Romeo Meetei.

With a thin population density of 17 persons per sq km, the state is trying to provide adequate employment opportunities through adventure tourism, which is currently conducted only during the festival season.

“The state is trying to train local youths so that they can organise adventure sports and serve the tourists round the year. It will create employ-

ment opportunities for local youth. At present, facilitators are being brought from outside to conduct such events,” Meetei said on the sidelines of the 4th edition of Adventure@Mechukha festival.

However, communication and transportation bottlenecks have been a major impediment in attracting more tourists.

“At present, the condition of roads are not that good. Maintenance is by the Border Roads Organisation. The state government does not have much say. A trans-Arunachal road project has been taken up and once this fructifies, the problem will ease out to a large extent,” Lekhi said.

Apart from improved road connectivity, tourist arrivals are expected to increase with better rail and and air connectivity.

Currently, Naharlagun, 15 km from Itanagar, is linked to New Delhi via Guwahati by an air-conditioned superfast express. There are also plans to connect Pasighat in East Siang district and Bhalukpong in West Kameng by rail. This is in the domain of the Railway Ministry, Lekhi said.

“The state government has approached the Centre to open up the advanced landing ground (ALG) at Mechukha (29 km from the Sino-Indian border) for civilian purposes to strengthen connectivity in the AaloMechukha circuit in West Siang district. The landing ground is currently used only by the Indian Air Force,” Mechukha’s MLA and Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism P.D. Sona said.

Over time, the IAF plans to activate nine ALGs in Arunachal Pradesh and there are indications that some of these could also be put to civilain use.

Presenting key findings from the Arunachal Pradesh dashboard, Dr Neha Raykar, Lead Economist, PHFI and author on the IHR emphasised that “strategies that accelerate improvements in child stunting in Arunachal Pradesh will need to focus on health of adolescent girls and women as well as their educational and socioeconomic status”.

nutritional status of children in Arunachal Pradesh can be accelerated further through intersectoral coordination and synergy by focusing on key underlying determinants of nutrition: education, water and sanitation, gender and equity.

In his closing remarks, Lego stressed that “health practitioners themselves need to improve their awareness about what constitutes a balanced diet that is also culturally appropriate”.

The meeting was attended by over 80 participants including Government of Arunachal Pradesh officials from Departments of Health and Family Welfare, Women and Child Development, Education, Tribal Welfare, Social Welfare, non-governmental organizations working on health and nutrition issues, academic institutions and development partners.

Bridge of Hope distributes warm clothes to 100 students at Diyun ET Bureau Diyun, 29 Nov: Diyun Bridge of Hope Project distributed warm clothes to its project children. 100 children were provided warm sweater to be protected them from severe cold to school students hailing from economically disadvantaged families.

For goodness' sake, make a decision today, Cancer. The more you flounder about which way to go, the likelier it is that you will miss the boat altogether. You have all the facts you need, so don't delay any longer. Once you make up your mind, be strong and throw all your weight behind it. Your mind can be like a computer filing away information as long as you stay alert.

Virgo

Sagittarius

Charge, Dy. Commissioner, Pasighat said that, the order passed by his office on dated 17th November 2016 was not to stop the ongoing work of Highway Constructing Agency, it was a temporary order stopping carriage of quarries from a particular dis-

value-based teaching and training. This child-centered and community-focused project emphasizes on physical, educational, emotional, social and moral aspects of the children who are enrolled in the center.

Bridge of Hope provides free education, health care, nutritious food and school supplies for the underprivileged children. This holistic development focuses on equipping these children not only to grow into responsible citi-

zens, but also to reach their potential.

Today, Bridge of Hope has over 550 centers catering to the needs of over 74,000 underprivileged children in India, Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka by providing them free education, a nutritious diet, school uniforms, school bags and books. With over 3,000 qualified staff to manage these centers, the Bridge of Hope has given these children a new ray of hope for a brighter future.

DA clarifies position on order, termed 12 hours Chakka bandh unnecessary Staff Reporter Pasighat, Nov 29: While reacting upon the 12 hours Chakka Bandh called along Pasighat-Pangin Road by villagers of Rengging Village demanding re-calling of DC’s order of dated 17th November 2016, the district administration has clarified their position by saying that the protesters were unnecessarily dragging the administration over the order which was already suspended by the High Court on 25th November, Bani Lego, EAC, In-Charge, Dy. Commissioner, Pasighat said that, the order passed by his office on dated 17th November 2016 was not to stop the ongoing work of Highway Constructing Agency, it was a

temporary order stopping carriage of quarries from a particular disputed area which was to be decided/resolved in a Kebang through Circle Officer (Kebang). On receipt of Chief Secretary’s clarification message over the letter of the Rengging villagers, I had made it clear that the order was only to give a permanent solution of the claims and counter claims over the said areas.

“However, High Court had suspended our order of 17th and 18th November 2016 in a judgement passed on 25th November a copy of which was also served to the DC office by a office bearer of Rengging village on 27th November. In view of this, the 12 hours Chakka bandh on 28th

His Holiness Karmapa delivers talks on Buddhist Philosophy at Kala Wangpo Convention Hall ET Bureau Tawang, Nov 29 : His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje visited the Kala Wangpo Convention Hall to speak on Buddhist Philosophy and its relevance in the modern times.

Chief Minister Pema Khandu, RWD Parliamentary Secretary Jambey Tashi, Tawang MLA Tsering Tashi and other dignitaries accompanied him.

Expressing his attachment with the Mon region, The Karmapa said that he had been attempting to visit the region for the last 16 years. He thanked the Government of India, Home Ministry and the Chief Minister for actualizing his first visit to the region.

Delivering his sermon to an audience comprising of students, civil servants, government officials and elders, His Holiness spoke on the importance of taking refuge in triple gem ie the Buddha, the Dharma

and the Sangha. He also stressed on the importance of ‘faith based on reasoning and rationality.

Referring to the law of dependent origination, His Holiness highlighted on the importance of self and the others. He emphasized that ultimate happiness depends on all other sentient beings and also urged to protect the environment.

The spiritual sermon was followed by an interactive session where questions were asked on the relevance of Buddhist philosophy in modern days, materialism, difference between four sects of Tibetan Buddhism and on possibilities for reincarnation of Lord Buddha himself.

The Karmapa earlier launched the website of Karmik and Adhyatmik Affairs and paid tribute to its department founder, 13th Tsona Gontse Rinpoche. His Holiness also paid tribute to late former Chief Minister, Dorjee Khandu.

November demanding re-calling of DC’s order was meaningless and it was simply an attempt to mock us”, resented DC in-charge, Bani Lego.

As a district administration, we would never do anything that would hamper development which is a part of the government. Our effort was only to resolve the case by calling a local Kebang through CO (Kebang) as there was cross complaint against that particular quarry site. While further clarifying his position, Lego told this reporter that, district administration always stands for the welfare of the public and an attempt to mislead the image of the administration before public is highly condemnable.

His Holiness visits Urgyelling Gompa – the birthplace of Sixth Dalai Lama ET Bureau Tawang, Nov 29 : His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje today visited the Urgyelling Gompa – the birthplace of Sixth Dalai Lama. Chief Minister Pema Khandu, RWD Parliamentary Secretary Jambey Tashi, Tawang MLA Tsering Tashi and other dignitaries accompanied him.

Urgyelling Temple was built around 1487. The Sixth Dalai Lama, Tsanyang Gyatso was born on 1 March 1683 in Tawang in Urgyelling Monastery to Tashi Tenzin, a descendant of the treasure revealer Pema Lingpa, and Tsewang Lhamo, hailing from a royal family of Bekhar Village.

His Holiness will visit Mon Parpong Jangchup Choekorling Kagyu Gompa tomorrow, where the offering of Mande-Ten-Sum will be made. Thereafter, he will depart for Dirang in West Kameng district.

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DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30

MAIF initiates step to replace opium with large Cardamom at Mariyang Sub-Division

GOVERNMENT OF ARUNACHAL PRADESH OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER: PUBLIC HEALTH ENGINEERING & WATER SUPPLY DIVISION::: BORDUMSA. NO.EE/PHE/BSA/NIT-I/2016-17

Spices Board of India gives training

Over 20,000 gathered at Tawang to listen to His Holiness, Karmapa spiritual talks

Aviation to locate feasible landing ground within the district of Arunachal Pradesh for landing of all kinds of airplanes.

West Siang Deputy Commissioner Gamli Pandu also had an interaction with all central government authorities on the ALG issue of Aalo. All line heads of departments of the district were also present on the occasion.

Date of Opening of Tender

Place of opening of tender bids

12th December'2016 (1130 Hrs)

PHE & WS Division, Bordumsa

Last Date of Issue 9th December'2016 (1600 hrs)

Last Date of Receipt of Tender Paper

Time of Completion 3 ½ Months

12th December'2016 (1100 Hrs)

Earnest Money

NOTICE INVITING TENDER

A Staff Reporter Itanagar, 29 Nov: Table Tennis Arunachal (TTA), an organization looking over the table tennis activities in the state, has selected 13 players, including two officials to participate in the 78th Cadet & Sub-Junior National Table Tennis Championship-2016, to be held at Siliguri from December 1 to 6 next.

The players in the cadet boys’ category include Bralo Miso, Getit Nopi and

Tarak Maph from the Sanghey Lhaden Sports Academy (SLSA).

In the cadet girls’ category, Neelam Dilli, Nungki Siboh and Eme Mili; all also from SLSA have been selected to represent the state.

The sub-junior boys’ category will be represented by Joseph Perme, Yangphey Suyang, Nalo Komut, along with Nail Meto and Biri Yakap.

Team manager Neelam

Ravi and team coach Gouridas Oinam will accompany the players.

The Arunachal Table Tennis team is scheduled to leave for Siliguri from Itanagar on November 29.

TTA president Kamta Lapung and Honorary Secretary Passang Dingla have wished the team members success and safe journey to bring laurels for the state and maintain true sportsmanship spirit during the competition.

Last Date of Receipt of Tender Paper

Date of Opening of Tender

Place of opening of tender bids

12th December'2016 (1100 Hrs)

12th December'2016 (1130 Hrs)

PHE & WS Division, Bordumsa

1. The Executive Engineer, PHE & WS Division, Bordumsa on behalf of the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh invites sealed item Rate Tender from the eligible and approved contactors registered with CPWD/APPWD/MES/BRO/NPHC/ NEEPCO/ NBCC etc up to 1100 hrs on 12/12/2016 for "Augmentation of Water Supply at Namphai Bazar Block -I & II which will be opened in presence of the intending tenderers or the authorized representative of the firms.

Last Date of Issue

His Holiness was presented with cultural dances of Monyul region performed by artistes from various villages.

NO.EE/PHE/BSA/NIT-II/2016-17 Dated, Bordumsa the 29th November'2016

9th December'2016 (1600 hrs)

Earlier, the programme began with a plantation drive in the Gompa compound by His Holiness and the Chief Minister. It was followed by

OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER: PUBLIC HEALTH ENGINEERING & WATER SUPPLY DIVISION::: BORDUMSA.

Time of Completion

the offerings of Mande-TenTsum by the Abbot of Tawang Monastery, Chief Minister, RWD Parliamentary Secretary Jambey Tashi, Tawang MLA Tsering Tashi and various dignitaries that attended the programme.

3 ½ Months

The Chief Minister informed His Holiness that the people of Mon region

are eager to learn Bhoti script and have been introduced in schools as third language. He hoped that proficiency in Bhoti script will help people understand the ancient Buddhist scriptures and take them to higher level of perfection.

Earnest Money

to seek the blessings of His Holiness. He hoped that with his spiritual blessings and guidance, it will help all to become better human beings. Khandu emphasized on Buddhist philosophy of compassion to be required by the entire world, which is being torn apart by hatred and violence.

Officials from of AAI, IAF, BCAS and State Civil Aviation visit ALG

The officials disclosed that natural obstructions surrounding the town are posing disturbances for landing of big passengers, transporters and fighter planes at ALG Aalo.

Ronya informed that vicious efforts are being made by the department of Civil

Rs. 1,38,620.00 (General) Rs. 69,310 .00(APST)

GOVERNMENT OF ARUNACHAL PRADESH

1

The problems of landing in few strategic parts will be taken up with the state government so that new proposals too are sent to the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Estimated Cost

Sd/Executive Engineer PHE & WS Division, Bordumsa

13 players from Arunachal selected for National Table Tennis Championship

ET Bureau Aalo, 29 Nov: A team of high officials from Airports Authority of India, Indian Air Force, Director General of Civil Aviation and Bureau of Aviation Security, led by State Civil Aviation Director Repo Ronya visited the Advance Landing Ground of Aalo today.

Rs. 69.31 Lakhs

SL. No.

4. All other terms and Condition incorporated in the instruction to bidder will form as Part of Tender Documents.

Rs. 1,80,000.00 (General) Rs. 90,000.00(APST)

Referring to the preaching of Indian Buddhist Philosopher, Nagarjuna, he advised that apart from long life empowerment, maintaining good health is equally important. The Karmapa urged on practicing compassion, which is the essence of Buddha Dharma

His Holiness further spoke on the relationship between the Karmapa and the Monpas referring to the visit of first Karmapa Dusum Khyenpa during the early 12th century. He also mentioned the visit of 3rd, 4th and 9th Karmapa to the Mon region.

Earlier welcoming the His Holiness, Chief Minister Pema Khandu thanked the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi and Home Minister, Rajnath Singh for honouring his request for the visit of The Karmapa to Arunachal. He also thanked Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju for pursuing the invitation and clearing the necessary formalities.

The Chief Minister expressed that people of Monyul were long aspiring

3. The qualification of bidder will be strictly followed as per the notification of official Gazette issued by government of Arunachal Pradesh vide letter No. SPWD/ W-66/2012 Dated Itanagar the 13th August'2015 called "Arunachal Pradesh District Based Entrepreneurs and Professionals (Incentives, Development and Promotional ) Act 2015".

Estimated Cost

Seated amidst religious scholars, monks, nuns and high profile dignitaries at Yid-Gha-Choezin Gompa facing the stadium, His Holiness bestowed life long empowerment of Buddha Amityas to all sentient beings.

that helps to have peaceful mind and in turn helps to have long life.

2. The Tender shall be submitted in two bids viz. Technical Bid and Price Bid. Each of the bids shall be placed and sealed in separate cover and these two separate sealed bids should be further sealed in a single envelope and mailed by registered post/ by person so as to reach to the undersigned on or before the stipulated date & time. The authority inviting tender will be not responsible for delay if any in the delivery of document or non receipt of the same in time. The tender paper can be collected from the office of the undersigned on any working day in between 1000 hrs to 1600 hrs on payment of Rs. 1000/- (Rupees One Thousand ) only in cash from cash counter of this office or in the shape of D.D (Non refundable ) in favour of the undersigned, payable at State Bank of India, Bordumsa up to 09/12/2016.

No tender paper shall be issued to contractors after the stipulated time.

Rs. 90.04 Lakhs

ET Bureau TAWANG, Nov 29 : Over 20,000 people from all over Tawang district gathered at High Altitude Stadium here to get a glimpse of His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje and to receive the holy dharma preaching.

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Name of work and Location

President, MAIF, Advocate Toning Pertin, while delivering welcome address said that, the programme was organized with a vision to promote and tap the potential of the Mariyang SubDivision and its region so that this part of the state and the country emerges as a hub of organic spices.

While talking with this reporter, Pertin said that, MAIF will arrange more such programmes village wise in future with the help of Spices Board of India so that farmers of Mariyang area gets the knowhow of cultivation of large cardamom as cultivation without proper knowledge often leads to poor yields and benefits. While, Nong Dai, Vice President delivered the keynote address and urged the farmers to adopt the advanced production techniques to make Aarunachal,

Name of work and Location

Gracing the programme as Chief Guest, ADC, Mariyang, Ranpok Perme appreciated the Board’s initiatives for development and promotion of spices production in his Sub-Division in particular and state as a whole. He also highlighted the marketing prospect of organic spices and state’s potential to emerge as a front runner in both domestic and international

markets. He urged the farmers for adopting scientific cultivation techniques, post harvest management practices and value addition technology.

1. The Executive Engineer, PHE & WS Division, Bordumsa on behalf of the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh invites sealed item Rate Tender from the eligible and approved contactors registered with CPWD/APPWD/MES/BRO/NPHC/ NEEPCO/ NBCC etc up to 1100 hrs on 12/12/2016 for "Augmentation of Water Supply at Kharsang HQ-I which will be opened in presence of the intending tenderers or the authorized representative of the firms.

Design, Drawing, Execution & Commissioning for Augmentation of Water Supply at Namphai Bazar Block-I & II

which were once used to be a hub of opium cultivation for their sustenance.

While speaking on the part of Spices Board of India’s developmental schemes, Field Officer, Rajamanickam R appealed the farmers to adopt scientific way of cultivation for better yield and also emphasized the need for formation of Spices Producer Societies (SPS) and educated the farmers on raising the nursery of large cardamom, with special emphasis on land preparation, nursery bed preparation, seed treatment, fertilizer and organic manure application, irrigation, weeding, new replanting, nutrient management, weeding, insect-pest and disease management and post harvesting methods.

