north east online - north east india news: 05/01/2008

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Freedom and friend for five-year-old gibbon

Guwahati, May 30 : She was born free and to freedom she has returned.

Five-year-old Siloni is the first gibbon in the country to be released into the wilds after being reared at a rehabilitation centre. She was released at Kaziranga on Sunday but the official announcement was delayed, as the forest department wanted to ensure that she would adapt to her new home.

The department undertook the rehabilitation project in association with the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI).

The gibbon, rescued when she was only a few months old, was supported by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). She was rescued from Silonijan in Karbi Anglong after poachers killed her mother in February 2003.

Since then, she has been living at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) at Kaziranga.

Moreover, Siloni will not lack company in the wilds, either. Before her release, she was kept in a cage for four months. The cage was hung from a big tree inside the Panbari reserve forest in Kaziranga.

“A male gibbon struck up a friendship with Siloni immediately and has been visiting her ever since. So, when Siloni was set free, the two took off together. We are sure they have found a home by now,” said Rathin Barman, a senior WTI official told The Telegraph.

The male gibbon was monitored for five months to study his home range and behavioural characteristics before being considered as a partner for Siloni.

The governing council of the CWRC, chaired by the commissioner and secretary (forest) and chief wildlife warden of Assam, approved the gibbon’s release.

The official said she was acclimatised for more than four months at the Panbari reserve forest. “Soon after her release, Siloni showed more interest in exploring the forests than in the wild male,” the official added.

Only two other organisations in the world, the Kalaweit Care Centre in Kalleif, Indonesia, and the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project in Phuket, Thailand, work towards the rehabilitation of gibbons whose life span is about 20 years.

The hoolock gibbon (Bunopithecus hoolock) is an endangered species listed in Schedule 1 of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act (1972). Experts said the survival of the species is threatened because of habitat loss, hunting and illegal trade.“Habitat fragmentation has forced many gibbons in Assam to live in isolation, often without a mate,” a wildlife official added.

Telegraph India

Assam govt lays new conditions for peace talks with militant

Guwahati, May 30 : The Assam Government has laid down some new conditions for holding peace talks with the militant outfits. From now onwards, the militants have to come forward with a proposal of talks within the parameters of the Constitution only. This was decided at a meeting of the Unified Command, chaired by the Chief Minister, Mr. Tarun Gogoi at Dispur on Thursday.

It resolved that rebels would now require giving in writing to the Government to abide by the laid down norms for sitting in peace talks. Once the Government approves a peace proposal, the outfits have to surrender their weapons and stay in designated camps till the peace process is over.

General Officer Commanding (GOC) of four Corps of the Army Lt. General B.S. Jaswal, who heads the operational group of the Unified Command, was present at the meeting along with representatives from the Border Security Force, the CRPF, State Police and the Home Department.

AIR Guwahati Correspondent reports that the State Government came out with the idea perturbed by recent violences by the Jewel Garlosa faction of the Dima Halam Daogah (DHD) militants in North Cachar hills district.

AIR News

ADB to check floods with expert help

Guwahati, May 31 : The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has, for the first time, undertaken an ambitious plan to work out a long-term strategy to check the perennial problem of floods and erosion in Assam.

The bank, which has sought help from international experts for the project, will submit a draft report for the first phase of its work in June. It has identified four vulnerable areas — Palasbari in Kamrup district, Bonpora in Kaziranga, Dibrugarh town and Motmora — for the project.Flood control minister Bharat Chandra Narah said the bank had sought technical assistance from German and Japanese experts to prepare detailed reports for the project. Work is expected to begin in end-2009.

In the first phase, the ADB has decided on a plan outlay of Rs 500 crore that will be given to the state on a 90:10 basis. This means the state will bear 10 per cent of the project cost, while the rest will be given by the Centre as a grant. The bank will loan the money to the Centre.

The project, christened the Northeastern Integrated Flood and River Basin Erosion Management Project, aims at reducing the vulnerability of the areas to flood and erosion through comprehensive planning using new techniques and cost-effective and sustainable methods, Narah said.

“The foreign agencies being involved by the ADB to prepare the project reports are very experienced. They have the experience of handling similar projects in Bangladesh and other flood-ravaged countries,” water resources secretary Paran Baruah said.

He added that ADB was planning to use geo-textile bags instead of boulders to check erosion along a 25-km-stretch on either side of the Brahmaputra in these four places. “Boulders are not locally available. So ADB has decided to use geo-textile bags which will be filled with sand. These textile bags are said to be very strong and durable,” Baruah said. Though ADB is expected to submit the draft proposal in June, the loan will be sanctioned only in 2009, Baruah said. The bank will organise a workshop to sensitise the stakeholders so that work on the project goes on unhindered without facing any protests or objections.

After work in the first phase is completed, the bank may undertake a similar project .

in other flood and erosion-affected areas of the state, Baruah hoped.

Telegraph India

KCP (MC) unfazed, pledges to cleanse RIMS

Imphal, May 30 : Reacting to widespread condemnations against the act of exploding bomb at the RIMS Hospital complex some days back, the KCP (MC) affirmed that such outbursts could not stop the armed group from carrying out its campaign to detoxify the premier health care centre from unwanted ills.

A statement issued by the KCP-MC’s secretary military affairs Lanheiba Meitei conveyed of the outfit’s acceptance that triggering the blast at the hospital is indeed an act of terrorism, but hastened to add that under what compelling circumstance the action was carried out needs to be introspected by all.

Expressing that administrative anomalies in RIMS is not a recent phenomenon and the KCP organisation had been striving to weed out vitriolic elements within the RIMS set-up in addition to reminders to RIMS authorities to clean up the mess, Lanheiba said the entire truth could be laid bare for public scrutiny if and when Dr Mohen and Dr Fimate fall into custody of the KCP (MC).