While another official, Augustine briefed the activities of Spices Board in Northeast especially in Arunachal Pradesh and urged the farmers to adopt organised cultivation practices for the production development of large cardamom and other spices.

Design, Drawing, Execution & Commissioning for Augmentation of Water Supply at Kharsang HQ-1

The objective of the programme was to equip the progressive farmers with modern technologies to produce more organic spices which are economically more beneficial cash crop than others so that opium cultivation in the region could be replaced with it permanently. Around 50 farmers from Damro, Dalbing, Sikko, Adi-Pasi and Mariyang villages participated in the Programme

NOTICE INVITING TENDER

the Spice Bowl of North East.

SL. No.

Maksam Tayeng M A R I Y A N G / PASIGHAT, Nov 29: In a noble effort to remove or to do away opium menace in the villages and areas under Mariyang Sub-Division in Upper Siang District, the Mariyang Area Intellectual Forum (MAIF) invited Spices Board of India’s field office, Pasighat and jointly organized a one day training programme for farmers on advance production technology and disease management of large Cardamom at Kebang Ghar, ADC Office, Mariyang on Monday.

Dated, Bordumsa the 29th November'2016

2. The Tender shall be submitted in two bids viz. Technical Bid and Price Bid. Each of the bids shall be placed and sealed in separate cover and these two separate sealed bids should be further sealed in a single envelope and mailed by registered post/ by person so as to reach to the undersigned on or before the stipulated date & time. The authority inviting tender will be not responsible for delay if any in the delivery of document or non receipt of the same in time. The tender paper can be collected from the office of the undersigned on any working day in between 1000 hrs to 1600 hrs on payment of Rs. 1000/- (Rupees One Thousand ) only in cash from cash counter of this office or in the shape of D.D (Non refundable ) in favour of the undersigned, payable at State Bank of India, Bordumsa up to 09/12/ 2016. No tender paper shall be issued to contractors after the stipulated time.

3. The qualification of bidder will be strictly followed as per the notification of official Gazette issued by government of Arunachal Pradesh vide letter No. SPWD/ W-66/2012 Dated Itanagar the 13th August'2015 called "Arunachal Pradesh District Based Entrepreneurs and Professionals (Incentives, Development and Promotional ) Act 2015".

4. All other terms and Condition incorporated in the instruction to bidder will form as Part of Tender Documents.

Sd/Executive Engineer PHE & WS Division, Bordumsa

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30

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Hailakandi District Administration Concern over poor garbage disposal system leaving no stone unturned for smooth A Staff Reporter Dibrugarh, Nov 29: Various citizens of the town have expressed grave concern over the crumbling garbage collection and disposal system of the Dibrugarh Municipality Board(DMB) and called for urgent intervention of the Government to ensure some semblance of normalcy in the arrangement.

road. Uncleared garbage spilling over dustbins and littering large areas continues to be a common sight

Waste materials have been lying scattered everywhere in the town spreading an unpleasant odour and creating a threat to health. Established in 1873, Dibrugarh Muncipal Board (DMB) is one of the oldest civic bodies in Northeast.

A senior citizen echoed that the DMB has failed to provide basic amenities to the people. In Thana charilia there is no provision of toilet and the passerby faced problem while passing the

The perennial problem of garbage collection and disposal in Dibrugarh, a major cause of drains congestion, is further aggravated due to the rainfalls, creating problems for the residents of many areas of the city. Due to the shortage of waste collecting containers, heaps of garbage piled on the roadside were scattered on the roads in Gram Bazar by the rains, leading to cluttered roads and clogged

CIVIC WOE’S along most of the city roads and streets. The filth and stench apart, the situation is posing a serious health hazard to the citizens.

drains. “Earlier, they used to replace the filled dustbin with the empty containers. But from past several months, the empty dustbins do not arrive timely at the garbage collection points in our area,” said Kamal Rashid, a resident.

The people alleged that the municipal board authority neither addresses the issue of the workers nor takes any initiative in keeping the town clean by engaging other workers.

The rapid growth of urban population has also led to increasing demand on urban service which the municipal board has also failed to provide.

Similarly, many other areas, including some vital places like Paltan Bazar and KP Road areas are facing the same problem

weekly payment to tea garden workers

ET Correspondent Silchar, 29 Nov: The Hailakandi district administration has pulled out all stops to ensure payment of weekly wages to plantation workers of 17 tea estates though bank accounts beginning December 15.

Deputy Commissioner Moloy Bora convened a high level meeting with Lead District Manager, tea garden managements, mobile service providers and senior officials of the civil and police administration on Monday at his office conference room to sort out the problems that may crop up at the eleventh hour and issued necessary instructions to all concerned to ensure smooth and hassle-free weekly payment to the plantation workers through their

bank accounts.

pleted within December 3.

Bora asked the Lead District Manager (LDM) to take steps to increase the number of Customer Service Providers (CSPs) in the tea gardens and periphery areas so that the remaining accounts of tea workers can be opened and payment made through CSPs. He suggested all the bankers and CSPs to go in for multiple network connectivity for accelerating the process of opening of bank accounts of all workers.

The Deputy Commissioner urged all the tea estate managements to submit the list of workers having job card accounts to their concerned service bank branches so that these accounts may be adjusted with the concerned CSPs on conversion.

The LDM assured the Deputy Commissioner that all the banks have been expediting the process of opening of accounts of respective tea estates and the entire process likely to be com-

As regards internet connectivity in the tea gardens and adjoining areas, almost all the mobile service providers said it would not be a problem to extend the network service in remote and interior places as they have already 3G network service in the district. Officials of BSNL stated that they would be able to sort out the connectivity problem where Broadband connections are already

Bus accident at Bazkuchi in Bajali; One dead and twelve Injured

installed. In this context, the Deputy Commissioner asked the mobile service providers to tie up with the garden managements and directed District Labour Officer Alimuddin Barbhuiya to liaise with them, .

Deputy Commissioner Bora asked all the Circle Officers to remain vigil on the payment days so that there is no law and order problem.

Additional Superintendent of Police, Rajmohan Rai said that a joint team comprising bank authorities, Labour Officer and tea garden managements will be set up to study the feasibility of setting up of ATMs in the respective tea estates. He also assured all concerned that measures

Today in a huge gathering, members of Jorhat Municipality Ward No.2 of minority community joined BJP. Photo by Nakib Ahmed one person was left dead.

The deceased has been identified as Aasan Ali of Kalgachia.The injured have been admitted to Swahid Madan Rawta Bajali sub divisional hospital. While the deceased has been shifted Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College Barpeta for post mortem and investigation is on.

SSB Passing out Parade held in Tezpur

ET Correspondent, Tezpur, 29 Nov: Passing Out Parade of the 16th SI (DE) & 5th SI(LDCE) batch of SubInspectors comprising 163 recruits was held at the Parade ground of CTC, SSB, Salonibari, here today. S. S. Deswal, Additional Director General, Sashastra Seema Bal was present on the occasion as the chief guest to receive Salute.

Sh. Tsering Dorjai, Dy. Inspector General, CTC, Salonibari welcomed the Chief Guest and presented a brief report on training activities. He apprised that the trainees from different states with different cultural background have been groomed to serve the mother land with utmost dedication.

They have been trained for 50 weeks in various subjects like Internal Security, Law, Counter Insurgency, Field craft, Human Rights, Police Public Relation, Border Management, Firing and Weapon handling to counter any eventuality on their posting in various Units of SSB. S. S. Deswal, Additional Director General, SSB commended the smart turn out of the trainees and spectacular parade displayed by them. He advised the newly passed out Sub-Inspectors to adapt themselves to different situations to take any challenges in the present security scenario. He

told that SSB is presently putting excellent services in terrorist affected Jammu & Kashmir; Naxalite affected Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand & Bihar states in addition to their Border Guarding duties. He mentioned about the highest sacrifice made by Constable Ghanshyam Gurjjar who laid his life during exchange of fire with terrorists in Jammu in October 2016. He also drew attention to the trainees to various good works done by SSB in recent times.

After the Passing out Parade the Sub-Inspectors and their instructors put a spectacular display on Tatto drill, Archery, Sepaktakraw and Taekwondo.

On this occasion 9 Constables (sports personnel) of SSB were promoted as Head Constables for their medal winning performance in National and International events in the sports of Archery, Taekwondo and Sepaktakraw.

The spectacular parade was also witnessed by Sarwan Kumar IG Ftr Hqrs SSB Tezpur, Ashok Kumar DIG ITBP Tezpur, Ashok Kumar Borah District Session Judge, Smt A. Bhattacharjee Secretary DSLA Tezpur, other dignitaries from district administration, CISF, and Officers staff and trainees from SSB along with their family members.

Bora urged the Assistant General Manager, APDCL to extend dedicated connectivity to the tea estates latest by December 30.

The Deputy Commissioner thanked all the banks and the tea garden managements for working in and day out to complete the process of opening new and left out accounts of tea workers before the deadline of December 5.

Bora congratulated Sultanicherra tea estate management for being able to open cent per cent accounts through the Assam Gramin Bikash Bank, CSP Monipur branch.

District committee of the Journalist Protection Forum of Assam formed at Sivasagar ET Correspondent Sivasagar, Nov 29: Sivasagar district committee of the Journalist Protection Forum was formed on 27th November.

ET Correspondent Pathsala, 29 Nov: A night super bus bearing registration number As 15C 6269 lost control at NH 31 and met with an accident.

The accident occurred today at around 5.30 AM in the morning when the bus was travelling from Tinsukia to Barpeta road. A total of 12 people have been injured in the accident while

will be taken to maintain law and order on payment days through CSPs.

In this connection a general meeting was held at Sivasagar town HS School at 2 PM on 27th

November , where several media persons of S i v a s a g a r , Lakuwa,Nazira and Simaluguri were gathered and in this meeting Mr. Apurva Bhuyan and Mrs. Bobita Bharali were selected as the president and General Secretary of the JPF of Sivasagar District .

Health Awareness Kid Veda Naharkatia programme held observed Parents Day in Doomdooma Manoj Kumar Ojha Doomdooma, Nov 29: A health awareness programme was held at Doomdooma Uchh Madhyamik Vidyalaya which was organized by the Doomdooma branch Senior Citizens' Organization .Free health check up and medicines were provided on the occasion. Tinsukia district senior citizens' organization President Thaneswar Das lit the inaugural lamp. Doomdooma branch President Dr Abdul Quadir hosted the program.

Assam Medical College and hospital assistant professor and cardiologist Dr

Mrigank Shekhar Chaliha and Orthopedics Dr Sushant Barua explained on their subject skilfully through an audio visual method to the audience who were present on the occasion.

Besides, Asom senior citizens organization secretary Dr Hari Narayan Borkotki spoke on what health measures should be taken by the senior citizens .In the meeting, Assam senior citizens' organization President in charge Mohar Budhagohain also spoke.

In the meeting , six seniors

who were above 90 were facilitated by the Tinsukia District Senior citizen Organization .Those who were felicitated were freedom fighter pensioner Satyalata Gogoi of Phillobari (98), footballer Harmohan Barman of Sukriting 8 no. (95), former tea employee of Doomdooma Mahendra Sharma (92), social worker Bhola Dutta of Rupai (91), businessman Kamal Naha of Doomdooma and social worker Chiranjee Lal Goyal (91).

The whole programme was anchored by senior citizen Major Geeta Goswami

Jorhat boy selected for National Boxing Championship.

Bikul Bikash Gogoi Naharkatia, Nov 29: Grandparents are special to every child. Their bed-time stories are integral part of everyone's growing up years. They are also the wise and experienced ones we turn to in times of trouble. Their knowledge is invaluable and their love unconditional. In keeping with this, Kid Veda Nursery school, Naharkatia cel-

ebrated Grandparents' Day today. Tiny tots in colourful attires were all excited to perform before their grandparents. The school's decision to celebrate Grandparents' Day is expected to bring about a positive change in the outlook of the present generation. Principal of Kid Veda Nursery school, Naharkatia, alongwith office staff organised the day.It is to be

mentioned that Kid Veda Naharkatia has organised the Grand Parents day for the first time in Naharkatia where more than 16 grandparents alongwith 25 students took part. At a time when watching cartoons and studying take up most of every child's time and they fail to realize the importance of relations such programes do value the presence of their grandparents.

The trial for the event will be held in Guwahati on December 2 ET Correspondent Jorhat, Nov 29: Abhijit Baruah, the Guinness world record marathon runner has been selected for trials for the upcoming Elite National Boxing Championship.

The call up has come after the Assam Amateur Boxing Association (AABA) advised the Jorhat District Amateur Boxing Association to send the prolific runner for trials.

Guwahati will host the first ever Pro-Boxing Championships starting December 8 which will see a host of top boxers from the country compete.

The trial for the event will be held in Guwahati on December 2.

25-year-old Baruah made a name for himself four years

ago by setting a Guinness World Record by running 156.2km barefoot in 24 hours.

He is a self professed boxer and has cried biasness by the AABA when he was not called for earlier trials, the AABA have conceded to his request and will judge his performance at the trials to see if he will make it through to the event.

Ujani Assam Muslim Kalyan Parisad Rally Out On The Occasion Of Rastriya Nagarik Panji Unnatikaran. Photo by Firuz Ahmed

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30

CM Sonowal and US Ambassador discuss issues concerning mutual interests A Staff Reporter Guwahati, 29 Nov: US Ambassador to India Richard Verma on Tuesday evening called on Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal at the latter ’s office chamber in Assam Secretariat and discussed on wide spectrum of issues concerning the mutual interests of America and Assam.

The duo discussed USAssam’s mutual interests in investment, tourism, education and green energy, Inland Water Transport.

Hailing Assam’s prolific tea industry, sumptuous tourism potential and possibility of green energy generation the US Ambassador said that there is lots of investment possibility in these sectors and the US has been keenly watching these sectors to strengthen its ties with Assam.

Richard Verma also invited an Assam Delegation to the US Regional Connectivity Conference to be held in Kolkata on December 14 and 15. Chief Minister Sonowal retrieved the invitation with an assurance that a strong delegation will be sent to the Conference to further mutual ties.

The US Ambassador to India also hailed the State Government’s role in improving the security scenario in the State and vowed to increase mutual reciprocity programme with Assam. Chief Minister Sonowal apprised Richard Verma of the State’s potentials in the fields of tourism and hospitality industry, organic farming, small scale hydroelectricity, Information Technology etc. where the scope of mutual reciprocity can be used to harness these sectors.

Minister for Information and Technology Keshab Mahanta, Agriculture Minister Atul Bora, Minister for Sports and Youth Welfare Naba Kumar Doley, Chief Secretary VK Pipersenia, US Consul General Kolkata Craig L. Hall, Commissioner and Secretary to the Chief Minister Sanjay Lohia were present at the interactive meeting.

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Preparation of Judima Fest underway at Haflong ET Correspondent Haflong Nov 29: Preparations for the 2nd edition of Judima Festival scheduled to be held on November 18th, 19th and 20th at Dibarai village of Haflong organised by Youth Association for Development and Empowerment (YADEM), Dibarai Mahila Samity and Dibarai Village Committee are in full swing.

The 2nd edition of Judima Festival aimed to promote tourism and to showcase rich culture and tradition of Dimasas in particular and of other people living in the district of Dima Hasao in general. The name of the festival is being kept in the name of ‘Judima’ a kind of wine which related to the tradition of the Dimasas.

"Judima" is a traditional brewed rice wine of the Dimasas though, rice wine is also produced by some tribes of the district like Zemes and Rangkhols, the other tribes other than the Dimasas do not brew rice beer at present after they embraced Christianity. The Dimasas are Hindus, still practicing the age old customs, traditions and their own way of worship.

It is said ‘Judima’ along with animal sacrifices are required while performing the worships of the gods in order to be blessed by the

Contd. from Page 1 He said that this way we can build friendly relations by conducting cultural exchange, linguistic and research activities between Arunachal Pradesh and Thailand as we have similar type of cultures, religion and linguistic affinities. He reiterated on strengthening ties with other South East Asian Countries, which would be beneficial for development of tourism as well as for economic development of our state.

God. Judima is also mandatory item in any ritual of the Dimasas, like annaprasan of the baby, marriage ceremony, death ceremony, etc, i.e. from birth to death).That is why, Judima has a special bondage which cannot be separated from the Dimasa Community. Almost every household in a Dimasa village brew rice wine or Judima.

Judima is a very tasty drink.

It is a fermented brew from two types of rice mixed in correct proportions of which is handed down to generations. These two types of rice are specially grown for the purpose of brewing Judima. One is the sticky rice called Maiju

(Bora chawal in Assamese) and the other variety is called Bairing in Dimasa language.

The rice "Bairing" is exclusively grown for production of Judima. It is non edible rice.

It is said that rice Bairing helps in producing more juice out of the combination and helps in preservation of the Judima after fermentation of the mixed rice by specially developed Humou (yeast cake). Humou is extracted from the barks of the plant "Thembra" in Dimasa (Botanical name:Acacia Pennata).The process of producing Humau is still patent to the families of the Dimasa community.

The ‘Judima Fest’ is being

organised for showcasing rich culture, tradition attracting tourists along with other associated events like Trekking, Home stay, Angling, Cycling and Sightseeing followed by Rock Concerts are the added attractions of the Festival.

Kumud Kemprai, Gaon Bura of Dibarai Village talking to this said ‘it is not for encouraging drinking of wine but to make ‘Judima’ a patent exclusively for the Dimasas. But other prime aim of the Judima festival to promote tourism in this onle hill station of the State of Assam and also showcase rich and colourful culture and tradition and handicrafts of us.

Dholaguri becomes the first tea garden in Assam to have ATM Dholaguri Nov.29 (ANI): In a bid to ease the cash crunch post the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs. 1000 currency notes, the State Bank of India (SBI) has installed an ATM machine inside the Dholaguri Tea Estate in Golaghat District to ensure weekly disbursement of wages. The bank came to the aid of the tea garden owner, as he couldn't disperse weekly wages to his staff on time. Till the installation of the ATM, the wages of the labourers were being dispersed through the district deputy

MoU signed between Mahabodhi Lord Buddha College of Namsai with SRRURDS Foundation of Thailand

commissioner's office after the actual amount was received from the owner.

Dholaguri has become the first tea garden to have access to an ATM, exclusively meant for workers staying inside the garden. The ATM was inaugurated by Pallab Lochan Das, Assam's Minister of Power and Labour in the presence of P.V.S.L.N Murthy, Chief General Manager of SBI, Northeast Region, yesterday. Das assured the tea working community that the state government would install additional ATM machines in all

tea gardens of the state at the earliest. He further urged the SBI and other nationalised banks to extend micro business and housing loans to the tea labourers as a majority of them were ignorant about such schemes. × He also requested the district administration, tea garden owners and bank officials to organise frequent awareness programmes about various schemes and benefits that one can avail from banks and also to educate or demonstrate on how to operate an ATM in the garden areas. "There is no

dearth of ATM machines. If they (garden owners) write to us, we will definitely install the ATM machine," said Murthy. He further said that the garden workers need not go to the SBI office as he would depute his staff inside the garden to assist in the opening of an account or in the operation of an ATM till December 5.

President of the Dholaguri Tea Garden Worker's Union Deepak Kajur said the new ATM would benefit the workers as they could now save some of their earnings in the bank.

Mr Tharadol Thongruang, Minister Counselor, Royal Thai Embassy, New Delhi said, “this is like a family reuniting” and expressed hope that this small step will expand in a big way in coming days.

He said that Arunachal Pradesh

and Thailand is very close to each other separated by few mountains. The old routes that links Arunachal Pradesh and North East of Thailand could be re-opened for building better relationships in future, he opined.

While lauding the Deputy Chief Minister, Chowna Mein for the initiative, he said to extend all possible support from the Thai Govt and the SRRURDS Foundation to the people of the state whoever would be willing to come to Thailand for studies and other research works.

Dr Gerhard Heller, a famous research scholar from Germany who was also present in the occasion said, “Arunachal Pradesh is not only a biodiversity hotspot but also a cultural hotspot” and the state

offers a huge scope for tourism and cultural & spiritual research works.

While quoting Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, “Terrorism Divides, Tourism Unites”, Dr Joram Beda, Secretary Planning and Tourism sought the help of Thai Embassy in New Delhi to extend Thai tourist to Arunachal Pradesh too which would help in promotion of Arunachal Tourism and also boost the economy of the state.

Among others, Chow Zingnu Namchoom, Parliamentary Secretary for Planning, Ravi Dhawan, OSD to Chief Secretary, Monks from the Mahabodhi Lord Buddha College, Namsai and other Thai delegates were present on the occasion.

Poi Pee Mau 2111, Tai New Year celebration begins at Namsai Contd. from Page 1 While lauding the celebration committee for choosing a relevant theme for this year’s festival, “Say No To drugs”, he said that the theme is very appropriate with the prevailing conditions of drug menace in the eastern parts of the state. He appealed the people to celebrate the festival with its full meaning and to achieve the objective of drug free society. He especially called upon the youths to abstain from use of abusive substances and advised them not to divert their track from the main streams of life.

He informed that the state govt. under the leadership of Chief Minister Pema Khandu is quite aware of the drug menace in the state and by taking serious cognizance of the prevailing situation, govt. had sanctioned Rs 6 Crores each to the Deputy Commissioners in the State Development Council Meeting on November 22 last for establishment and functioning of Drug De-Addiction Centres across the state.

As the state govt is serious about the implementation of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in line with the Centre, he called upon the people to adopt Swachh Bharat Abhiyan seriously in every nook and corner of the districts and to keep the

surroundings neat and clean.

He also advised the youths to stay safe and take preventive measures to protect oneself from sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS. Telling the people that the Poi Pee Mau festival is the right occasion to showcase our rich culture to the outside world, he called upon the youths to hone professionalism in displaying cultural show.

Speaking on the occasion, R K Sharma, Deputy Commissioner Namsai appealed the people to maintain peace and tranquility and to refrain from consumption of excessive alcohol and unwanted substances during the celebration period. But to leave a memorable picture of Poi Pee Mau Festival, of Tai Khampti Society and of Namsai District among the dignitaries and outside visitors.

To the must applause of the gathering, he informed that the govt has approved and included the Poi Pee Mau in the list of local festivals of the state. Basing on the inclusion, he declared 30th November 2016 as a local holiday in Namsai District on the occasion of Poi Pee Mau Festival.

Meanwhile, Chow Jaleeng Mannou, Vice – President of

Poi Pee Mau Celebration Committee 2111 (2016) in his welcome speech informed that as per the Lunar Calendar of the Tai People, today i.e. the 29th November 2016 is the last day of the current year and the new year begins from tomorrow i.e., the 30th November 2016 for the Tai community. Hence, the Poi Pee Mau is being celebrated as the New Year Festival of the Tai people across the globe.

He said that it is being celebrated to welcome the New Year for peace, progress, prosperity and well being of all mankind.

On the occasion, Chow Siharaja Choutang, President of Tai Khampti Development Society submitted seven points memorandum to the Chief Guest which the later assured to take up the matter with the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister.

Earlier, the Chief Guest inaugurated the festival by lighting the Festival Lamp. He also inaugurated an Emporium, Food Stalls and traditional Games & Sports of the festival.

The main attractions of the three days celebration includes Tai Cultural Extravaganza, Cultural Show from Thailand, Tai Food Festival, Traditional Games & Sports, Musical Nights, Fashion Show and many more.

NORTHEAST

Amit Shah calls Tripura BJP to meeting for strategising Agartala, Nov 29: The BJP's all India president Amit Shah has convened a meeting of Tripura BJP leaders to discuss the situation in the state in the wake of the twin by-elections to Barjala (SC) and Khowai assembly constituencies as well as to finalise a strategy for the upcoming assembly elections in 2018. The meeting is likely to come off within the next one week .The party's state president Biplab Deb is already in

Guwahati to discuss the fallout of the by-elections to the two assembly seats with Assam BJP stalwart Himnata Biswa Sarma who is also the convener of North East Democratic Association , a conglomerate of BJP units in northeast and its allied parties. Sarma has already indicated that he will pay full attention to the affairs of Tripura after March next year.

BJP's all India president Amit Shah.

Meanwhile, highly placed

Air connectivity to be reintroduced in Kailasahar, state asked for land Agartala, Nov 29 : The union ministry of civil aviation has agreed to reintroduce air connectivity in Kailasahar , headquarter of Unakoti district, for stepped up regional connectivity. Official sources said that the civil aviation ministry has also asked the state government for allotting 75 acres of land free of

cost for re-launching the air connectivity in Kailasahar which was directly connected with Agartala by small aircrafts thrice a week till the mid-seventies when it was abandoned.

Sources said that Centre has formulated a new policy known as 'National Civil Aviation Service-2016' in the interest

of deeper and regular connectivity between different towns and cities of northeast and other parts of the country. 'As part of this policy the abandoned Kailasahar airport is being revived, initially for greater intrastate connectivity in Tripura' sources said.

The state's left front government was consistently

raising the demand for revival of airports at Kailasahar and Khowai and recently the BJP state president Biplab Kumar Deb also took up the issue with union civil aviation ministry. Revival of Kailasahar airport is likely to be followed by re-commissioning of the abandoned airport at Khowai also. (Agencies)

sources in the BJP said that a number of top Trinamool leaders including MLAs were keen to join the party in Tr i p u r a . ' T h e y h a v e evinced a keen interest in joining our party but we cannot welcome them here at the state level without clearance from central leadership; the matter will be discussed with Amit Shah and a decision taken' said sources.(Agencies)

New Rs 500.00 denomination notes arrive at Agartala, distribution starts Agartala, Nov 29: With anxiety growing among people over non-availability of high denomination Rs 500.00 notes at month end for drawing salaries and pensions, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rushed to Tripura new Rs 500.00 notes totally amounting to Rs 30 crores while another instalment of Rs 100.00 notes worth altogether Rs 145.00 crores also arrived in a consignment on Saturday last. They are scheduled to be distributed through bank counters and ATMs

from today.

Disclosing this, highly placed sources in the banking sector said that out of Rs 30 crores of five hundred denominations the UBI, lead bank in Tripura, and the state bank of India (SBI had been allotted Rs 7.5 crores each while the rest of the amount had been distributed among other banks including state co-operative bank branches. Similarly, notes of Rs 100.00 denomiation had also been allotted on an even formula among differ-

ent banks. 'Considering the pension payment liability most of the Rs 500.00 denominiations will be kept in bank branches and very little will be packed into ATM machines; there is no crisis of Rs 100.00 denomiation notes' sources said. They expressed the hope that there would be no problem in disbursing salaries and pensions , as feared by many, because the note supply of banks operational here was being replenished daily by the RBI. (Agencies)

Business man injured in firing by miscreants from country-made guns in Atharomura Agartala, Nov 29: In an incident which might be twisted to transmit a wrong political message by vested interests, a group of miscreants this morning fired from a countrymade gun and inflicted minor injuries on a businessman heading for Ambassa from Teliamura.

However, the injury was minor and the man released after first aid.

The SP (operations) Uttam Bhowmik said that a Teliamura-based businessman Hossain Mia (42) had been heading for Ambassa by a

hired mini-truck to purchase commodities there and return home for sale in the Teliamura market. He was carrying a large amount of cash. Around 7-00 in the morning the minitruck was fired upon and Hossain Mia, originally a resident of Chakmaghat under Teliamura police station, sustained pellet injuries even as the truck came to a grinding halt after its hind tyres had bursted.

The incident happened in a desolate area between 39 miles and 43 miles in the Atharomua

hill ranges under Mungiakami police station . Since other vehicles were also moving by to and from Agartala, the miscreants suspected to be members of local tribal community could not descend on the national highway (44) to rob Hossain of his money. Unnerved by the firing, Hossain took no time to inform police personnel in Mungiakami station as well as the subdivisional headquarter in Teliamura. The SDPO (Teliamura) Lakhi Chowhan rushed to the spot with rein-

forcement and rescued injured Hossain. He was released after first aid .

The SP (operations) Uttam Bhowmik said that a group of miscreants was active in this desolate part of the high way and in the habit of extorting money from businessmen carrying their merchandise by Agartala or Ambssa-bound trucks . 'This group has been active for some time now but police will be initiating drastic action against them very soon to rid the place of trouble' said Bhowmik. (Agencies)

EDITORIAL

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30

Today's quote you're in love when “you"Youcan'tknow fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." – Dr. Seuss

Lessons from another jailbreak The daring escape of six prisoners, including the self-styled commander of a Khalistani militant group, from the Nabha Jail in Punjab is another wake-up call for the security establishment. This is the second major jailbreakin the country in the space of weeks involving high-profile prisoners jailed on terrorism charges. Both were well planned and executed. While the jailbreak by members of the Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) from the Bhopal Central Prison last month was planned inside and executed largely by the prisoners on their own, the incident in Nabha was aided by a group of armed men from outside wearing police uniforms. Shortly after the Bhopal jailbreak, all those who had escaped were gunned down in an alleged encounter. And a day after the Punjab incident, Khalistan Liberation Front chief Harminder Mintoo was nabbed in Delhi, while the alleged mastermind, Parminder Singh, was arrested in Shamli district in western Uttar Pradesh.

Apart from Mintoo, the five others who escaped are still at large. They are identified as Kashmira Singh, an alleged terrorist, and Vicky Gaundar, Amandeep Dhotian, Gurpreet Sekhon and Nita Deol, all described as dreaded gangsters. It is not clear if the plan was to release the militants or the gangsters, or all of them.

Whatever the aim, it is evident that the so-called high security prisons are hardly fool-proof. Those incarcerated have enough scope to hatch a conspiracy, keep in touch with accomplices outside and finalise escape plans in meticulous detail.

What is also troubling is that even before the jailbreak has been thoroughly investigated and as the hunt for the escaped men is still on, the incident has taken on political overtones. With Punjab due for an Assembly election early next year, the suspicion that these men were breaking out of jail to disturb the peace in the run-up to the polls will naturally arise.

However, while voicing this suspicion, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has alleged a Pakistani hand. State Director-General of Police Suresh Arora has voiced suspicion of official connivance, noting that retaliatory firing by the police at the armed men was completely ineffective. Former Chief Minister and Congress leader Amarinder Singh has called the incident a sign of breakdown of law and order and alleged official complicity at the highest level.

While a high-level probe is necessary to unravel the entire plot and establish any laxity or connivance on the part of the authorities, the real issue is that there are too many shortcomings in the security arrangements in our jails. Introducing a new security regimen that will plug all loopholes ought to be a national priority.

Two-pronged war in Iraq The blast in Hilla that killed over 100 people, mostly Iranian pilgrims, reinforces the fear that the Islamic State remains a potent force in Iraq despite recent military setbacks. By attacking a town located between Najaf and Karbala, two of Shia Islam's holiest places, at a time when Shia Muslims around the world travel to Karbala to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the IS has left no doubt about who it is targeting. Besides, the attack came nearly six weeks after Iraqi government troops, aided

by Iran and the U.S., started a massive operation to retake Mosul, which has been under IS control since June 2014. It is not difficult to understand the IS's strategy. In the past, when its bases came under attack, the group had used terror to strike faraway civilian centres. Needless to say, this is a major security failure for the Iraqi government. When the pilgrimage season began, many had warned that the IS would make an attempt to attack around Karbala.

What is more worrisome for the government troops is the battlefield flexibility the IS is demonstrating.

It is fighting a conventional war against the government troops in Mosul while unleashing guerrilla attacks elsewhere.

More than a month after the battle for Mosul began, government troops are yet to make any substantial territorial gains. On the other side, civilian casualties are relatively high. According to the UN, around 20 per cent of the injured in Mosul are civilians, compared to the average 5 per cent in other recent anti-IS operations. Once Iraqi troops, largely Shia, enter the city that is home to a million people who are mostly Sunni, casualties could be higher.

The IS, given its history of exploiting Shia-Sunni sectarian tensions to its advantage, may be waiting just for that. Against this background, the Iraqi government faces huge challenges. First, it has to make real battleground advances in Mosul with minimum civilian casualties to raise the pressure on the IS while boosting its capability to fight potential terror strikes. In the last two major terror strikes alone, the IS has killed over 400 people in Iraq. If it continues to terrorise civilians, the already feeble Iraqi government would suffer a further loss of credibility among the public. Second, the government has to guard against falling into the sectarian trap that the IS has set. In previous anti-IS battles, Iraqi troops were accused of targeting Sunni civilians. If Baghdad doesn't win over the Sunnis living in its war-ravaged north and north-west, it will not get a grip on the cycle of terror.

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The Effects of Antibiotics in Poultry in India India is one the top five consumers of antibiotics in food-animals in 2010 in the world. This was found by researchers at Princeton University and the Centre for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy. According to the study, the level of antibiotic use is projected to double between 2010 and 2030 in India and the country is reported to remain a top consumer till 2030 as well. However there are no statistics on antibiotic use in the production of food animals in the country.

WHO reports that so little resistance data were available from important countries like India. Therefore hence it is difficult to estimate the current level of antibiotic use in food animals or the approximate time that India needs to reach a target of 50 mg of antibiotic use/kg of livestock or fish.

There is a need to monitor antibiotic use in food animals in India and it would helpful to monitor antibiotic use at species level.

Globally, India is a hub for manufacturing Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients.

High levels of several broad-spectrum antibiotics in effluent are often released to ground or water in India causing great environmental problems. High use of antibiotics among food-producing animals leads to entry of antibiotics in the environment through animal excreta Public knowledge about antibiotic resistance is still weak in India and this is something we should worry about. In India, only 58 per cent of respondents know that they should stop taking antibiotics only when they finish the course.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is scaling

up its fight against antibiotic resistance in the last couple of years. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria undergo change and become resistant to antibiotics used for treatment of infections. Sometimes, over-use and misuse of antibiotics can increase the development of resistant bacteria.

A survey by WHO was carried out across 12 countries which includes India on this issue. Almost two thirds (64 per cent) of around 10,000 people surveyed said that they knew antibiotic resistance was an issue that could affect them and their families, but admitted that how it affected them and what they can do to address it were not well understood. For instance, 64 per cent of respondents believe that antibiotics can be used to treat common cold and flu, despite the fact that antibiotics have no impact on viruses. Close to one third (32%) of the people surveyed believe they should stop taking antibiotics when they feel better, rather than completing the prescribed course of treatment.