Exuding confidence that had Dr Mohen and Dr Fimate been committed and sincere ills afflicting RIMS could have been easily sanitised, the KCP (MC) also questioned passive stance of various civil society and student organisations on the important issue.

Proclaiming that no sort of security arrangement could deter KFL cadres of the KCP (MC) from accomplishing the entrusted task, Lanheiba pointed to the May 25 blast at RIMS to drive home the point that it could breach any security cordon.

Suggesting that, if willing, there is enough time to mend one’s conduct rather than rely upon newsmedia to project as saintly, the secretary disowned the alleged telephonic threat by affirming that KCP (MC) had never asked for favouritism related to employment in RIMS.

KCP (MC) also appealed to doctors practising in private clinics against levying exorbitant fees from the patient saying that such monetary lust only demeans the noble profession.

Announcing that functions/activities of all medical centres, including the JN Hospital and private hospitals/clinics would be closely monitored, hospital authorities are also advised to ensure food provided to the patients are not sub-standard to avoid embarrassing situation.

Moreover, pharmacies in and around hospitals are also asked to display authentication documents such as licence and issue genuine cash memos for medicines purchased.

TSE

4 killed, 26 hurt in Behiang mishap

Churachandpur, May 31 : In yet another disastrous road mishap along the Tiddim Road stretch of Singhat and Behiang four passengers have been killed and twenty six others injured when the bus in which they were travelling in fell into a stream near Sialsi under Singngat sub-division at around 2 pm today.

Swiftly responding to the situation, troops of 57 Mountain Division at Behiang post of 9 Assam Rifles rushed to the site and helped the passengers out of the ill-fated bus.
While the injured passengers were being evacuated to Singhat after providing first aid at Behiang post, two more succumbed to their injuries thus increasing the toll to four fatal casualties.

As per the last report, all the injured passengers along with the deceased were brought to Singhat, the PRO informed.

On January 17 this year, an overloaded truck with about 70 passengers met a devastating accident due to a dilapidated bridge over Ngasuonlui.

Twenty people lost their lives, and more than 26 were injured, some crippled for life and some yet to recuperate even to this day.

According to eye witnesses, today’s mishap occurred near the cemetery of Behiang, the border village which is located about 55 kms from here.

Identifying two of the victims as Mangmuanhang (25) of Tonjang and Hangdoumang (34) of Suangphahmun, an elder of Tonjang village Kamminthang said that at least twenty five other passengers were injured, twenty of them seriously.

He, however, could not identify the third victim.

‘All I know is that he belonged to Panglian village’, Kamninthang said.

As to the improvement that could be seen along the road stretch after the January 17 mishap, Sianzathang of Tonjang said pucca road has now come up till Bualkot village, half way to Behiang.

However, the remaining part of the road is yet to see any positive changes or development.

In fact, the Ngasuan bridge and another over Tuivai river are presently being revamped by the Department concerned.

According to the attendant at the ticket counter of the ill-fated passenger bus bearing with registration number MN 02/ 7293 belongs to one Chandrashekhar, a non-local scrap-dealer and the driver is Lialian.

A team of para-medics from the State Health Department accompanied by 2nd OC of Singngat Police Station Zuala have rushed in to the spot to aid the injured.

Before returning, they are expected to conduct post-mortem on the deceased and investigate into the circumstances leading to the mishap.

It is believed that failure to negotiate a curve road due to the vehicle’s high-speed may be the behind the tragedy.

TSE

CCpur-Tuivai road in March 09′

Singzol (CCpur), May 31 : Come March next year and the construction work of the road connecting Churachandpur district headquarters and Tuivai on the Manipur-Mizoram border will be completed.

Speaking to the villagers of Singzol, who rolled out the red carpet for the Minister, K Ranjit said that the road connecting Churachandpur district headquarters and Tuivai, covering a distance of 162 kms, will be upgraded to a State Highway and the construction work will be finalised by March next year.
Significantly K Ranjit is the first Minister to ever visit Singzol.

The construction work of the road was taken up after the North East Council released a sum of Rs 82 crores in 2005 and the actual process of the work started in 2006 .

Different contractors were engaged in the construction of the road.

The Minister was accompanied by the Thanlon AC MLA Hangkhanlian, Chief Engineer of the PWD Dr G Tonsana and media persons during the tour.

The touring team was greeted by a black topped road over a stretch of 20 kilometres on the Churachandpur-Singhat road while the BMW work on the remaining stretch of 14 kilometres was also found completed.

Road widening work as well as construction of culvert along the route from Singhat to Tuivai was in progress as the team traversed through.

However the Works Minister was visibly irritated on seeing that work on the stretch of the road awarded to a special contractor identified as Ch Rajgopal had not made any progress.

Besides instructing that the work should be taken up immediately, the Minister warned that if no progress is witnessed then the special contractor would be black listed.

The road widening work as well as the construction of culverts started in 2006 and the amount released so far is Rs 19 crores.

Striking a positive tone, the Works Minister said that construction of the road will be taken up after the Monsoon from September/October this year.

March is the tentative deadline set for the completion of the CCpur-Tuivai road, said the Minister and urged the people to extend all possible co-operation.

The objective of the SPF Government is equitable development of the hills and plain, said Ranjit and added that the CCpur-Tuivai road is a step towards this.

All along the way villagers came out to greet the Minister and his team and at a village called Tongpam, Ranjit inaugurated a water supply scheme, while the foundation stone of a guest house was laid at Singzol.

The estimated cost of guest house is pegged at Rs 1 crore.

Though the foundation of the said guest house was built earlier, the foundation stone for the same was laid by Ranjit belatedly.

On seeing that the foundation for the guest house was sub-standard, the Minister instructed that the work be started afresh.

Ranjit and the team also inspected the condition of the Tuivai bridge.