The survey shows how ignorance or lack of sufficient knowledge leads to popular misconception about antibiotic resistance.

About 76 per cent of the respondents think that antibiotic resistance happens when the body becomes resistant to antibiotics. They think that bacteria- not humans and animals-become resistant to antibiotics and their spread causes infections.

Classically antibiotics have been considered a boon because it could cure all the diseases which some seven decades ago was un-

thinkable where a simple cut or wound could kill anyone of a bacterial infection.

These remarkable drugs are capable of killing off biological organisms in our body without harming us. Under the illusion that taking antibiotics is essential for every sneeze and cold (which

Farhana Ahmed

This is made possible by tempering the feed with antibiotics that help in quick digestion and accumulation of weight. The study reveals that the drugs make it possible to produce 1 kg meat with just 1.8 kg of chicken feed. An average broiler chicken which weighs around 2 kg consumes just 3.6 kg of feed till it is slaughtered.

by the way, are unaffected by antibiotics), we have collectively overused antibiotics. Similarly the use of antibiotics in food animalslivestock and poultry, used with the objective of making them disease free, has contributing negatively and making the consumers antibiotic resistant. There has been growing reports of people growing resistant to a series of antibiotics in India.

This is what intensive poultry farming has done in most of states in the country. A farmer needs to invest just Rs 110 kg per chicken, which is sold for around Rs 150. The cost of production would be higher without the antibiotic-tempered feed that hastens growth. While this has translated into more profit for poultry farmers, unsuspecting consumers are getting adversely affected.

Drugs, mostly antibiotics mixed with chicken feed, used to serve as growth promoters across poultry, were being passed on to humans through broiler meat and eggs. Residue of these medicines were turning consumers resistant to antibiotics, including those used to treat digestive and urological disorders apart from common cold and infections, reports various doctors across the country.

Many doctors are forced to resort to a higher dosage to make these drugs effective.

Among the antibiotics which have turned less effective over the years are terramycin, etracycline, oxytetracyclin, neomycin and trioxycyclin, to name a few.

There may be other reasons which have contributed to this antibiotic resistance, but it has been observed that poultry products are majorly responsible.

In Northeaster states and Assam which produces 40 lakh chickens per week, 40% of which is consumed in capital cities like Guwahati, Shillong and Imphal. In these states poultry farms the feed conversion ratio is high, which means a small amount of fodder triggers quick growth in chickens. A chick grows into an adult chicken in just five weeks.

Preventive medicine specialists confirmed the finding. Scores of drugs now have reduced efficacy which has forced them to alter dosage, many doctors observe here. They point drugs like azithromycin, roxithromycin and trioxycyclin are cases in point. Previously, it would suffice to take them for three days. But now the doctors prescribe it for a minimum of six days. It is sad that patients now have to take medicines for common cough for close to a week, says a doctor.

Many medicine specialists have pointed out that residual antibiotics in chicken and eggs could affect liver, kidneys and bone marrow. The pre-scheduled dose proves ineffective for bacteria and microbes that have already developed resistance in human system.

Also, an enhanced dose could lead to side-effects.

This is a major challenge for health pratitioners presently.

While antibiotics are banned in chicken feed across USA and Europe, India is yet to frame a policy. The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has admitted to concerns over rampant use of nontherapeutic antibiotics in poultry and other animals meant for human consumption. The DCGI office has requested drugs controllers in all states and Union Territories (UT) to alert their inspectors and to take stringent action to ensure that animal feed does not contain antibiotics.

The circular also mentions that any action taken on this issue may be forwarded to the office of DCGI. DCGI had issued similar instructions to drugs controllers to curtail the misuse of antibiotics in food producing animals. This was against the backdrop of a circular issued by the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries (DADF), addressed to directors/commissioners for animal health of all states and UTs on the maintenance of withdrawal periods. It also advised state veterinarians, feed manufacturers and others to stop the use of antibiotics in feed and maintain withdrawal periods.

The latest circular issued by the DCGI follows a letter written by the Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Maneka Gandhi, to the Union health minister on the rampant use of non-therapeutic antibiotics as mentioned in a news article. The news article was based on a study conducted by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), indicating the indiscriminate use of antibiotics on poultry farms for growth promotion and disease prevention.

CSE recommends that antibiotics should be banned from being used for nontherapeutic purposes, for growth promotion and disease prevention in poultry and other food-producing animals. In addition, antibiotics critical to human health (as termed by the World Health Organization) should not be allowed for use in animals. CSE's study has also prompted the Indian Medical Association expressed its concern over misuse of antibiotics in poultry. The IMA said it will demand a ban on the use of antibiotics for growth promotion and mass disease prevention.

The association said that antibiotics should be used only to cure sick chicken, based on prescription of veterinarians.

Many researchers are of the opinion that there are alternatives that could substitute antibiotics in poultry feed and cut out the harmful effects. Organic acidifiers and biotechnologically developed enzymes could serve the same purpose without triggering resistance. Some herbal preparations could also be tried. But for that government should frame rules.

(Under the aegis CSE Media Fellowship)

From one Sharif to another As Pakistan's army chief retires on schedule, its Prime Minister has an opportunity to consolidate the slow process of democratisation under way in the country since 2007 Anyone familiar with Pakistan's history knows that most of the last 70 years since Independence have been dominated by the country's military.

Pakistan's history and its politics have been more about the military than about its civilians or about society more broadly.

Whether the military has governed directly under dictatorial military generals, as it has for 32 years, or whether it has ruled through other indirect, but equally intrusive, means, as it has when not directly running government, much of what Pakistan has become has been moulded by, and on account of, Pakistan's military and its various interests and institutions.

Whether it is Pakistan as a (failed) national security state, or a breeding ground for various forms of Islamic jihad, much credit goes to Pakistan's military.

Moments of change This is not to suggest that the civilian and political actors are innocent in any way, beyond agency, accountability or reproach. But having been constrained in numerous ways by the overly-dominant and overly-invasive military, for whether Pakistan has been a failed or failing state, a rogue state involved in nuclear pro-

liferation, or a state which allowed the world's most wanted man to live well-protected for five years in Pakistan, responsibility on civilians and politicians, in the absence of any real power, must be rather thin.

Moreover, it is well recognised that whether it is Pakistan's nuclear policy, Afghan policy or policy towards India, whether in terms of peace or trade, real power rests not with the civilian elected political body, but with the military, particularly the army.

Yet, there have been moments of change in this dominant narrative as well, such as following the 1971 war when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto took over a demolished and defeated Pakistan. Or, more recently, when led by a group of civilian and political actors in 2007 and 2008, an arrogant military general dictator was eventually ousted, to the extent that he was put under trial for treason - although he's now an absconder allowed to live freely (and in great comfort) in exile abroad. It was this opening, in 2007 and 2008, that gave many Pakistanis a fleeting hope of a stronger, and perhaps more permanent, nature and direction of democratisation, than perhaps at any time ever before.

While some of those expectations have been postponed, many still remain and, in fact, show signs of maturing.

Since 2013, much of the political discourse in Pakistan has

been about the two Sharifs.

One, a democratically elected Prime Minister who won an unexpected majority in an election seen as the most free and fair since 1970, which in Pakistan means that it was without military interference or influence; and the other, appointed by the incoming, Prime Minister following the May 2013 elections. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appointed General Raheel Sharif to what many still consider to be Pakistan's most important and powerful office, that of the Chief of Army Staff, although the latter is meant to report to the former. However, much public discourse over the last three years has been in assessing and obsessing over which one of the two Sharifs has been the more powerful, which of the two would oust the other, and so on.

A mixed legacy General Raheel Sharif retires as Chief of Army Staff (COAS) today, with his successor already announced by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif a couple of days ago. In January of this year, General Sharif had announced that he would not seek an extension in his post, making him the first Pakistani Army Chief to leave office on time in two decades.

But there had been much speculation and greater insistence by the many who were backing him, and hoping to see

Everyone is important During Mark's first month of college, the professor gave his students a pop quiz. He was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until he read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"

Surely this was some kind of joke. He had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-

haired and in her 50s, but how would he know her

name? He handed in his paper, leaving the last question blank.

Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward the quiz grade. "Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They each deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say 'hello'". Mark never forgot that lesson. He also learned her name was Dorothy.

the end of the elected Sharif, that General Sharif would be granted an extension and stay in command not just over the military, but over much else in Pakistan.

General Sharif became the most popular and beloved man in Pakistan, also probably the most powerful, such was the hyped message constantly churned out by a Raheel-obsessed media. He was the defender of Pakistan's international borders and its security, as well as the prominent guarantor of Pakistan's only economic and investment project known as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

He led the Pakistan army's war against jihadists and Islamic militants in North Waziristan, hounding out and eliminating the various morphed factions of "the Taliban", many created as a consequence of the policies of a former COAS, and of international Islamic groups.

He even became the face of peace and prosperity in Karachi, by ensuring that militancy, crime and extortion were eliminated from Pakistan's economic centre.

In the three years he was COAS, General Sharif was also thanked by many pro-democracy observers for not undertaking a coup against the elected democratic set-up, for which he might have had at least two opportunities: once in 2014 during Imran Khan's Islamabad dharna, and again in

2016. Banners across many cities in Pakistan urged the Army Chief to take over, or at least to rescind his decision to retire. Such has been the precarious (and reversible) nature of Pakistan's democratic transition that civilian actors have had to literally thank the army chief for not taking over, as if he was doing us a favour.

General Sharif has been overly praised and celebrated for his three years in power even by liberal commentators who have conveniently ignored or overlooked many shortcomings and failures during his tenure. While the military action against Islamic militants and jihadists in North Waziristan has been much celebrated, what has seldom been stated by the same gushing analysts, columnists and mediapersons is that many banned terrorist groups in Pakistan are still allowed to function with relative ease and impunity, quite publicly. The likes of Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar, and many said to be involved with jihadi groups roam free and often get protection. The Pakistan military's war against domestic terrorism in Pakistan has been highly selective.

Similarly, not pointed out by the same gushing supporters have been the many security failures, especially in Quetta.

If the military has had hegemony over all security issues, especially in Balochistan, the hundreds of deaths in terrorist

attacks have been on account of military lapses, not civilian.

Importantly, the possibility of building peace between India and Pakistan, something that most civilian groups and political parties have been striving for for many years, has also been indefinitely postponed.

The most powerful man in Pakistan over the last three years and the most powerful institution in the country do need to account for such failures.

However, such failures will be quickly forgotten and Raheel Sharif is likely to gain even more prestige for simply deciding to leave office when his time came due. His successor will need considerable time, patience and sagacity to gain respect and similar levels of authority, even given the large social media teams and media interests openly and aggressively supporting Pakistan's military.

The other Sharif Now that the military Sharif has retired, perhaps this opens the way for the other, democratically elected Sharif, to consolidate his position and, in the bargain, to strengthen democracy and the slow process of democratisation under way in Pakistan since 2007. Following the 2013 elections with just the second democraticallysanctioned government transition and handover just 17 months away, this is an opportunity too good to be wasted.

Less cash to cashless If reports that the current demonetisation exercise was planned 10 months ago are correct, and there is now a scarcity of notes as Indian presses are struggling to meet deadlines - a move that is also resulting in half-printed notes and with even typographical errors - the government could have thought of printing the new notes overseas. The element of secrecy would have been even greater. In the past, India has got mints in Korea, the U.K., Canada, Russia, South Africa and the Dominican Republic to mint coins.

Deepa Das Paltan Bazar, Dibrugarh

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30

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Top 5 places to visit in October in India After a lull of a few months, October is the beginning of the festive season when most places in India have some or the other celebration or event lined up. It is

also a good month to travel to places just before the peak tourist season begins and things start getting overtly expensive.

October is the right season before extreme winter sets in and the monsoon is also over. True, in some parts of the county the October heat can be unbearable but for

the most part of it, October is a great time to travel in India and explore the hidden gems. We have jotted down five such places that are great to visit in Octo-

Lakshadweep

Water sports: Lakshadweep is perfect for water babies who love to try water sports like kayaking, canoeing and scuba diving. Explore the underwater beauty of the sea or wade your kayak against its force as you take part in these activities.

The lesser-explored island of Lakshadweep is one of the best places to visit in India. The season starts from October and ends in April. The climate during this time is favorable and makes it comfortable for tourists to explore the beauty of this place. In total, there are about 36 islands in Lakshadweep of which 10 are inhibited.

These islands are perfect for scuba-diving as you can see its corlorful coral reefs or just relaxing on the beach. Many water sport activities are also offered in Lakshadweep. Note that you require a permit to visit Lakshadweep and you can download and fill the application available online. Once permission has been granted, you can visit a few of the islands here.

Where to stay Lakshadweep

What to do in Lakshadweep A visit to Lakshadweep in incomplete without trying water sport activities as that is what is popular in this island. Here are a few such activities that you can do when here.

Yacht sailing: If you love

the idea of sailing on a yacht admiring the clear blue waters and the cool breeze hitting your face, go for a yacht ride at Kavaratti, the administrative capital of Lakshadweep. This activity depends on the wind condition and if they are favorable, you can enjoy

this activity to its fullest.

Fishing: Lakshadweep is famous for lagoon fishing where you can try your luck at catching some tuna, planktons and more.

Some organizers also have night fishing trips where your fishing rod comes attached with a flashlight. here's what else you can do on your trip.

Visit Krishnapuram Palace Museum: Known for its grand architecture, this is a palace and museum and houses the biggest mural paintings of Kerala. Admire its structure and learn about the history of the royal family when here.

Alappuzha Also called Alleppey, Alappuzha is one of the most beautiful vacation destinations in India. It is in the state of Kerala and is known for its backwaters

Ahmedabad The land of Gujarat comes alive during Navratri and this year, the festival falls in October. The nine days of the festival are some of the most colorful and vibrant days thanks to the electric vibe in the air.

Ahmedabad has several dandiya and garba nights in different parts of the city where people dance to their heart's content dressed in ethnic wear. To truly experience the cultural vibe of the city, visit it during Navratri.

What to do in Ahmedabad Play garba and dandiya: Goes without saying, one of the must-try things in Ahmedabad is to play garba which involves swinging one's arms and turning around in circles and dandiya which is played with wooden sticks. Look for events that are close to where you stay and buy a pass for at least one evening. Do try the colorful ethnic attire to blend in with the rest of the crowd.

Try street food at Manek Chowk: Gujarat is land of foodies and Ahmedabad in particular is famous for its street food. Manek Chowk is one of the most lively markets that converts into a zone of street

ber in India. So pack your bags, book your tickets and leave for a memorable trip right away.

and called the 'Venice of the East'. October is a decent time to visit Kerala as November onwards the peak season begins and can get extremely crowded. If you are planning a trip to Alappuzha, here's what you

food in the night. In fact, it is one of the few streets in the country that is allowed to be open during the night. From chat to kebabs to kulfi, you will find everything here and there is space to sit and enjoy all of it in the night.

Truly, a foodie's delight.

Visit the Sabarmati Ashram: Located along the banks of Sabarmati River, this ashram was the abode of Mahatma Gandhi where he worked with his principles of truth and nonviolence. He stayed here for 12 years and began the Dandi March from here.

Today, it is a national monument and is converted into a museum where you can learn more about Gandhi and his teachings.

Where to stay in Ahmedabad Several hotel chains have their properties in Ahmedabad and you can get accommodation suiting different budgets in this city. Ginger Hotel (079 66663333) is a mid-range business hotel with decent rooms while Radisson Blu Hotel (079 40501234) is a high-end property. You can also look for cheap places in the city close to the railway station where options are aplenty.

What to do in Alappuzha

Stay in a houseboat: Alleppey is known for this and while some offer day cruises, the experience of staying in a boat overnight is even better. Opt for a hotel that offers a room on a houseboat when in Alleppey.

The most popular thing to do in Alleppey is to take a cruise on the backwaters or stay in a houseboat. But

Sample authentic Kerala cuisine: Food plays a major role in Kerala's economy and one of the must-do things

Shillong

town, head to the Shillong Peak that stands tall at 6449 ft above sea level. Being a radar station for the Indian Air Force, visitors have to submit their identification when here. The panoramic view from here is simply breathtaking and if you want a closer look, you can view the area from a telescope. There are some stalls that serve tea and snacks to tourists.

can do.

One of the lesser-explored and underrated tourist destinations of the country, Shillong in the northeast should be on your list this October. It is the capital of Meghalaya and home to some of the most beautiful sites in the world. Surrounded by hills with waterfalls breaking out, it makes for a lovely escape. Find your peace and quiet this time at India's hidden gem which is also called the 'Scotland of the East'.

What to do in Shillong There are many things to do and see in and around Shillong. The scenic, natural beauty of this hill station will leave you mesmerized and so will the different culture of the Khasi people.

Don't miss out on these attractions when here.