Though black topping process is on along the 34 kms stretch from Churachandpur to Singhat, the Minister was not at all pleased to find the work being carried out over a 800 metre stretch.

Ranjit instructed that the work be started anew and added that no bill will be issued pending the fresh work.

The task of constructing the CCpur to Tuivai road was initially entrusted on the BRO, but due to man power shortage, the same was taken over by the State PWD.

TSE

42-day old infant talks to blind mother

Imphal, May 31 : This is not Ripley`s believe it or not story. But this is the hottest topic of gossipers in and around Moirang locality in Bishnupur district of Manipur. According to the local people there, a 42-day old infant talks to his blind mother during night time assuring his blind parents that he would make them see after he attained three months!

Whether the news is true or not is for anyone to find out for himself or herself, but curious locals have started thronging the house of this wonder child.

Mema and Oinam Sanayaima of Thanga Oinam village in Bishnupur district, both blind, who had their first contact while attending a blind school run by the Presbyterian Mission, were married in 2006. Fortytwo days ago on April 12, the couple received their first born male child at Churachandpur district hospital.

Doctors at the hospital said that the child would be able to have normal eyesight unlike his blind parents.

Mema is known for her ability to heal sickness through prayers which she proudly claims was a gift of God to her in a vision. Today, she also proudly claims that her child has also been a gift of God, who will change their (she and her husband) lives, something which she has already seen in her vision.

When Newmai News Network went to see the wonder child on Friday at their present location at Moirang Lamkhai Hemam Leikai, 40 kilometers from Imphal, in Bishnupur district, a sizeable inquisitive crowd had thronged their house trying to get a glimpse of the wonder child.

The blind mother of the child, Mema, told NNN that she and her husband have been moving as directed by God in her vision, which also made them stay in their present house at Moirang Lamkhai. Mema said that God had instructed her to venture out from their house before the child attained three months.

As such, they had moved to Thanga Khunjao and Sendra in Bishnupur district earlier before coming to Moirang Lamkhai.

The curiosity that had imbued the minds of the people and that made the topic of discussion searing is - believe it or not, the one and half-month child speaks to his mother during night time and assures his parents they would have a normal eyesight. However, when asked whether rumors spreading around the child are accurate, the mother preferred to conceal the secret.

IFP

Sericulture provides employment to Tripuras rural folk

Agartala, May 30 : Sericulture has emerged as a profitable employment avenue for rural folk, particularly women in Tripura.

Various government schemes for sericulture, which involves growing of mulberry trees for the leaf (which is the only food for silk worm), rearing of the silk worms and spinning of cocoon for the silk thread, are in operation in the state.

Women entrepreneurs have been given special preference under the schemes. Tribals particularly the Jhumias (nomadic farmers who slash and burn forests for cultivation) are also involved in sericulture as an alternative to Jhum cultivation.

Most of the beneficiaries use their wasteland to grow mulberry trees where farmers rear silkworms till it reaches the spinning stages of cocoon.

“We have taken to sericulture as we are able to earn handsome amount. We have formed cooperative society for women and carry out this task in our free time. Every year, we earn between 20,000 to 25,000 rupees. But the profit can be more if we are able to look after the worms properly,” said Rita Paul, silkworm farmer.

India produces a variety of silks including Mulberry, Tussar, Muga and Eri depending on the feeding habit of the silkworms.

Some of the northeastern states like Assam, Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram
have accorded a fairly high priority to sericulture.

In Tripura, around 4,500 beneficiaries are directly involved in the subsidiary occupation further improving their socio-economic status.

Besides imparting technical know-how, the government also distributes silk threads to the weavers for producing the finished products like sarees, dress material through the handloom cluster co-operative societies.

” We impart knowledge about silk production to sericulturists in Tripura. We also provide them technical assistance under various schemes launched here. We have our own farm in Madhubani and conduct various activities for farmers under the action plans,” said Shibayan Sen, official, Central Silk Board.

The annual production of silk in the state is little more than 6.00 metric ton worth six million rupees.

At present, only about 30 per cent yarns is being consumed for fabrics and the rest is sold outside the state.

Experts say that the agro-climatic condition of Tripura is highly favourable for extensive growth of sericulture and the allied industry has a great prospect.

“Mulberry grows very well in waste lands of Tripura. The Central Government is giving lot of emphasis for further development. So, silk has a better future until and unless a little bit of problem posed by China. But still Indian silk has a lot of demand all over the world,” said Tripurandra Mohan Ganguli, Retd. Director of Handloom, Tripura.

Sericulture in Tripura is a high priority agro-based industry and plays a vital role in the economy and employment potential, particularly in the rural and semi-urban parts of the state.

India stands second only to China in silk production. While China produces 70,000 metric tons of raw silk, India is far behind at 14,200 metric tons.

According to officials, India requires 120,000 metric tons of silk to meet its share of demand in world market. With better infrastructure facility, the sericulture industry could improve its productivity to 15 per cent as against the current nine per cent.

ANI

Lease of life for Shillong hotel

Shillong, May 31 : Since 1986, the Crowborough Hotel here has been a symbol of an ambitious project gone wrong.

Today, the hotel got a new “lease” of life when the Meghalaya government and a local entrepreneur signed an agreement, the first step towards turning the Shillong address into a major commercial space with help from a reputed hospitality chain.

PRISM demands fresh probe into pastor’s death

Aizawl, May 29 : The PRISM (People’s Right to Information and Development Implementing Society of Mizoram) today demanded a fresh investigation into the alleged murder of Reverend Chanchinmawia.

“The fact that Revd Chanchinmawia had received threat mails several times due to his outright criticism of the Government, the circumstances of his death, the manner of the police investigation and the missing of the weapon of crime (found near the pastor’s body) indicated that his murder had been meticulously planned,” the PRISM stated in an appeal submitted to the court of the ADM(J), Chawngtinthanga. The organization also appealed to the court to initiate a fresh probe into the matter.

Revd Chanchinmawia, a pastor of the Khatla Presbyterian Church and president of the Mizoram Presbyterian Synod-sponsored Mizoram People’s Forum, was found dead under mysterious circumstances at his quarters at Khatla on October 1, 2007.

Initially, he was believed to have committed suicide, based on the statements of his wife and their maidservant. However, this theory raised doubts on the day itself.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT), however, could not find any evidence to support the homicide theory. The SIT report was submitted to the court on December 6, 2007.

Meanwhile, all the Opposition parties also demanded a CBI probe into the death.

UNI

NE states seek central funding for educational infrastructure

Gangtok, May 31 : The north eastern states demanded central assistance for building schools and related infrastructure for proper implementation of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).

The lack of school buildings and related facilities in the villages of NE states have proved to be an impediment in the education of children in spite of the implementation of the SSA, Mizoram Education Minister R Lalthangliana, who presided over a meeting of the education ministers of the NE region, told reporters here.

The NE states are committed to universalisation of primary education and liberal funding by the Centre was required to implement SSA and other schemes.

Lalthangliana expressed satisfaction over the Centre agreeing to bear 90 per cent of the expenditure for implementing SSA in the 11th plan, keeping with the demand by the NE states.

He also stressed the need for good teachers and said that expenses on providing training to them should also be shared by the Centre in the proportion of 90:10.

There was need for strengthening the higher secondary education too - a fact agreed to by all the NE states, he said and suggested that NGOs be co-opted for spreading education.

Asked, he ruled out the impact of militancy and related activities on the academic activities or implementation of SSA in the NE states.

Meghalaya Education Minister Manas Choudhuri concurred with Lalthangliana and said the two issues were not related.

PTI

Bamboo bloom spells doom for Mizoram villages

Lawngtlai, May 31 : In an election year, Mizoram is facing its worst famine in years. Following a bamboo flowering phenomenon and an increase in rat population, there has been an acute shortage of food grains.

More than one lakh people go hungry everyday and many villages are surviving on one meal a day.

“My biggest worry is this famine which affects Mizoram and this year it’s the greatest problem I am facing. With the famine I face elections,” says Mizoram CM Zoramthanga

Part of the destruction has been caused by bamboo bloom with rats destroying entire crops, grain bins, fruits, even houses. Known as Mautam - which in Mizo means death of the bamboo – the phenomenon occurs every 48 years.

However, even prior knowledge does not help. “There is a desperate need for international agencies to give more relief. The government is doing its little bit. But only a little bit. There’s obviously a need for more relief. The government needs to move into these villages,” says Action Aid officer Mrinal Gohain.

Meet Phodoti. It’s an eight-hour walk for her to collect food. After much bargaining, she manages a sack of rice. She will now cross the forest, the river and then climb up to reach her village that borders Myanmar. Not a penny of Central or state funds reaches this corner that’s fighting hunger everyday.

Money was released to build roads under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act but they were never built

“We have no money to buy government ration. All our crops have been destroyed. We search for food everyday,” says Phodoti

With the onset of the monsoon will start landslides and villages bordering Myanmar and Bangladesh will be totally cut off, making things worse for people desperately short of food.

CNNIBN

Russia offers 200 MBBS seats for Mizo students

Aizawl, May 31 : With a view to strengthen bilateral relations with India, Russia has offered 200 MBBS seats for Mizoram.

This is a part of Indo-Russian Friendship Society’s endeavour to promote friendly cooperation, particularly in the field of education, Mizoram Higher and Technical Education Director Dr H L Malsawma said here today.

”Mizoram, because of its high literacy percentage, has been given this considerable number of quotas,” he said.

”We have the opportunity to send as many as 200 students to pursue MBBS in Russia provided there are required number of qualified students from here,” the director said.

Dr Malsawma, also chairman of the Indo-Russian Friendship Society in Mizoram, said the EDURUSSIA has been entrusted with undertaking educational concerns for study of various technical courses besides MBBS in Russian universities.

Moreover, the Russian-Asian Centre for University Services (RACUS) has been authorised by various governments to carry out admissions in various medical universities under the Russian government, he stated.

Meanwhile, Mizoram branch of Indian Medical Association has asked the people to be cautious while applying for the offered courses in Russia.

However, education director Malsawma reassured that there is no need to panic as the initiatives were taken at the government level of both the countries.

India and Russia had declared the year 2008 as ‘Year of Russia in India’ and 2009 as the ‘Year of India in Russia’ to strengthen the existing bilateral ties.

Commenting on the bilateral initiatives, former Russian president Vladimir Putin had stated that ‘relations between India and Russia were not based on short term expectations and political conditions and holding the year of Russia in India and India in Russia would open new horizons for bilateral cooperation’.

In his address early this year, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also said India and Russia were bound together by civilisational linkages and relation between the two countries was time tested and based on solid foundations.

UNI

PRISM demands fresh probe into pastor’s death

Initially, he was believed to have committed suicide, based on the statements of his wife and their maidservant. However, this theory raised doubts on the day itself.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT), however, could not find any evidence to support the homicide theory. The SIT report was submitted to the court on December 6, 2007.

Meanwhile, all the Opposition parties also demanded a CBI probe into the death.

UNI

Aizawl no longer a cool place

Aizawl, May 29 : With mercury rising rapidly, ice-cream sells like hot cakes in the sun-baked Aizawl city, which used to be one of the coolest places in the country, and the temperature recently shot up to an unprecedented 34 degrees celsius.

The principal scientific officer of the science and technology wing in the state planning department, Vanlalzara, said that the steep increase in temperature in Aizawl was because of a high rate of urbanisation and increased vehicular emission.