Head to Shillong Peak: To get a bird's eye view of the

Nainital Fondly called the 'Lake District of India' Nainital is a beautiful hill station that revolves around Lake Naini and offers majestic vistas of the hills surrounding it. The hill station is quite popular among honeymooners as well as families who come here during their vacations to enjoy its natural beauty.

October is the last of the touristy months before heavy winter begins. It is the perfect to enjoy the pleasant weather before it gets too cold.

What to do in Nainital Apart from soaking in the natural beauty of Nainital, there are plenty of things you can do at this hill station. We list a few of them for you.

Go boating at Lake Naini: The hill station's prime at-

in

The accommodation options in Lakshadweep are limited so make sure you book in advance. Agatti Island Beach Resort (0484 2362232) is one accommodation option that is right on the beach. It offers beach huts as well as bungalows and amenities like a restaurant, laundry, souvenir shop and Ayurvedic massage. It also arranges for water sport activities and island hopping.

Plan your next trip to these destinations; you might bump into your favorite actor!

Where to stay in Alappuzha Being a popular tourist destination, there are plenty of hotels and resorts of all budgets in Alleppey. From basic stays to luxurious ones, you can choose one that fits your pocket. Lake Palace Resort (0477 2239701) overlooks the Vembanad Lake and is surrounded by coconut trees and paddy fields. One of the main attractions of this resort is its swimming pool which is in the middle of the lake. Isn't that fascinating?

Another prime attraction close to Shillong is the Umiam Lake which is known for its water sport activities like boating, kayaking, water scooting, etc. It attracts a large number of tourists as well as locals who come here for a stroll or to try these activities.

The lake is surrounded by hills that increase its beauty and make for a picture-perfect backdrop.

traction from where it gets its name is the Lake Naini.

It is in the heart of Nainital and enjoys a sweet spot surrounded by hills and markets. A trip to the lake without going boating is incomplete. It is also the perfect place to catch the sunset.

Visit Kainchi Dham: A mere 20 km away from Nainital lies Kainchi Dham that is home to an ashram built by Neem Karoli Baba, a saint from the '60s. It has become a prime tourist attraction thanks to Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg who paid a visit here on their India trips.

Devotees from all around the world flock here to attend meditation and spiritual camps organized here.

Take a cable car to Snowview Point: One of the best ways to take in the beauty of Nainital is to take a cable car ropeway all the way up

to Snow-view Point. This is the perfect place to get a panoramic view of the hill station. You can buy a ticket, go all the way up, halt there for some time and then come back. Make sure you wear warm clothes and carry your sunglasses and also don't forget your camera as you will get some stunning photos here.

Where to stay in Nainital Being a popular tourist spot, there are several hotels and resorts in Nainital that cater to all budgets.

From lodges to luxury hotels, you can find everything here. The rates are rather high during peak season and fall during off peak months. It is better to book in advance to avoid disappointment later. The Manu Maharani (05942 237342) is one of the best properties here and offers large, lavish rooms.

like British Museum and Tower Bridge. Numerous shopping options make this place a heaven for shopaholics.

Shahrukh Khan also likes to visit Dubai.

Shahrukh KhanLondon, Dubai King Khan loves to spend time with his family in London, where he owns a house. London is an ideal holiday destination with its popular attractions Salman Khan-Dubai Dubai is where Salman Khan, who is fondly called Bhai, likes to spend his holiday. Holiday in Dubai means food, shopping and fun. This global city is known for its shopping and food festivals. From adventure sports to spas to beaches, Dubai has the perfect mix of activities for a perfect vacation.

Amitabh BhachanGoa, London For Big B, Goa tops the list of holiday destinations in India. He likes to relax on the Goan beach and experience the local culture. Popular for its beaches, churches and parties, Goa attracts tourists all around the year. If you are planning a trip to the state, instead of doing the same touristy thing, try to explore the lesser known places. Another place Amitabh Bachchan likes to go for a vacation is London.

here is to sample some amazing dishes freshly prepared for you. Whether you love seafood or are a rice-lover, do try the authentic taste on a banana leaf.

Visit Asia's cleanest village: A short distance away from Shillong lies Mawlynnong touted to be Asia's cleanest village. Here, you will find bamboo bins all around the citizens right from children to the elderly doing their bit to keep their surroundings clean. They have adopted many ecofriendly ways to do so and it is commendable how responsible they are about their village. Surely, one can learn a thing or two from them about cleanliness.

Most of the properties in Shillong are two or three star hotels and offer majestic views of the hills. Depending on your budget you can book a stay for yourself. Police Bazar is one of the main areas of Shillong where many shops and restaurants are located. Hotel Alpine Continental (0364 222 0991) is one of the three-star hotels located in this area.

Go to Umiam Lake:

7 favorite holiday destinations of Bollywood actors

Priyanka Chopra- Thailand Priyanka is a beach aficionado and loves to go to Thailand for a vacation.

She loves relaxing on the beach. A vacation for Priyanka also means spending time with her family. Thailand is famous for its pristine beaches and rich culture. Don't be surprised if you spot this beautiful and talented actress during your next trip to Thailand.

Kangna Paris

Ranaut-

The 'Queen' actress is in love with the romantic city, Paris. The actress, known for her unique style in dressing, loves French delicacies and the vibe of this beautiful city. Millions of tourists flock to the fashion capital to see the Eiffel Tower, the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Louvre museum.

Anushka Sharma- The Himalayas, Italy She loves to travel around the world and visit different places, but her favorite holiday destinations are the Himalayas and Italy.

For Bollywood's bubbly girl who likes adventure, the Himalayas is an ideal vacation destination. She is also in love with Italy. Right from the food to the beaches and the cobbled streets, she likes it all.

Ranbir Kapoor- New York, Italy

catch up with friends.

The 'Chocolate Boy' of Bollywood, Ranbir Kapoor, loves to head off to New York for a holiday. He used to study in New York and now, he visits the city to

New York is famous for the Empire state building, Broadway Theater, Statue of Liberty and Time Square. Ranbir also loves to visit Venice and Puglia in Italy.

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30

P8

NATION

NIA arrests 2 more al-Qaeda sympathisers The NIA, along with police forces from Tamil Nadu and Telangana, had arrested three persons on Monday for the five bomb blast cases in court premises of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka since April.

PTI New Delhi, Nov 29 : Carrying out with its probe in the blasts outside court premises in South India since April this year, NIA on Tuesday arrested two more persons for allegedly being involved in the conspiracy to carry out bomb explosions by a group sympathising with terror outfit al-Qaeda. With the latest arrest, the number of people arrested in the case has gone upto five. The NIA, along with police forces from Tamil Nadu and Telangana, had arrested three persons on Monday for the five bomb blast cases in court premises of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka since April.

Among the arrests effected

today was Mohammed Ayub Ali, who had been detained last night. Ali (25) of Madurai, who works as a public liaison officer for a hearing aid company, was placed under arrest today, NIA spokesman said. The other person arrested was Shamsudeen, 25, a resident of Madurai after his name cropped up during interrogation of others arrested by the NIA. The cases relate to blasts inside a vehicle at a parking place at district court complex, in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh on April 7; in a parking area of CJM Court Complex at Kollam in Kerala on June 15; inside court complex at Mysuru on August 1, in Nellore of Andhra Pradesh on September 12

The group had claimed responsibility for these blasts and circulated pamphlets, pen drives and CDs in the name of “The Base Movement”, translation of the word al Qaeda.

and inside a toilet complex of judicial court, Malappuram in Kerala on

BJP wins local bodies polls in Gujarat

November 1.

The NIA had arrested

Abbas Ali, Suleiman and Samsum Karim Raja, all residents of Tamil Nadu. The

NIA spokesman had claimed that the arrested accused “during sustained interrogation confessed to their involvement in these blasts.”

Ali, a school dropout, was working as a painter and also ran a library in the name ‘Darul Ilm’ at Madurai. Raja is a Commerce graduate and runs a chicken broiler shop at Kannimara Koil street in Madurai.

Suleiman was working in a software firm. He was the main leader of the terrorist group which was influenced by the ideology of Osama bin Laden. The group had claimed responsibility for these blasts and circulated pamphlets, pen drives and CDs in the name of “The Base Movement”, translation of the word al Qaeda.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi down with viral fever, admitted to hospital in Delhi New Delhi, Nov 29: Congress President Sonia Gandhi was today admitted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi as she's reportedly suffering from viral fever.

Congress spokesman RS Surjewala said she will be in hospital for two days.

This is the second time in three months that the Congress chief has been admitted to hospital.

On August 3, 69-year-old Sonia was admitted+ to the same hospital with fever, dehydration and a shoulder injury, following a road

show in Varanasi a day earlier. She had to quit the road show mid way due to being ill. She also underwent surgery on her left shoulder on August 3.

Sonia likely got back to Delhi last weekend after a brief vacation near Shimla.

24 ISI agents arrested in 2016: Govt.

Ahmedabad, Nov 29 : In a boost to BJP after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetisation move, the party has captured two municipalities and one taluka panchayat in local bodies polls, the results of which were declared today.

In the ongoing vote counting, BJP is also ahead on 23 out of 31 other seats of various municipalities, taluka and district panchayats where by-polls were held.

Kanakpur-Kansad municipality of Surat, where it captured 27 out of 28 seats, leaving only one to Congress. It was also held by BJP earlier.

up to the state elections next year, and that they were held just after the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes by the Centre.

In Rajkot, BJP snatched Gondal taluka panchayat, which went for mid-term poll, from Congress by winning 18 out of total 22 seats.

Congress settled for only four. Earlier, Congress was ruling Gondal taluka panchayat.

"Regular as well as bypolls were held in different parts of Gujarat. Right from Vapi in south Gujarat to Gondal in Saurashtra region, people have chosen BJP over Congress. The opposition party should now understand that people are really unhappy with them," Patel said.

Only three seats went to Congress in the recently held polls to this local body.

Vapi municipality was earlier held by BJP.

Apart from these three elections, Gujarat SEC conducted by-elections on 31 seats of various municipalities, taluka panchayats and district panchayts across the state. The bypolls were necessitated as these seats fell vacant due to various reasons. Though final results are yet to be announced, BJP is running ahead on almost 23 seats.

Similarly, BJP made a near clean sweep in the polls to

The result assumes significance for the BJP in the run

As per the final result declared by the Gujarat State Election Commission, BJP has registered victory in Vapi municipality of Valsad district by capturing 41 out of total 44 seats.

Gujarat Congress conceded its defeat and vowed to work hard for the people.

We accept our defeat. BJP must not forget that it was only by-polls on some seats. Congress has always raised issues concerning people like notes ban and we will continue to do so," Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said.

New Delhi, Nov 29: As many as 24 ISI agents have been arrested for spying for the Pakistani intelligence agency so far this year, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.

“In addition to these 24 agents, one Pakistani spy agent detected in October 2016 was Pakistan High Commission, New Delhi based intelligence officer Mehmood Akhtar,” Minister of State for Home

Hansraj Ahir said replying a written question.

Of those, who were arrested so far this year, nine were detected in Rajasthan, six in Punjab, two in Gujarat, two in Jammu and Kashmir, one in Uttar Pradesh and four in Delhi.

Mr. Ahir said some of the staff posted in Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi is suspected to be involved in running espionage network.

The official who was apprehended by the Delhi Police for spying was consequently declared persona non-grata by the Indian authorities.

“The Government is taking adequate steps to counter such incidents in future. The Government is resolutely committed to take all necessary steps to ensure the security of the nation and the safety of our citizens,” he said.

Alert sounded in Vaishnodevi town following terror attack PTI Jammu, Nov 29 : Authorities today sounded an alert and stepped up security in and around Katra, the base camp of Mata Vaishnodevi cave shrine in Trikuta hills of Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district.

"We have sounded an alert.

Security has been beefed up at Katra and other areas of the shrine after the terror attack at army camp in Nagrota," a police officer of Reasi district said.

Police and security men have been asked to remain vigilant, he said.

Katra town, which is nearly 30 km from Nagrota, is thronged by over one crore pilgrims annually.

"Security along the shrine track and around it has been stepped up," he said, adding "checking and frisking has been increased and people should cooperate with us".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard

Civic poll results should be eye-opener for Opp: BJP PTI New Delhi, Nov 29 : Citing its win in civic elections in Maharashtra and Gujarat, BJP today said it should be an "eye-opener" for the opposition as people have indicated their support for demonetization and dislike for those protesting against it.

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said BJP's big gain in Maharashtra is an indication of which way the wind is blowing.

"It is clear that people did not like the opposition's protest against the Modi government's action against black money and supported the (demonetization) decision.

"The result is an eye-opener for the opposition and an indication of which way the wind is blowing," the leader from Maharashtra told a press conference.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who had taken over in August this year.

Asked if BJP sees the results as a referendum on demonetization, Javadekar said, "These were small but immediate elections after demonetization. So it was significant."

In the polls to 147 municipalities in Maharashtra, BJP won 52 chairpersons' posts against eight it did in 2011 and its members won 980 seats against 298 earlier.

"These areas were a bastion of Congress and NCP. The picture has changed now," he said, adding that "BJP, which was the number four party, is now number one.

In Gujarat, Mandaviya said the party won 109 out of 125 seats against 64 earlier while the Congress' tally dropped to 17 from 52.

Wisdom should now dawn on the opposition parties stalling Parliament and impasse should be resolved, he said.

In Tripura bye-elections, BJP's vote share jumped to 35 per cent from 1.5 and it emerged as the second biggest party, replacing Congress, he said.

Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya projected the BJP's win in Gujarat, the state he hails from, as a reflection of people's support to Modi and policies of

BJP's Parliamentary Party in its meeting held earlier in the day hailed the Maharashtra unit for its win, Javadekar said.

EC asks AAP to furnish its poll manifestos PTI Chandigarh, Nov 29 : The Election Commission has asked the AAP to submit its manifestos for Punjab, including the ones it released on dalits and farmers, as it is mandatory for parties.

tion Commission once they are released. Since the Aam Aadmi Party was the first one to release the manifesto, we have asked them to furnish two copies of each of their manifestos," a senior EC official said.

CBI registers DA Nabha jailbreak Bengaluru ATM van heist: Absconding 'mastermind' case against Diu van driver held shifted to barrack Municipal Council President Three from TN held The matter was raised by the Election Commission recently in a meeting with representatives of the political parties in poll-bound Punjab.

Ahmedabad, Nov 29 : CBI has registered a case against the Municipal Council President of Union Territory Diu Hitesh Solanki and his wife for allegedly amassing properties and assets disproportionate to the tune of Rs 73 lakh to their known sources of income.

It is alleged in the FIR that Solanki and his wife Yashwanti acquired disproportionate assets of Rs 73.60 lakh which are 133 per cent higher than his known sources of income during 2008-2016.

CBI has alleged in the FIR, registered under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, that

PTI Bengaluru, Nov 29 : The van driver of a logistics agency, who had allegedly fled with Rs 1.37 crore cash collected from banks in Bengaluru, was Tuesday apprehended, police said. This comes a day after the driver’s wife was arrested.

Solanki has allegedly routed his ill-gotten wealth in properties through his friends and relatives.

The agency has alleged that Yashwanti also "actively assisted" her husband in the concealment and acquisition of assets raised from ill-gotten wealth and has "abetted" the offence.

It said during the start of check period in 2008, the total savings of the couple was Rs 80,000 which has increased to over Rs 1.07 crore in 2016 of which Rs 73.60 lakh is found to be disproportionate to their known sources of income by over 133 per cent.

Harminder Mintoo and four other prisoners escaped after armed men in police uniform stormed the high-security Nabha prison at Patiala in Punjab on November 27.

MUZAFFARNAGAR, Nov 29 : Parminder Singh, the alleged "mastermind" of the daring daylight jailbreak in Punjab, has been shifted to a high security prison in the district, jail officials said today.

Singh along with Khalistan Liberation Front militant outfit Harminder Mintoo and four other prisoners escaped after armed men in police uniform stormed the high-security

Nabha prison at Patiala in Punjab on November 27.

Singh was arrested from Kairana in Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district on the day itself when the getaway vehicle was stopped at a police picket.

Superintendent of district jail Rakesh Singh said the accused, Parminder Singh, was shifted to a high security barrack here yesterday.

“The driver, Dominic Roy, who had fled with the cash van, has been arrested by Upparpet Police this morning near the tin factory situated at K R Puram,” DCP West Anucheth said. However, no cash has been recovered from him, he said.

Monday, the police had nabbed Evlin Roy, wife of the accused, and conducted interrogation.

When asked about the cash, Anucheth said in-

vestigation was on and it was suspected that the "It is mandatory to submit accused might have used the manifestos to the Elecsome of the money to repay their loans.

In a daring daylight heist on November 23, Dominic Roy, who was hired by Logicash, an outsourcing agency, had driven away the van carrying the cash when two other employees had gone to a bank at the heart of the city to collect money.

Next day, the van was found abandoned at Vasant Nagar and the police recovered Rs 45 lakh out of the Rs 1.37 crore. The accompanying security personnel had told police that they gone to attend nature’s call when the driver fled the spot.

Last week, the AAP had come up with a dalit manifesto in Punjab, a state that has over 25 per cent of the population from the community. AAP Convenor Arind Kejriwal had also announced that the deputy chief minister of the state would be a dalit.

by Lankan navy for 'smuggling' ganja PTI Rameswaram, Nov 29 : Three persons from Tamil Nadu were today arrested

by Sri Lankan Navy on the charge of attempting to smuggle 60 kgs of ganja in a boat, police said.

The three men from Nambuthulai, about 60 km from here, in Ramanathapuram District were arrested after Sri Lankan Naval personnel intercepted their boat and found the narcotic, police said quoting information received by them.

The ganja, worth lakhs of rupees, was grown in Kerala

and allegedly being smuggled to Sri Lanka from here, they added.

In September last, six people, including an Indian, had been arrested by Sri Lankan Navy with over two kgs of heroin in their possession.

Following this, the Lankan Navy had stepped up vigil in its northern seas to prevent smuggling of drug mainly from Tamil Nadu.

Sri Lankan Navy's northern Commander Rear Admiral Piyal de Silva had then said 612 kg of Kerala ganja coming to Lanka from India had been detected during the last 18 months.

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30

EDUCATION

Problems at School? How to Handle the Top 4 Issues At some point as a parent, you will likely be faced with the dreaded email from your child’s teacher telling you that your kid has crossed the line and that you need to come in for another conference—or the principal will call to tell you that your teen has missed the last week of school altogether, unbeknownst to you.

Maybe you’ve discovered that your child’s grades have plunged from acceptable to barely passing.

What’s a parent to do?

Carole Banks, MSW addresses the top four school emergencies parents struggle with the most.

1. Acting out in school When your child acts out in school, it can be worrisome, frustrating and embarrassing. On top of the actual misbehavior, you fear that he’ll make a bad name for himself—that his reputation as a troublemaker will follow him from grade to grade. You may also feel judged—and blamed—by teachers and other parents for what your child does at school.

Some kids act out when they’re feeling left out or left behind. Make sure that your child is capable of doing the class work he is being asked to do, for example. Being behind (or ahead of) the class can create boredom, frustration, and anxiety—which may lead some kids to act out verbally or physically.

I want to stress that for the most part, you should not give consequences for school misbehavior at home, unless your child is damaging school property or hurting others physically. That’s because punishing your child at home is not going to give him the skills he needs to behave more appropriately.

In some cases, letting the school hold your child accountable is enough, but in chronic or severe acting-out situations, it will be important to work with the school to get of what is going on. You may then need to work with some local supports to address the behavior.

But for the most part, leave discipline for acting out at school to school officials—don’t punish your child twice. Understand that in this case, giving consequences is far less important than figuring out what your child needs to do differently the next time he wants to act out. In other words, if you say, “You have to stay in your room because you acted

spouse can’t be there, try to get your child into in an after school program or ask another trusted adult to be there with them. ØDon’t restrict your child from privileges until his grades improve. Understand that restricting your child from all of his privileges until he brings his grades up usually backfires. In effect, you end up taking away something that might actually motivate your child to improve.

Instead, I recommend that you require your child to study for a certain amount of time each day to earn those extras that night. out in school today,” you’re not addressing the behavior and it will not help your child because you’re not teaching him anything—except how to do time. Sometimes parents assume that their kids will figure out things on their own, but if you’re dealing with a chronic issue, you have to face facts: your child has not figured it out by himself and he is not likely to do so. You need to help him. So talk to the teacher—that’s your best first step. Take it from there. You need a sense of why he’s acting out and what’s happening in order to know how you can help your child change.

And pay close attention to what your child is saying at home; he should know that all experiences are okay to share. A word of caution: One important lesson James Lehman teaches us is to support the school authorities in front of your child. If your child hears your criticism of school officials and his teachers, he is likely to be disrespectful to them in class—and also to you, later on down the line.

some steps you can take immediately:

2. Dropping Grades If your child’s grades are dropping, rule number one is to become an investigator. In other words, really find out what’s going on with your child. Is he having problems at home or with other kids at school?

Is he having a tough time adjusting to middle school or high school? Are his study habits poor—and can you work on that together? For some kids, learning disabilities and medical problems may play a role. And for still others, drug and alcohol use may be the cause of falling grades. The main thing for you to do is find out the “why” and then come up with a plan to help your child. Here are

Ø Be realistic in your goals: When you structure your child’s study time to help him bring his grades back to an acceptable level, be realistic in your goals. Remember, it took time for your child to get behind, so you need to allow time for him to catch up. Get actively involved in your child’s homework by reviewing it and helping with study strategies.

I also recommend that you try to be present during study time. I know that many parents work and can’t be at home with their children after school. As a working parent and grandparent myself, I completely understand and sympathize with that situation. If you or your

ØMeet with your child’s teacher: Call your child’s teacher and ask for a meeting. Tell her what you are seeing at home—and then ask what she has observed in the classroom.

Ask her for any ideas she might have to help your child get back on track. ØSet up more structure at home. A common problem for many kids is a lack of structure in their after school schedule.

Make sure sports or other clubs do not come first, with homework being fit in at the end of the day (when your child is exhausted). This is not a good lesson to teach your child because it gives them the message that play comes before work—and is therefore more important than work. Clubs or sports should not come before school work and family time for your child.

The bottom line is that schoolwork has to be prioritized, and a structure has to be set up so it isn’t squeezed in at the last minute.

ØTalk to your child about what’s going on. Have a frank conversation with your child about his grades. Say, “Look, I’ve been letting you manage your homework on your own, but it’s not working.

Now we’re going to set up a study time every day where I supervise your work. We can talk about not doing that once your grades get back up where they need to belong. But in the meantime, we have to seriously set aside some time to work on this.”

And remember to ask your child about his day and show that you are interested; ask questions that require a longer answer than “yes” or “no.” On the Support Line, I’ve found that when parents really make a consistent effort

to keep up with their kids, they are seldom caught unawares when it comes to dropping grades or poor school performance.

3. “I hate my teacher!”

Every so often, your child will have a teacher with whom he just can’t seem to get along. Sometimes it’s a simple personality conflict; other times, your child is having difficulty responding to authority. I

think that the very first thing to do for your child in this situation is validate how he feels. Don’t agree with him and say, “Yeah, you’re right; your teacher is a jerk.” When you undermine the teacher’s authority, you are giving your child permission to disrespect her. On the other hand, you should allow your child to share with you what it’s like in class.

Don’t tell him he’s wrong or that he shouldn’t feel a certain way. Once your child has been heard, he’ll be more receptive to hearing your ideas about what he can do to make the situation better.

If your child is old enough, he has to learn to accept the fact that certain teachers require things that he might not agree with. It’s a fact of life that not every teacher is able to give your child what he would like to have. It’s a fact of life that some teachers are quite strict; they’re not warm and fuzzy. As a parent, you definitely would not want to ask them to do their job differently. Instead, work on helping your child. Say something like, “You know, you’re going to meet a lot of people in life, and you have to learn how to get along with them.

Even though this teacher isn’t your favorite, part of your job this year is to get through it, be respectful and do your best. I wonder how we can figure out how to do that?” (There’s

nothing wrong with asking the teacher for some ideas, as well.)

If the teacher does seem to be at fault, meet with him or her and share what your child’s experience has been. You will want to try to find some middle ground if at all possible.

You might also want to bring in another administrator or official, like the school social worker, to this meeting. This will keep

P9 Why you should choose math in high school

things civil and give you some support should you need it later.

4. Skipping school If your child is skipping school—either playing sick or skipping out of classes—again, you first need to investigate and find out why. Is your child failing, being bullied, under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or does he have physical problems?

Some kids develop anxiety around going to school; they can have stomach aches or headaches as a result. Younger kids might cling to parents and cry. A lot of kids will say they’re sick in order to avoid school because they have anxiety about it.

If there’s an anxiety issue at play, a visit to your child’s pediatrician to determine whether counseling is in order might be your best course of action. A skilled counselor can gently get your child over the hump and teach them ways of coping with their nervousness around school. So the reason why your child is missing school chronically needs to be understood so it can be resolved. For example, if your child is being bullied, you will need to work with the school to make sure your child is protected and that it stops.

It’s no secret that failing to attend school can lead your child or teen to become involved in risky behaviors, especially if he

is not supervised consistently at home. If your child skips school chronically, you may have to involve community services and ask them to address the underlying reasons for school truancy. The juvenile justice system does not like the idea of kids skipping school and loitering around town, so there may be hope there. You might call up your local police department and say, “I can’t get my child to go to school. Are there any resources available in this community to help me get him back on track?”

Understand that if your child is chronically skipping school, it’s usually the result of a problem that has built up for quite some time. Often it’s the end of a long string of problems, rather than the beginning.

For this reason, I believe this is an issue that’s important to nip in the bud at an early stage. So when your child’s grades start dropping or he’s coming home moody and sad, intervene then. Keep the communication open and always stay interested in what’s happened to your child from day to day—it will pay off in the end, I promise you.

A recurring problem in most rich societies is that students in general do not take enough math - despite high availability of relatively well-paid jobs in fields that demand math, such as engineering, statistics, teaching and technology. Students see math as hard, boring and irrelevant, and do not respond (at least not sufficiently) to motivational factors such as easier admission to higher education or interesting and important work.

It seems to me we need to be much more direct in our attempts to get students to learn hard sciences in general and math in particular. Hence, addressed to current and future high school students, here are 12 reasons to choose lots of math in high school: Choose math because it makes you smarter. Math is to learning what endurance and strength training is to sports: the basis that enables you to excel in the specialty of your choice.

You cannot become a major sports star without being strong and having good cardiovascular ability. You cannot become a star within your job or excel in your profession unless you can think smart and critically -- and math will help you do that.

Choose math because you will make more money.

Winners of American Idol and other "celebrities" may make money, but only a tiny number of people have enough celebrity to make money, and most of them get stale after a few years. Then it is back to school, or to less rewarding careers ("Would you like fries with that?"). If you skip auditions and the sports channels and instead do your homework - especially math -- you can go on to get an education that will get you a well-paid job. Much more than what pop singers and sports stars make -- perhaps not right away, but certainly if you look at averages and calculate it over a lifetime.

Choose math because you will lose less money.

When hordes of idiots throw their money at pyramid schemes, it is partially because they don't know enough math. Specifically, if you know a little bit about statistics and interest calculations, you can look through economic lies and wishful thinking. With some knowledge of hard sciences you will probably feel better, too, because you will avoid spending your money and your hopes on alternative medicine, crystals, magnets and other swindles -- simply because you know they don't work.

Choose math to get an easier time at college and university. Yes, it is hard work to learn math properly while in high school.

But when it is time for college or university, you can skip reading pages and pages of boring, over-explaining college texts. Instead, you can look at a chart or a formula, and understand how things relate to each other. Math is a language, shorter and more effective than other languages. If you know math, you can work smarter, not

harder.

Choose math because you will live in a global world. In a global world, you will compete for the interesting jobs against people from the whole world -- and the smart kids in Eastern Europe, India and China regard math and other "hard" sciences as a ticket out of poverty and social degradation.

Why not do as they do -get knowledge that makes you viable all over the world, not just in your home country?

Choose math because you will live in a world of constant change. New technology and new ways of doing things change daily life and work more and more. If you have learned math, you can learn how and why things work, and avoid scraping by through your career, supported by Post-It Notes and Help files -- scared to death of accidentally pressing the wrong key and running into something unfamiliar.

Choose math because it doesn't close any doors. If you don't choose math in high school, you close the door to interesting studies and careers. You might not think those options interesting now, but what if you change your mind? Besides, math is most easily learned as a young person, whereas social sciences, history, art and philosophy benefit from a little maturing -- and some math.

Choose math because you will meet it more and more in the future. Math becomes more and more important in all areas of work and scholarship. Future journalists and politicians will talk less and analyze more. Future police officers and military personnel will use more and more complicated technology. Future nurses and teachers will have to relate to numbers and technology every day. Future car mechanics and carpenters will use chip-optimization and stress analysis as much as monkey wrenches and hammers. There will be more math at work, so you will need more math at school.

Choose math so you can get through, not just into college. If you cherry-pick the easy stuff in high school, you might come through with a certificate that makes you eligible for a college education. Having a piece of paper is nice, but don't for a second think this makes you ready for college. You will notice this as soon as you enter college and have to take remedial math programs, with ensuing stress and difficulty, just to have any kind of idea what the professor is talking about.

You don't have to become a mathematician (or an engineer) because you choose math in high school. But it helps to chose math if you want to be smart, think critically, understand how and why things relate to each other, and to argue effectively and convincingly.

Math is a sharp knife for cutting through thorny problems. If you want a sharp knife in your mental tool chest -- choose math!

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30

P10

INTERNATIONAL

Top LTTE leader and Velupillai Prabhakaran aide arrested in Sri Lanka COLOMB, Nov 29: Vi n a y a g a m u r t h i Muralitharan, who was the former deputy leader of the LTTE and a trusted aide of the slain Velupillai Prabhakaran, was arrested today for alleged financial irregularities during the previous Mahinda Rajapaksa regime.

appeared before the ment took office Karuna FCID, officials said. lost his place in the government and later in Karuna was the former Parliament. deputy leader of the LTTE and a trusted He has been accused by cadre of LTTE chief human rights groups Prabhakaran. He later and UN agencies of bebecame a deputy minis- ing involved in human ter in the Rajapaksa rights abuses during the government in 2010. civil war that ended after nearly three decades In January last year, with the defeat of the when the new govern- LTTE in 2009.

Muralitharan alias Karuna, who was also a minister in the previous government, was asked to appear before the Financial Crimes Investigation Department (FCID) this morning to record a statement on the alleged misuse of a government vehicles.

He was arrested after he

Trump Wins Michigan's 16 Electoral Votes, State Board Says Washington, Nov 29 : Nearly three weeks after Election Day, Michigan officials certified Monday that Donald Trump won the state by 10,704 votes out of nearly 4.8 million to claim all of its 16 electoral votes.

There's more wrangling to come, though, on the final vote count for this oh-socontentious campaign.

Jill Stein's Green Party served notice that it would petition for a Michigan recount even as her party pushed forward with recount efforts in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, where Trump won by somewhat wider but still small margins.

Should the results for Trump hold in all three states, as expected, the president-elect would have 306 electoral votes to 232 for Democrat Hillary Clinton. It takes 270 to be elected president.

Only if the results were overturned in all three states would Clinton have a claim on the presidency, and that is widely considered to be out of the question.

If it's any consolation for

Clinton — and it's probably mighty little — she's winning the national popular vote. With some votes still being counted, she is ahead by more than 2 million, about 1.5 percent of the total counted so far.

Trump, in a series of weekend tweets complaining about the Midwest recount efforts, said the Green Party was engaged in a "scam to fill up their coffers" and that "defeated & demoralized Dems" were joining in.

Stirring the post-election pot, Trump made his own unsubstantiated claim of widespread voter fraud in Virginia, New Hampshire and California, saying without evidence that he would have won the popular vote if millions of people had not voted illegally.

Stein, who won 1.4 million votes nationwide or about 1 percent of the count, signaled her determination to keep pushing the Midwest recount efforts, saying that "Americans deserve a voting system we can trust." As of Monday, she had raised $6.2 million to finance recounts, according to her

count would be "a waste of time and disrespectful to all Michigan voters."

Chris Thomas, director of the Michigan Bureau of Elections, said the recount would begin as early as Friday to meet a Dec. 13 deadline. Under state policy, the recount will be conducted by hand.

campaign website.

"After a presidential election tarnished by the use of outdated and unreliable machines and accusations of irregularities and hacks, people of all political persuasions are asking if our election results are reliable," she said in a statement.

There is no evidence that voter results were hacked or that electronic voting machines were compromised.

The Clinton campaign, which declined to initiate recounts on its own, said

over the weekend it would participate in the recounts requested by Stein "to ensure the process proceeds in a manner that is fair to all sides," in the words of campaign lawyer Marc Elias.

Stein's campaign said she would file a petition Wednesday for a Michigan recount, after which Trump would have seven days to file objections. Trump's margin of victory in the state was a slim 0.22 percent of the total vote.

Michigan Republican Party Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel said a re-

China Blasts Singapore's Military Cooperation With Taiwan

The editorial said China has long opposed all forms of military cooperation between other countries and Taiwan, which Beijing claims as a breakaway province to be reunited with by force if necessary.

"China opposes the outside world having any form of military cooperation or exchange with Taiwan," the paper said.

"Singapore, a state that has diplomatic relations with China, should be cautious in this regard."

Singapore's defense minister, Ng Eng Hen, said Tuesday that the city-state

A Health Department statement says the latest two victims died in hospital intensive care units on Monday night and Tuesday morning from medical complications stemming from a wild thunderstorm that struck

supports the "one-China" principle — Beijing's view that the mainland and Taiwan are part of a single Chinese nation — and that Singapore is open about its overseas training arrangements.

"Any training matters between us and other countries are bilateral, and we should not unnecessarily, until the facts come out, muddle the picture and impute various motives," he said.

Ng said Singapore "plays a positive role in crossstrait relations, and we will continue to do so," citing as an example the city-state's hosting of a historic meeting last year between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwan's then-president, Ma Ying-jeou.

On Monday, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said that Beijing has lodged a complaint with Singapore following the

seizure of the vehicles.