“The slash-and-burn system of cultivation and degradation of forests also contributed in fair measure to the temperature rise in the city,” he said.

However, C Ramhluna, principal chief conservator of forests of the state Environment and Forest department, begged to differ on the degradation of forets being the contributor.

“The forest cover in Mizoram is 88.63 per cent which is the highest among all the states of the country. It is also increasing every year,” he said.

He reasoned that fast urbanization and resultant pollution were the principal causes behind the rise in temperature.

PTI

Mizoram’s little masters want to cash in on IPL

Aizawl, May 29 : Mizoram’s cricket is like it’s morning weather, hidden in mist and rain. But on the ground, Mizoram’s little masters are looking ahead to sunny weather as cricket fever catches up with a state known for it’s passion for football.

Joshua, a member of the Durklnag Cricket Club, is only nine years old, but his passion for cricket is infectious.

He says his favourite IPL team is Mumbai Indians and his favourite cricketer is Sachin Tendulkar. And when asked what would he like to excel in if he becomes a cricketer, he says he is a fast bowler.

The captain of a team, Vawnlal Ruata, was busy passing on his skills. Once a member of the national cricket academy who played alongside Robin Utthapa, Ruata is keen to jump on to the IPL bandwagon.

“If they are ready to give me a contract definitely, I am ready even now. It’s a career for me personally and also good for Mizoram to have a player participating in IPL, ICL and a tremendous booster for northeastern states,” says he.

Cricket is spreading fast and deep in the hill state. The Cricket Association of Mizoram was formed in 1992 and with eight first division clubs and 24 second division clubs, it’s appealing to the BCCI for recognition.

At a time when everyones breathing T20, Mizoram is slowly but surely picking up its stance to face the rest of the country.

CNNIBN

India’s remote northeast region has been both blessed and cursed by its geography. The region is rich in natural resources but is landlocked and surrounded by China, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan, leaving it impoverished.

The eight-state region may finally get a chance to start living up to its economic potential with several projects to enhance

connections with Southeast Asia and to increase outlets for such commodities as organic foods, orchids, tea, coal and oil.

Now, the only way to move major quantities of goods between northeast India and Southeast Asia is through Bangladesh.

But authorities in Myanmar and India are nearing final approval of a $100-million river project giving northeast India direct access to the Indian Ocean through Myanmar, said Abhijit Barooah, chairman of the northeastern chapter of the Confederation of Indian Industry, India’s premier business association.

The project envisages facilitating movement of cargo from India’s Mizoram state to Myanmar’s port at Sittwe, via the Kaladan River.

In addition, talks have begun between companies in northeast India and Thailand after a trade-promotion conference in Bangkok in October, said Lemli Loyi, assistant general manager at the state-run North Eastern Development Finance Corp. Loyi expressed hope that the talks would result in increased business and possible joint ventures.

India first enunciated a “look east” policy, an economic and strategic orientation toward Southeast Asia, in 1992. It had its genesis at the end of the Cold War, after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Having lost the Soviet economic and political support on which it had relied, the Indian government embarked on a program of free-market restructuring at home and sought new markets and economic partners abroad.

Officials envisaged that the eight northeast states — Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and Mizoram — would emerge as a trading hub for two dynamic regions connected by a network of highways, railways, pipelines and transmission lines. The region is home to about 40 million people.

But progress has been slow. The region’s isolation dates to the 1800s.

“Nineteenth-century British colonial decisions to draw lines between the hills and the plains, to put barriers on trade between Bhutan and Assam, and to treat Burma as a buffer against French Indochina and China severed the region from its traditional trade routes — the southern trails of the Silk Road,” said Sanjib Baruah, a professor of political science at Bard College in New York and an expert on northeast India.

The British built railways and roads mostly to take tea, coal, oil and other resources out of Assam and into the rest of India and also to Europe.

The problems increased with the partitioning of India and Pakistan in 1947. Bangladesh broke away from Pakistan in the 1970s.

Barooah said trade would be boosted by an expected move by the Indian and Myanmar governments to expand the list of mostly agricultural commodities allowed to be traded by land between northeast India and Myanmar, from 27 to 42 items.

“The northeast is the closest land mass connecting the dynamic economies of south and Southeast Asia,” said Pradyut Bordoloi, Assam’s minister for power and industries. “Besides deep-rooted cultural linkages, we can reap multidimensional benefits in this era of regional economic cooperation.”

Bordoloi is closely associated with a campaign to reopen the World War II-era Stillwell Road, connecting Assam’s town of Ledo to southwest China.

“If reopened, this would be the shortest surface route to Yunnan province of China and other Southeast Asian countries hooking onto the trans-Asian highways,” he said.

The road served as the supply line into China during Japan’s wartime occupation, but it was shut after India’s independence from Britain in 1947.

Bordoloi said his campaign to reopen the road, initiated after he became a state legislator in 1998, scored a victory when India upgraded the road to a full-fledged national highway, developing it up to the Indo-Myanmar border.

Officials say infrastructure development, power, bamboo-based industries, orchids and organic foods are prospective areas of cooperation with Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand.

But significant hurdles remain, including concerns that booming trade relations may fuel rises in insurgency, narco-terrorism and AIDS, all of which plague the northeast. Security in the region is tight, with the army out in force to combat armed groups battling for greater autonomy or independence from India.

“The official restrictions that prevail in northeast India — in terms of travel, land and labor markets — are hardly conducive to intensive cross-border economic relations,” said Baruah, the political science professor.

“Both the reality of insurgencies in the region and the security anxiety of the government of India . . . are major obstacles to dynamic cross-border economic ties,” he added, calling current efforts hardly more than “a bare beginning.”

Also, Baruah said, it was difficult to imagine a big increase in trade given the political situation in military-led Myanmar.

India’s relations with China, a country it has long regarded with distrust since a 1962 border war, would also have to become much more relaxed, Baruah said.