Geng Shuang reiterated China's opposition to military and other exchanges between Taiwan and the countries China has ties with.

"We urge the Singaporean government to stay committed to the one-China principle," Geng said at a regular briefing.

ing to ascertain the reason for the detainment.

Hong Kong's South China Morning Post newspaper has said Singaporean authorities would need to contact China's foreign ministry to get the vehicles back. The militaries of Taiwan and Singapore have long trained together, much to the irritation of Beijing.

Last week, Singapore's defense ministry sent a team to Hong Kong to ensure the security of the eightwheeled Singapore-made Terrex infantry carrier vehicles that were held by Hong Kong customs on Wednesday. It said the vehicles were not carrying ammunition or sensitive equipment and that the team would "assess the situation."

The seizure also comes amid Chinese displeasure over Singapore's calls for China to heed international rulings over territorial claims in the South China Sea, which Beijing says belongs to it almost in its entirety. China says international law has no jurisdiction over the matter.

Singapore's army chief, Maj. Gen. Melvyn Ong, said Tuesday that the vehicles had been shipped commercially and the military was still attempt-

Some experts have speculated that China would use the seized military shipment to pressure Singapore to adopt a friendlier stance toward China on the dispute.

Beijing, Nov 29 : Beijing is tightening screening on Chinese companies' overseas investments, according to the government and reports, after a record-setting shopping spree raised concerns of capital flight and reckless spending.

Authorities will "combine facilitating foreign investment with guarding against investment risks" by scrutinising proposed deals, said a statement posted on the website of the National Development and Reform Commission, the top economic planner, without giving details.

New restrictions will ban most deals over $10 billion and curb investments of more than $1 billion in sectors unrelated to a company's core business, Bloomberg News reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

State-owned companies will be barred from spending more than $1 billion on overseas property and the rules will last until September 2017, it added.

Chinese firms have been on a multi-billion-dollar spending spree this year, culminating in state-owned ChemChina's $43 billion bid for Swiss seed giant Syngenta.

Property-to-entertainment conglomerate Wanda Group bought Hollywood studio Legendary for $3.5 billion, appliance giant Midea took over leading German robotics firm Kuka for $5 billion, and insurerturned-hotelier Anbang paid $6.5 billion for 16 luxury properties from hedge fund Blackstone.

The tightening comes after authorities long urged private and state-owned enterprises to "go abroad" to buy foreign brands, technologies and resources in search of better returns and technological know-how.

But increasing capital out-

flows from China have raised concerns with the yuan currency weakening against the dollar, hitting a nearly eight-year low this month.

China has spent hundreds of billions of dollars from its vast foreign exchange reserves, the world's largest, in its efforts to keep the yuan from falling too rapidly.

Chinese investment in nonfinancial firms surged 53 percent year-on-year to $146 billion from January to October this year, government data showed.

But while China has gone on a buying spree, foreign partners in the US and EU have complained of a lack of reciprocal access to Chinese industries, with many sectors off-limits or restricted to outside investment. Among them are telecommunications, media, energy, and legal and financial services.

And such spending -- often fuelled by cheap credit from state-owned banks -- has raised questions in Beijing about the viability of some trophy assets.

In September a commerce ministry representative told reporters that "some companies went with overseas takeovers blindly. We found some firms did not make sufficient research into basics such as the purpose and necessity of overseas M&As. "Some ... rushed to expand while some were driven by irrational reasons to simply follow the craze or show off."

An editorial in Tuesday's state-run China Daily newspaper said the rules targeted "outflows disguised as foreign investment".

While Chinese investing abroad was a "natural development", it cautioned that rushing overseas at a time of uncertainty was irrational, adding: "Risky overseas investments could threaten financial stability.

Death toll from France calls for U.N. Australia’s thunderSecurity Council storm asthma reaches 8 meeting on Aleppo

MELBOURNE, Nov 29 : Eight people have died and one person remains on life support more than a week after a rare condition known as thunderstorm asthma struck Australia’s secondlargest city.

Beijing, Nov 29 : A Chinese state newspaper on Tuesday criticized Singapore over the Southeast Asian city-state's military training with self-governing Taiwan, following the impounding of nine Singaporean infantry fighting vehicles transiting through Hong Kong.

The Communist Party-run Global Times said in an editorial Tuesday that Singapore was responsible for the incident, but gave no details about what laws or regulations have been broken by the shipping of the armored vehicles from Taiwan. The vehicles were being sent to Singapore from Kaohsiung, in southern Taiwan, after a military exercise there, when they were seized on Wednesday by Hong Kong.

He said election officials have heard a lot this year about "so-called fraud ... without any foundation in fact," and a recount settling that question could provide one "silver lining."

In Wisconsin, meanwhile, the state elections commission on Monday approved a timeline to start a recount on Thursday. Stein is pushing for a hand count of the nearly 3 million ballots cast in the state, but the commission left it up to local election officials to determine the best method.

Stein's Wisconsin recount request included an affidavit from University of Michigan computer scientist J. Alex Halderman stating that a hand recount is the only way to determine

whether there could have been a cyberattack that affected the results. He argued that records stored in electronic voting equipment could have been manipulated in an attack.

The AP on Monday updated its election night vote count in Wisconsin to correct the totals for both candidates in three separate counties. The updates dropped Trump's margin over Clinton from 27,257 votes to 22,460 votes, or 0.8 percent of the total vote. The corrections were made during the regular post-election canvass of the election-night vote.

In Pennsylvania, where Trump edged Clinton by about 71,000 votes, or about 1 percent of the vote, Stein filed a lawsuit seeking a statewide recount but it wasn't clear if the courts had the authority to order one.

Democratic Secretary of State Pedro Cortes said there was no evidence of voting irregularities or cyberattacks on Pennsylvania's voting machines, 96 percent of which record votes electronically and leave no paper trail.

China puts brakes on overseas spending spree

Melbourne on Nov. 21.

Another patient remains in intensive care. Another six are in hospitals with less serious respiratory and related conditions.

Last week’s storm caused rain-sodden ryegrass pollen grains to explode and disperse over the city, with tiny pollen particles penetrating deep into lungs. Around a third of patients who suffered asthma attacks reported never having asthma before.

Iraq PM says his country will cut oil production Baghdad, Nov 29 : Iraq's prime minister says his country will agree to cut its own oil production as part of a plan by OPEC to push crude prices higher.

Prime Minister Haider alAbadi told The Associated Press that current prices are not sustainable for oil-producing countries.

Al-Abadi's comments could be critical because Iraq along with Iran has been reluctant to go along with cuts, creating an obstacle for an OPEC deal, according to published reports.

Al-Abadi said he understands that OPEC members will agree to reduce production by between 900,000 and 1.2 million barrels per day that would be a cut of between 2.7 per cent and 3.6 per cent from October levels. He said it would

be enough to push prices up.

"Yes, we will take our share and we agreed to this," he told the AP. Benchmark international oil rose USD 1, or 2 per cent, on Monday to close at USD 48.24 a barrel. Al-Abadi said for every dollar oil prices rise, Iraq gains about USD 1 billion.

In late 2014, as crude prices tumbled from more than USD 100 a barrel, OPEC countries decided not to intervene they expected falling prices to drive high-cost producers in the US out of business.

But a worldwide glut of oil has persisted and OPEC has been pumping at record levels. Now the cartel is trying to regain some of its historical ability to affect prices.

Paris, Nov 29 : French foreign affairs minister JeanMarc Ayrault called on Tuesday for an immediate United Nations Security Council meeting to discuss the situation in the Syrian city of Aleppo, which has been devastated by fighting.

"More than ever before, we need to urgently put in place means to end the hostilities and to allow humanitarian aid to get through unhindered," Ayrault said in a statement.

A French diplomatic source added that Ayrault and his German counterpart would discuss Aleppo with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of a meeting in Minsk on Tuesday, at which leading European foreign ministers will discuss plans for implementing a ceasefire agreement for eastern Ukraine.

The Syrian army and its allies announced the capture of a large swathe of eastern

Aleppo from rebels on Monday in an accelerating attack that threatens to crush the opposition in its most important urban stronghold.

Capturing eastern Aleppo would be the biggest victory for President Bashar alAssad since the start of the uprising against him in 2011, restoring his control over the whole city apart from a Kurdish-held area that has not fought against him.

For Assad, taking back Aleppo would shore up his grip over the main population centers of western Syria where he and his allies have focused their firepower while much of the rest of the country remains outside their control.

France, a key backer of the Syrian opposition, is due to convene a meeting of countries opposed to Assad, including the United States, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, in December.

BUSINESS

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30

P11

No proposal to set up a pharma ministry: Government Earlier this year, Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) had said that it has come up with a scheme to finance common facility centres like component and radiation testing in proposed medical device parks with an outlay of Rs 300 crore as it looks to curb import dependence.

PTI Mumbai, Nov 29 : Government today said there is no proposal to set up a separate ministry for pharmaceuticals, and it is yet to allocate budget for developing common facilitation centre for the proposed medical devices parks. "The creation of separate ministry for pharmaceuticals is a matter to be considered keeping in view the mandate of all the central government ministries/departments dealing with the sector. At present there is no such proposal before the government," Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Mansukh L Mandaviya said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

However, Fertilisers Minister Ananth Kumar had said last year that a separate ministry for pharma and medical devices sector would come into force within a year. In a separate written reply, Mandaviya said: "No budget allocation" has yet

been made for development of common facilitation centre for medical devices. He added: "A sub-scheme for development of common

facilitation centre for medical devices under the Umbrella scheme of cluster development programme for pharma sector has been pro-

posed. But, no budget allocation has yet been made."

Earlier this year, Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) had said that it has

EOW arrests 31 accused in NSEL scam PTI New Delhi, Nov 29 : The economic offences wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police has arrested 31 accused, including defaulting borrowers and brokers, in the Rs 5,600 crore NSEL scam, the Centre informed Parliament today.

Capital markets regulator SEBI has completed audit of books of accounts of five commodity brokers whose names appeared in the interim report of the EOW. Thereafter, the show cause notice was issued on October 28, it said.

Asked if the government has taken action against all the defaulters and brokers, Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal said in the Rajya Sabha: "EOW, Mumbai Police has arrested 31 accused including 22 defaulting borrowers, six NSEL key manage-

ment personnel and three brokers."

The charge sheets have been filed against the accused in the court under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act, 1999, he said in a written reply to the Upper House.

Various agencies including the EOW and Enforcement Directorate enquiring into the National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) related payment and settlement crisis case, he added.

On action taken to recover money from NSEL defaulters, the minister said that the EOW has are ported that they have attached assets worth Rs 8,583.05 crores, approximately under various provisions of MPID Act. "Rs 527.19 crores have

been distributed to investors, 608 investors having invested less than Rs 2 lakhs have been fully paid, 50 per cent of the invested amount has been distributed to investors who invested between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 10 lakhs and 6 per cent amount distributed to investors who invested between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 5 crore and above," he said.

Besides, 19 provisional attachment orders involving assets worth Rs 8,37.01 crores against 12 NSEL defaulters have been issued by the Directorate of Enforcement.

"All these attachment orders have been confirmed by the adjudicating authority under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. A prosecution complaint has also been filed before the Special Court against NSEL and 67 other

BSE tightens norms for cos shifting from SME to main board PTI New Delhi, Nov 29 : Tightening norms for companies seeking to migrate from its SME platform to the main board, BSE today said firms, directors and promoters who have been barred by markets regulator Sebi will not be eligible for the move.

Accordingly, companies that are seeking migration from the small and medium enterprises (SME) platform to the main board, would be required to submit an undertaking that the company, its promoters and directors have not been debarred by Sebi.

"Where there is any Sebi debarment order against the company, its promoters, directors, such company will not be eligible to migrate from SME to main board of BSE till such Sebi debarment order is in force," the exchange said in a circular.

Putting in place additional eligibility criteria for migration from SME to main platform of the BSE, the exchange said that if a company has been debarred from accessing the securities market, it cannot raise any funds.

However, bonus issues (not amounting to raising of funds from public) would be permitted to such extent as to not increase the postissue capital to beyond Rs 25 crore.

However, where the directors and promoters of the company are debarred from accessing the securities market, then the company

would be allowed to increase its capital to such extent so as to not increase the post-issue capital to more than Rs 25 crore.

Further, BSE said that debarred entities would not be eligible to participate in any such further issue of capital.

"While the Sebi debarment is in force against the company, its promoters and directors, it shall be mandatory for the company to appoint a trading member of BSE as a market maker even after the completion of mandatory period of three years. In case of any default during market making penalties / actions will be imposed as per the existing guidelines," it added.

BSE launched its SME platform for small and medium enterprises in March 2012. Since then, it has been receiving very positive response and 161 companies have already got listed in this segment.

The companies have to be mandatorily listed and traded on the SME platform for a minimum period of two years and only after that can they migrate to the main board, as per the guidelines specified by Sebi.

Firms that have completed two years on the SME platform and achieved a post-issue paid-up capital of at least Rs 10 crore are eligible for migration. In case the paid-up capital exceeds Rs 25 crore threshold, it is required to migrate to the main board.

accused persons," Meghwal said.

That apart, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has completed audit of books of accounts of five commodity derivative brokers whose names appeared in the interim report of EOW, Mumbai Police.

"Thereafter, the designated authority, appointed by SEBI for conducting enquiry into the matter, issued show cause notice on October 28, 2016," he said.

Replying to another query that if certain banks are providing payment and settlement system (PSS) service to NSEL without RBI and government approval, the minister said: "At present, NSEL is not authorised to undertake activity for which payment and settlement system service of banks may be required.

RBI may front-load rate cut to December to support growth: DBS New Delhi, Nov : While global uncertainties and rupee volatility suggest first quarter of 2017 is a better time to ease rates, the Reserve Bank may bring forward the rate cut to December to support growth and tap favourable inflation outlook, says a DBS report.

According to the global financial services major, following the demonetisation move, the dampening impact on economic activity is clear, especially on consumption, supply chain and cash dependent businesses and inflation over this quarter and the next.

"On policy, while external uncertainties and rupee volatility suggest first quarter of 2017 is a better timeline to ease rates, the central bank might prefer to bring forward the rate cut to December to support growth and tap favourable inflation outlook," DBS said in a research note.

The Monetary Policy Committee headed by RBI Governor Urjit Patel last month cut benchmark interest rates by 0.25 per cent to 6.25 per cent. The next RBI policy review is on December 7.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes on November 8, making these notes invalid.

As per the report, attention is likely to be beyond third quarter 2016 GDP growth numbers and instead on managing the fallout of the demonetisation effort.

"Authorities are also focused on the implementation aspects, with withdrawal and usage restrictions tweaked on a regular basis to ease short-term strain," the report said, adding that "overall, progress has and will be gradual and incremental."

Deposits are likely to accrue over the next month, but the strain will ease as withdrawal limits are eased and access to other modes become easier, it said. .

Demonetisation is expected to affect economic activity, especially consumption, supply chain and cash dependent businesses, as well as inflation over this quarter and the next.

come up with a scheme to finance common facility centres like component and radiation testing in proposed medical device parks

with an outlay of Rs 300 crore as it looks to curb import dependence. Development of common facilitation centre for medical devices (DCFC-MD) scheme proposes to give Rs 25 crore or 70 per cent of cost of equipment and machinery and fixed assets as grant-inaid for setting up of common facility centres like moduling centres. The scheme also aims to offer similar benefits to medical devices park to be proposed by various state governments. To reduce import dependence, the government has decided to establish six bulk drug and medical devices parks, which will entail a combined investment of Rs 60,000 crore. The Indian pharmaceutical industry at the beginning of 11th Plan (2012) stood at around Rs 71,000 crore. It has now risen to around Rs 2,00,000 crore, as per Pharmtrack and Pharmexcil, up to 2015-16, the government said.

Cipla appoints Ireena Vittal as independent director NEW DELHI, Nov 29 : Drug major CiplaBSE -0.25 % today said it has appointed Ireena Vittal as an independent director on its board with effect from December 1, 2016.

Vittal, a former partner with McKinsey & Company, is an MBA from IIM-Kolkata and has over two decades of experience in management consulting and is recognised as a thought leader for consumer-facing companies in emerging markets.

Prior

to

joining

McKinsey, Vittal worked with NestleBSE -0.33 % and MaxTouch. She has also served government and public institutions to design and implement solutions core to India's development, such as inclusive urban development and sustainable rural growth.

"Cipla is in the midst of preparing itself for an exciting future and her background of both business and advisory will be very useful to the company," Cipla LtdBSE -0.25 % NonExecutive Chairman Y K Hamied said in a statement.

RBI sets rupee reference rate at 68.6535 against US dollar PTI Mumbai, Nov 29 : The Reserve Bank of India today fixed the reference rate of the rupee at 68.6535 against the US dollar and 72.8002 for the euro.

The corresponding rates were 68.7235 and 73.1768, yesterday.

According to an RBI statement, the exchange rates for the pound and the yen against the rupee were 85.2265 and 61.25 per 100 yens, respectively, based on reference rates for the dollar and cross-currency quotes at noon.

The SDR-rupee figure will be based on this rate, the statement added.

RBI relaxes withdrawal norms, nudges retailers to deposit cash

RBI said it has been reported that "certain depositors are hesitating" to deposit their monies into bank accounts in view of the current limits on cash withdrawals.

MUMBAI, Nov 29: Nudging retailers such as malls and shop owners to deposit their daily collections with banks, RBI has said they would be allowed to withdraw the deposited sum in Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes, irrespective of the existing withdrawal limits.

The decision is aimed at discouraging hoarding of valid currency notes and increasing its circulation to mitigate cash crunch following the demonetisation of old 500 and 1,000 rupee notes.

In a notification, the Reserve Bank of India said it has been reported that "certain depositors are hesitating" to deposit their monies into bank accounts in view of the current limits on cash

withdrawals.

"As it is impeding active circulation of currency notes, it has been decided, on careful consideration, to allow withdrawals of deposits made in current legal tender notes on or after November 29, 2016 beyond the current limits," RBI said.

It added that preferably, available higher denominations bank notes of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 are to be issued for such withdrawals.

People have exchanged and deposited about Rs 8.45 lakh crore worth of scrapped Rs 500/1,000 notes at different banks till November 27 following demonetisation of the high value currency on November 9.

Sell domestic LPG only to PSU oil firms: Government to producers New Delhi, Nov 29: The government has ordered LPG producers like Reliance Industries to supply all the cooking gas (LPG) they produce locally to state-owned oil companies only, and private retailers have been asked to source their requirements through imports.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, in an order issued this month, stated that "sale of indigenously produced LPG is not permitted to the entities other than government oil companies."

All domestically produced liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) should necessarily be sold to PSUs for subsidised sale to consumers.

While India is surplus in refining capacity, it does not produce enough LPG to meet all of its demand.

It imported 8.7 million tonnes of LPG in 201516 and 4.66 million tonnes in first half of current fiscal. LPG is produced by both public sector firms like Indian Oil Corp Ltd (IOC) as well as private firms like Reliance Industries Ltd.

The ministry said instances have been noticed of all locally produced LPG not being sold to oil marketing companies - IOC, Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL). "...some domestic LPG is also being sold to parallel marketeers in violation of Ministry's order," it said. "All domestic producers of LPG need to ensure compliance with provisions of LPG (Regulation of Supply and Distribution) Order, 2000 and LPG (Regulation of Use of Motor Vehicles) Order, 2001 and sell domestically produced LPG only to government oil companies."

Ministry held that sale of LPG by domestic producers to anyone other than state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) is not permissible under LPG control order.

Non-state LPG sellers, called parallel marketeers, cannot source the fuel from domestic refiners. They have to import LPG if they intend to sell the cooking fuel in domestic

There are a total of 183 parallel LPG marketers in the country.

market.

It asked all LPG producers including Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), GAIL India Ltd and RIL as well as parallel marketeers to comply with the order.

RIL, the largest single location LPG producer in the country, had in 2013 contested the ministry view, saying rules do not mandate that all domestic LPG must be sold only to state firms.

However, the government's top law officer, Solicitor General of India (SGI) backed the ministry's view .The LPG control order of 2000 de-

fines parallel marketeer as someone who is carrying on business of importing, storing, transporting, marketing and distributing of LPG. It does not prohibit the parallel marketeer from producing LPG but it cannot sell such production directly to consumers.

Last year, the ministry had permitted RIL to sell up to 10,000 tonnes of LPG per month for one year to parallel LPG marketers on condition that it will import an equivalent quality and deliver to state-owned firms.

There are a total of 183 parallel LPG marketers in the country.

cmyk

cmyk

DIBRUGARH, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30

P12 India beat England by 8 wickets, take 2-0 lead in series

Kolkata book semis berth with 1-1 draw against Kerala Kolkata, 29 Nov: AtlĂŠtico de Kolkata qualified for their third successive Hero Indian Super League semi-final after playing out a 1-1 draw against Kerala Blasters FC in front of more than 12,000 spectators at the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium in Kolkata on Tuesday evening. CK Vineeth gave Kerala an early lead in the eighth minute before Stephen Pearson equalised for the hosts 10 minutes later.

The match was far from eventful, but it served the home team's purpose as rivals Delhi Dynamos FC also qualified with the result on the night. The first chance of the game fell to Kerala from a corner in the fifth minute but Sandesh Jhingan's header was straight at goalkeeper Debjit

Majumder, who gathered it comfortably.

The Blasters got the lead three minutes later through a mistake by Majumder. He fumbled a cross from the left that should have been gathered easily, and Cedric Hengbart was at hand to lob it towards Vineeth, who nodded home to give Kerala an early lead. It was his fourth goal of the season.

ATK though pressed forward and got their reward in the 18th minute when Helder Postiga fed Pearson with a lovely ball and the Scot slotted home first-time for his second goal in two games. oth teams were restricted to half chances from then on as they tried to play it safe.

Postiga's glancing header in

the 41st minute blazed dangerously across goal, but that was as close as it got as the teams went into the tunnel at half-time with the score-line reading 1-1.

The second half started much the same as the first had ended, with not much fluency in play as chances were few and far between. The teams played hopeful long balls and tried shots from long range but to little effect as the game dragged on.

Kerala had a great chance to go 2-1 up in the 77th minute but Mohammad Rafi, who was first to react to a ball that fell to him from a corner, lashed his shot against Pritam Kotal from close range.

There were no further chances as the game drew to a close.

With the draw, ATK became the only team to qualify for the semis in all three editions of the league so far.

Match Awards Club award: Shared by both clubs Fittest Player of the Match: Sandesh Jhingan DHL Winning Pass of the Match: Helder Postiga Moment of the Match: CK Vineeth ISL Emerging Player of the Match: Abinash Ruidas Hero of the Match: Stephen Pearson

Ex-Spain coach Del Bosque picks Messi, Ronaldo for top FIFA Award IANS Madrid, Nov 29: Former Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has picked superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as favourites to be named footballers of the year.

The award given by global governing body FIFA, is named "The Best" men's player this year. The award ceremony will be held on January 9, reports Efe. Del Bosque also said he is

"leaning towards" Atletico Madrid Argentine coach Diego Simeone to win "The Best" FIFA men's coach award, , whose track record over the last few years has been "really impressive".

"Simeone's given the team an identity, making it his team, and they've competed really well," Del Bosque said in an interview released on Monday on the FIFA website.

The Spanish coach added

Golfer Chiragh up for the challenge at Panasonic Open India IANS New Delhi, Nov 29 : Ahead of the 2016 edition of the Panasonic Open India, starting here from Thursday, defending champion Chiragh Kumar on Tuesday said he will not pressurise himself for a win despite being the home favourite at the iconic Delhi Golf Club (DGC).

The tournament will feature a strong elite 120-man field, made up of golfers from the Asian Tour and the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI).

Besides Chiragh, the home challenge will comprise of promising Chikkarangappa S. and Shubhankar Sharma, among others.

Chiragh said that there was no such added pressure on him despite returning to his home course as he feels the better player on the day will carry home the $400,000 winning cheque.

"It's always a great feeling to be back to one's home course. Hopefully, I can repeat my last year's performance this year too. But having said that, I am not going to put any pressure on myself," he told reporters here.

"Tournaments are never won like that, somebody playing better than me on the given day may go through. It's always a part of the game." Sharing one of his memorable moments from the last edition, Chiragh said: "Last year, till the very end of the final round the competition was really tough. I along with Bangladesh's Siddikur Rahman and Chikkarangappa were going so close to each other

which made it quite intense."

Chikka, who represented India in the World Cup in Australia last week, is aiming to carry on with his good form and get a win under his belt.

"This season has been really good for me, the World Cup was an amazing learning experience for young golfers like me. When you play alongside the greats of the game, particularly the winners of Majors, it boosts your confidence," the Bengaluru golfer said.

"I am looking for that breakthrough this season and hopefully it comes this week here at the DGC. There is no such pressure but I am really hoping for a great week ahead," he added.

Among the foreign stars, Chinese Liang Wen-chong, Mardan Mamat of Singapore, Thailand's Jazz Janewattananond and Sri Lankan Mithun Perera will be the main attractions at the full-field Asian Tour event.

With the Panasonic Open India being the penultimate event of the 2016 season, players will have everything to play for as they vie to break into top-60 on the final Order of Merit, which is the cut-off mark for players to secure their Tour cards for the 2017 season.

Past champions of the Panasonic Open India include reigning Order of Merit champion Anirban Lahiri (2011), Digvijay Singh (2012), Wade Ormsby (2013), S.S.P. Chawrasia (2014) and Chiragh (2015).

Australian Ormsby is the only non-Indian to win the event.

that Barcelona manager Luis Enrique and Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane are also "great."

"Messi and Ronaldo have dominated it in recent times and I imagine that people will decide between the two based on allegiances to the shirts they wear," he said.

Messia and Ronaldoi have dominated the FIFA's annual awards ceremony, sharing the top prize since 2008.

Messi has won it five times,

Injured Hardik Pandya out of action for six weeks

Ronaldo thrice.

Del Bosque also pointed out that the 23-nominee list for the best player award of 2016 includes only two Spaniards, Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos and FC Barcelona Andres Iniesta.

Del Bosque thinks that another Spaniard could have joined the list such as Sergio Busquets and Gerard Pique, who "have also left their mark on a great period" for Spanish football.

Agencies Mohali, Nov 29: There were no real surprises in Mohali.

India patiently polished off the England innings and they barely needed their chief tormentor, Ravi Ashwin, to contribute. Instead the other spinners of a 21st century triumvirate of Indian tweakers, who certainly bat rather better than their predecessors, calmly worked their way through the order - with a bit of help from Mohammed Shami and the second new ball and despite a bit of spellbinding resistance from Haseeb Hameed, who finally emerged from the dressing room to deliver a little gem.

Despite the spine and sparkle of Hameed's unbeaten 59, this was quite a drubbing for England. They were bowled out for 236, leaving India only 103 runs for victory and they soon knocked them off with eight wickets to spare.

Throughout the morning Ravindra Jadeja and Jayant Yadav simply bided their time, maintaining the pressure all the while and sooner or later the batsmen made a mistake or the ball turned a fraction more than anticipated; then Shami's bouncers caused some havoc.

So the tour party head to Mumbai two down with two to play, and the outlook is bleak. The players now have five days' break before preparations start for the fourth Test.

Do not begrudge them that.

They train as assiduously as any England side but now the need to refresh after five sapping Tests in the subcontinent is urgent. Whether a few days' rest in Mumbai, Dubai or Goa will do the trick is, however, debatable.

innings runs, but this is tough to resolve.

Trying to win Tests in India without those runs at the start is the equivalent of playing football or rugby with a porous defence or winning tennis matches without a reliable serve.

There is, of course, no guarantee that five days' rest will solve the problem. From personal memory of distant tours a period of R&R can have the opposite effect to the one intended. Having let go for a few days it can be hard to get back into that hard-nosed groove.

Indeed the preparation for the fourth Test will present quite a challenge to the well-stocked management team.

However they approach their task after a second crushing defeat in a row, the chances of England squaring the series now seem unlikely.

The problems stem more from tired minds than crumbling bodies - although there are obviously fitness doubts about Stuart Broad, while Hameed will go home to have a plate inserted in his damaged finger.

Run-scoring at the highest level requires fresh minds as well as fit bodies; it is not a mechanical process. It is easy to identify that England's main problem in is scoring enough first

There were chinks of Light For England on the final day. Once again Hameed had us searching for superlatives. He did not appear until No8, and that surely reflected the gravity of the injury to the little finger on his left-hand. Yet he managed to bat with the poise and judgment of a veteran, and without too much obvious discomfort.

When in harness with Joe Root, who top-scored with 78,

India's Parthiv Patel hit a 50 to steer India to victory in the third Test.

Hameed defended all the while but he did so with such positive, decisive footwork. He even has the confidence to hold his pose for a second or two, just in case any photographers are interested. After another forward defensive my interpreter told me the reaction around the bat. "That's all he knows how to do," they chirped, which was disproved rather brilliantly in a heartwarming last-wicket partnership with Jimmy Anderson.

Having mustered 23 from 127 balls, Hameed now plundered 36 from 29. He hit his second six in Test cricket, off Ashwin, and improvised brilliantly against spin and seam alike for half an hour. Here was further confirmation that England have a little gem in their ranks, though he will not play any further part in this series.

Hameed brings to mind Root batting on his debut in Nagpur four years ago, so naturally does he get into position against the spinners. Here Root experienced few difficulties throughout the morning session, picking off runs without too much trouble on a pitch that never deteriorated as expected.

His 78 was admirable but not decisive, and it was ended by a fine catch at slip by Ajinkya

NorthEast United FC in do-or-die battle against upbeat Delhi Dynamos

IANS New Delhi, Nov 29 : Allrounder Hardik Pandya, who was ruled out of the India squad after injuring his shoulder during a net session ahead of the ongoing third cricket Test against England in Mohali, will be out of action for six weeks.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday confirmed that the all-rounder has sustained a hairline fracture on his right shoulder.

"BCCI medical team confirms that India allrounder Hardik Pandya has sustained a hairline fracture on his right shoulder. He will take minimum six weeks to recover from this injury," the board said in a statement.

"BCCI medical team will monitor his progress and rehabilitation programme and update accordingly," the statement added.

IANS Guwahati, Nov 30: NorthEast United FC will look to keeping their chances of a semi-final qualification alive against high-flying Delhi Dynamos in an Indian Super League (ISL) clash here on Wednesday.

NorthEast need to garner a win from their remaining two group stage matches to have a chance of advancing to the semi-finals.

Against Delhi, who pummelled FC Goa 5-1 in their last outing, it won't be an easy task for them at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium. NorthEast team were down and almost out in their last clash against Chennaiyin FC until defender Shouvik Ghosh tied the match at 3-3 with a

header, earning a crucial point and keeping them in the semis race.

It was a thrilling finish to the match but coach Nelo Vingada said his side were entirely deserving of a point despite the late winner.

"If you tell me we were lucky to score in the last minute, then yes we were lucky but we fought to bring that luck for us and we created chances to score, and honestly I think we deserved the draw," he said.

It is the correct result and the result is very important for us as it lifts our morale.

We will put in a strong effort in the next two games."

Vingada will have to do rotate his squad so that two of his players, Koffi Ndri

and Nicolas Velez, who are are both on three yellow cards, avoid another booking.

Four bookings automatically ensures a one-match suspension, which will rule them out of their final group stage match against Kerala Blasters.

Defensive midfielder Rowlin Borges will return to the squad after serving a one-match suspension and Vingada could also restore Japanese midfielder Katsumi Yusa to the starting line-up.

Delhi have nothing to worry sitting second onTABLE with 20 points from 12 matches and head into their penultimate clash after a 51 drubbing of FC Goa. "Unfortunately, we haven't

reached the semi-finals as yet. So we have to focus on our next game, which is against a very difficult team, and for this reason it's very Important to plan step by step," said coach Gianluca Zambrotta.

With qualification to the semi-finals all but certain, Zambrotta could give some of his players some muchlonged rest.

"We need to look at our players' conditions and recovery and as of now I haven't planned anything tactical for the match against NorthEast," said the Italian World Cup winner.

Delhi will play their concluding league clash against Mumbai City FC on December 3.

Rahane as Root drove away from his body.

Otherwise there was not much to cheer for the tourists. Gareth Batty was lbw second ball to Jadeja; Jos Buttler flickered, hitting a six to get off the mark, which reflected his determination to bat positively. His inclusion is surely an experiment worth pursuing in Mumbai.

Chris Woakes batted well until the advent of the second new ball, which soon struck him on the helmet, having been propelled in that direction by Shami. The next ball was another fine bouncer and Woakes could only fend the ball into the air to the waiting keeper.

Two balls later Rashid hooked limply at another short delivery and was caught at fine leg for a duck.

Despite the early loss of Murali Vijay, who became Woakes' second wicket of the series, there were no alarms for India.

Parthiv Patel went on the rampage, racing to his half-century in 39 balls, making a clear case for his retention. Cheteshwar Pujara top-edged against Rashid but soon the irrepressible Patel lofted a drive to extra cover to win the match from an off-break from Batty, probably the last one he will bowl in his Test career.

India U-17 World Cup team leaves for exposure trips to Brazil, Russia IANS New Delhi, Nov 29: Indian colts left for exposure tours to Brazil and Russia on Tuesday in preparation for the U-17 football World Cup, to be hosted by the country next year.

India's U-17 head coach Nicolai Adam revealed his plans for the trips before leaving. India will be flying to Brazil first.

"We will play in a tournament involving four teams including Atletico Paranaense, Orlando City (the US) and the Uruguay national team. We are very happy to have got such an opportunity and it will help us immensely," Adam told www.the-aiff.com about their trip to Brazil.

"In Russia we would be playing in the Granatkin Cup where we will clash against the U-19 teams of top European nations. It will be a huge experience for our boys. The experience playing against top international teams is always nourishing and you either win or you learn," the German added.

The team, according to Adam will also be travelling to Africa, Australia and the United States later.

"The exposure trips are extremely helpful in setting up the current lot of players which we have right now. Not only does it provide exposure to a competitive environment and test and build the squad chemistry, the players also get to know their strengths and weaknesses."

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