LA Times

Indian Govt holds talks with NSCN-IM

New Delhi, May 29 : Amid clashes between rival Naga rebel groups, the Centre today held a meeting with NSCN-IM to carry forward the ongoing peace process in Nagaland.

The meeting discussed the proposals submitted by both sides to find out an early amicable solution to the six decade old insurgency problem in the northeastern state.

“The meeting was held to asses the proposals in order to find out a formula which is acceptable to both sides,” an NSCN-IM spokesman told the media.

The five-member Naga group was headed by senior NSCN- IM leader V S Atem while the government team was led by Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Home Ministry, M L Kumawat.

The meeting also took stock of the prevailing situation in Nagaland where at least 20 people were killed following clashes between NSCN-IM and newly formed faction NSCN (Unification) and expressed concern over it, sources said.

There were some hiccups in the peace process but both sides expressed optimism to overcome them and carry forward the peace process, they said.

The NSCN-IM agreed to a ceasefire with the Centre in August 1997. Initially the ceasefire was renewed for one year till July 2005 when the rebels insisted for a six month extension which was again extended for another six months in February 2006.

However, in the talks held in Bangkok in July 2006, both sides have agreed to extend the true for one more year. Last July, at a meeting held in Dimapur, both sides agreed to extend the ceasefire for indefinite period. The two side have held numerous rounds of talks within India and abroad since 1997.

PTI

Cell phones ban in schools

Shillong, May 28 : The Meghalaya government has banned the use of mobile phones and consumption of tobacco in all educational institutions of the state. Official sources said here today that a notification, banning use of cell phones and consumption of all kinds of tobacco products in educational institutions, had been issued to all the heads of schools and colleges in the state.

The decision was taken after the consensus that it was improper to allow the use of cell phones inside classrooms as it could affect the concentration of students. The intake of all kinds of intoxicants inside schools and colleges was also prohibited as it is injurious to health.

The step to infuse a sense of discipline among the students was also taken.

UNI

Call to check trafficking

Shillong, May 28 : Human trafficking is a $ 9million business per year and the same amount of money is spent on the detection and rehabilitation of the victims by various governments, says a United Nations report.

Despite the efforts, trafficking of women and children is on the rise and the Northeast corner of the country is no different.

The chief of Women’s Rights and Human Security Unity, United Nations Development Fund for Women, Delhi, Archana Tamang, today called for better co-ordination between police and NGOs for effective detection of such cases.

Addressing a meeting, organised by Impulse, an NGO, for law enforcement agencies, the state social welfare department and NGOs at the police headquarters here, Tamang said the number of victims rescued was much less than those trafficked and co-ordination was essential to detect the cases.

The commissioner and secretary of Meghalaya social welfare department, A. Bhalla, said several cases of trafficking went unreported. Officials of the department admitted that the exact number of victims of human trafficking from the state was yet to be ascertained. They said the department would carry out a survey with the help of Indian Council of Social Science and Research from June.

The officials also promised to look into the demand for setting up a home for trafficked women and children and stressed the need to launch an awareness programme and activate the existing anti-trafficking committee.

East Khasi Hills superintendent of police A.R. Mawthoh pointed out several loopholes in the Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act.

He advocated stringent punitive action and bail provisions and women judge to look into the cases.

Telegraph India

NSCN leaders break 20-yr ice

Kohima, May 28 : It’s been exactly 20 years since they spoke to each other.

After his talks invitation to his rival group’s chairman, S.S. Khaplang’s deputy went unanswered and even the Church’s efforts at unification fell flat, NSCN (I-M) chairman Isak Chishi Swu went that extra mile and called up his former comrade in the undivided NSCN to talk peace.

Sources told The Telegraph that Swu spoke to Khaplang to accelerate the reconciliation and unification process between the Naga militant outfits.

This is for the first time since the split in the NSCN in 1988 that the two top militant leaders from the rival groups had a conversation. The talks come in wake of rising factional clashes in Nagaland.

Before the conversation with Khaplang, Swu had invited the NSCN (K) army chief Khole Konyak to Bangkok. The apex Naga tribal body, the Naga Hoho, too, confirmed the telephone conversation between the two leaders.

Kevilietuo Angami, vice-president of Naga Hoho, said there were at least two telephone conversations between Swu and Khaplang. He said the NSCN (I-M) chairman had called up Khaplang from Chingmai in Thailand, recently.

Sources said Khaplang was eager to push forward the ongoing reconciliation and unification process between the two NSCN factions. “There were at least two telephone conversations,” a source said, adding that Khaplang had even agreed to attend the recently concluded Chingmai Naga conclave sponsored by the Naga Reconciliation Forum but was prevented from doing so because of “differences” in his own group.

However, sources said contact between the top leaders of the two factions would continue. The Chingmai Naga reconciliation conclave was also attended by several foreign organisations from the US and the Philippines to broker peace and unity among the warring Naga groups.

Representatives of various Naga organisations also attended the meeting.

Recently, a senior kilonser (minister) of the NSCN (K), Kughalu Mulatonu, said there was no point going to Thailand to attend the reconciliation meeting as the Nagas were already united.

He also criticised the “reconciliation forum” of trying to help Muivah escape from India.

The NSCN (I-M), however, skipped today’s meeting of Naga organisations and factions held in Kohima under the aegis of the Joint Forum of gaonburas (village chiefs) and dubashis (chiefs of Naga customary courts).

The joint forum has called for a yearlong ceasefire between the Naga factions with immediate effect. At a similar meeting on December 7, the factions, in the presence of gaonburas and dubashis, agreed to a six-month truce but failed to keep their commitment.

Today’s meeting was attended by gaonburas and dubashis of all the 11 districts and representatives of Naga Hoho, Naga Mothers’ Association and Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation.

Quoting NSCN (I-M) members, a senior official from the joint forum said the outfit skipped the meet because of a prior commitment but agreed to abide by whatever decision was taken today.

Telegraph India

Aiyer to survey famine-affected areas

Imphal, May 29 : The Sinlung Indigenous Peoples’ Human Rights Organisation(SIPHRO) of Manipur today announced that DoNER Minister Mani Shankar Aiyer has promised to visit Tipaimukh in June to take stock of the famine-affected areas of the state.

Making this statement, the organisation’s Secretary Lalremlien Neitham said, ”The members of SIPHRO yesterday appraised the Minister in New Delhi of the acute food scarcity and spread of epidemics in Tipaimukh sub-division under Churachandpur district of Manipur due to bamboo flowering.

Bamboo flowering recurs every 48-50 years and due to its recent recurrence, the sub-division is suffering under acute famine conditions and epidemics. About 50 people, mostly infants, have died due to an unknown disease. The Manipur government had sent doctors to the affected area, but they could not reach the remote villages, which were the most affected by the disease.

As a result, the worst-hit villages were cut-off from medical attention and left to fend for themselves, the organisation claimed. The Muli bamboo species that started flowering again from 2006 has resulted in rapid multiplication of pests like rodents, insects and wild animals.

”These animals destroyed the crops and rendered the self-reliant ”jhum” farmers without any harvest,” the organisation members said and added that this made famine inevitable and the agrarian population, who were totally dependent on their jhum fields, lost their livelihood.

Discussing the spread of famine in the region, the secretary said that Tipaimukh is one of the epicentres of the natural phenomenon and there were no Public Distribution System (PDS), godowns, or Village Grain Banks, where the farmers could have stored their produce safely. ”Even National Highway 150 that passes through the sub-division has not been maintained for more than 20 years,” he alleged. ”In the face of this situation, AAY and BPL rice were being sold at as high as Rs 18 in some villages and for Rs 21 and Rs 25 in other far-flung villages,” he alleged.

UNI

KNF decries Govt’s attitude on SoO

Imphal, May 29 : Expressing concern over the conduct of the State Government of Manipur and its security agencies toward resolution of the longstanding political problem of Kuki community, Kuki National Front (KNF) has alleged that the Government of Manipur has been dragging its foot over the ceasefire initiated by the Government of India with the Kuki insurgent groups.

In a statement, information and publicity secretary of KNF LH Stephen said that the attitude of the Government of Manipur toward the Kuki community and Kuki insurgent groups is very disappointing.

Contrary to the positive step initiated by the Government of India toward resolution of the long standing political problem of Kuki community through signing of ceasefire agreement with Kuki UG outfits so as to create conducive atmosphere for peaceful negotiation, the Government of Manipur and its security agencies have been carrying out all sort of atrocities against the Kuki community.

Such action would not encourage any insurgents to come forward to the negotiating table, Stephen said.

Condemning the alleged cold blooded killing of KNF defence secretary Mangboi hours after he had gone to attend a meeting with the Indian Army Authorities at Leimakhong to discuss the issues related to SoO, Stephen said that such action would hardly create trust or lead Manipur to the path of peace.

The Government of Manipur must realise that the spirit and aspiration of the Kukis to establish a separate State and safeguard the interest of the Kukis cannot be crushed with military might.

Cruelty and violence will breed moire violence and without peace, there cannot be any form of progress and development in the land, Stephen observed.

He further pointed out that if the Government of Manipur wants peace and development in Manipur, it must be sincere in its efforts and be realistic in its approach.

The Government of Manipur should also shun away from its policy of discrmination and differientiation in its dealing along with realisation that it is only through peaceful negotiation, respect for every communities’ political, economic and human rights and freedom of choice, not through brute force or suppression by military might that a long lasting peace can be achieved.

TSE

Guwahati to have NE’s first biotech park

Guwahati, May 29 : To boost growth and development of indigenous technology and their absorption by the industrial sector, the State Government has come forward to set up a Biotech Park in the capital city, which would be the first such endeavour in the North East. The Guwahati Biotech Park, whose preliminary work is going on, would be taking research activities in the area of biotechnology to a new high apart from adding a touch of dynamism to the overall aspect of science and technology.

When contacted, BC Barbaruah, Joint Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Government of Assam informed that the Guwahati Biotech Park Society has been formed comprising experts in the field.

It may be mentioned here that as part of Government of India’s ambitious programme to promote newer developments in the field of bio-technology, emphasis is on establishing biotech parks and incubators in the country which are expected to become selfsustainable. Like the existing biotech parks in the country, the Guwahati Biotech Park is expected to thrive after the initial support from the State Government.

“The venture would be on a public-private partnership,” said the official adding that discussion was on with all the stakeholders including the universities and technical institutions in the State.

The existing biotech parks in the country have facilitated research and development simultaneously, leading to commercialisation of indigenous biotech products. The facilities in the biotech parks are customized in keeping with the business plan and objectives of the executing agencies and the Guwahati Biotech Park would be no different, concentrating on the major bio assets of the State which can change its economy.

“Assam is rich in biotech resources and there is lot of opportunities in the field of biotechnology,” said the official adding that there has been impressive employment generation on subsequent stages in the places where biotech parks have come up.

Cracker project on track

Dibrugarh, May 29 : The Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Ltd (BCPL) today said the gas cracker project was on track and that it would be completed within the stipulated timeframe.

The chairman and managing director of BCPL, U.D. Choubey, today told the media that a major portion of land required for the project have already been acquired.

Of the 3,030 bighas earmarked for the project, the Dibrugarh district administration has handed over most of the land to the BCPL, barring a 300-bigha-plot.

“We expect that the remaining minor portion of land, which in no way is hampering construction activities at the project, would be handed over to us by the local administration within a very short period of time,” Choubey added.

“We have also obtained necessary environmental clearance from both the central and the state government agencies. Most important, the agreements for supply of feedstock from Oil India Ltd, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd and the Numaligarh Refinery Ltd are already in place and, therefore, there should not be any doubt about the project being delayed,” he said. He kicked off the fencing work on the project site.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had laid the foundation stone for the project at Lepetkata in Dibrugarh district on April 9 last year.

Dibrugarh additional deputy commissioner Nareswar Upadhaya said the administration had made provisions for rehabilitation of 66 families displaced by the project.

Compensation of around Rs 47 crore had been disbursed till now.

Telegraph India

Dibrugarh varsity lures NE students

Dibrugarh, May 28 : For students in the northeast who often migrate outside their home state for better education, here’s some good news. Assam’s Dibrugarh university is planning a number of job-oriented courses, including one in nanotechnology and a flying course for commercial pilots.

The university has been given a grant of Rs.146 million for infrastructure development by the 12th Finance Commission, said Vice Chancellor K.K. Deka.

“Besides upgrading the existing infrastructure, we plan to add an IT building and a core engineering building with the grant. Also, we plan to develop infrastructure for clinical research, for biotechnology and nanotechnology,” Deka told IANS. “Hopefully, the work should be completed in two years,” he added.

Dibrugarh University, which was established in 1965, is one of the premier universities of the state, attracting students from not only Assam but some neighbouring states also.

“Because of lack of proper infrastructure, many students of Assam, and indeed the northeast, leave their home states for higher studies outside. With the development that we have undertaken, we should hopefully be able to address this issue,” Deka said.

Some of the other courses which the university plans to start are bachelors in electronic and communication engineering, material sciences and nanotechnology and one in performing arts too. The university will be one of the few in the country to offer a course in actuarial sciences, where mathematical and statistical methods are applied for risk assessment in the insurance and finance sectors.

“What we are concentrating on is quality, job-oriented courses to the students. In recognition of the demand for professionals in the tea industry, which is of utmost importance in Assam, we started a postgraduate diploma in tea technology and plantation management last year. And it has got a very good response,” he said. Deka, although upbeat about the developments taking place, feels that changing the mindset of the people will be crucial.

“You can’t have quality, job- oriented courses for subsidised rates. A student won’t mind spending heavily on courses in institutions outside Assam, but here they are just not ready to do so,” he said. The university recently introduced a range of subjects - computers, petroleum technology and management to mass communication, journalism, rural development and women’s writings.

Rashmi Borah, a student of the university doing her bachelors in education, said the initiatives would help in attracting students.

“After school, most of the students here either go to Guwahati for their higher studies or outside the northeast itself. But with so many courses and all very job-oriented, I am sure most students will now rethink their decision to leave the state.

“The course in tea management especially is very good. It addresses the need of one of the most important industries of the state,” she said.

IANS

History for Manipur as army team scales Mt Everest

A Manipuri has scaled the Mt Everest for the first time, making history for the tiny and strife-torn state.

Nongmaithem Suraj Singh, who hails from Palace Compound of the state's Imphal East district, was part of the army team christened "Snow Lion," which scaled the peak last Thursday.

Thirty-five-year-old Suraj, son of late N Jamini Singh and late Nongmaithem ongbi Khumanleima, is a Central government employee and posted in Sikkim.

All 10 members of the team, including two women, made it to the summit at 7.10 am on May 22. They safely returned to the base camp in Nepal yesterday afternoon.

"We climbed from the Nepal side and it was a wonderful experience to be on the top of the highest point on the planet," Suraj said briefly from the base camp.

An earlier attempt by a Manipuri climber, G Anita Devi on May 5, 1993, was beaten by harsh weather conditions. Anita was just 72 m short of reaching the summit.

Nepal had restricted climbing from May 1 to 9 to prevent the disruption of the torch relay as per China's request ahead of the Beijing Olympics.

Since it was first conquered by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953, Mt Everest has been ascended at least 3,000 times.

Lok Sabha Speaker to inaugurate NERCP at Aizwal

Aizawl, May 26 : Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman K Rahman Khan are to arrive in Aizwal tomorrow to attend the 11th North East Region Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (NERCP).

Mr Chatterjee will inaugurate the conference at the state Legislative Assembly hall. He will be accompanied by Lok Sabha Secretary General PDT Achary and Rajya Sabha Secretary General Dr V K Agnihotri. The conference will last till 30th of this month.
Mizoram Assembly Speaker Lalchamliana said the NERCPA had been established in tune with the CPA formed by former colonies of the British Empire. Speakers, Deputy Speakers and MLAs each, besides concerned officials from the Northeastern states, were expected to attend the conference .This is the second time that Mizoram will host the conference,the first being in 1998.

Anthurium flowers give hope to Mizo famine

Aizawl, May 26 : If bamboo flowers and the related rodent multiplication have brought about catastrophic famine in Mizoram, the Anthurium flower is the hope of Mizo farmers to uplift their economic condition. The state horticulture department had introduced anthurium in Mizoram in 2002 for commercial cultivation under the Technology Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture in the NE states.

”The first consignment sold to neighbouring states was dispatched in October 2003, 11 months after sowing the seeds, which proved that the state had the ideal climatic conditions for the flower,” Horticulture Director Samuel Rosanglura said. Now, with its moderate climate has become the largest anthurium producer with the state-produced best quality anthurium in high demand both in the country and abroad.

”The month of June sees anthurium at its peak. Our monthly export is likely to increase to 1,00,000 cut flowers during June,” Zo-Anthurium Growers’ Society secretary Lalhmangaihi told UNI here yesterday. She also informed that about half of the total anthurium flowers produced in Mizoram were consumed in the state and the metropolitan cities, including Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi.

”Dubai is the biggest destination of Mizoram’s anthurium and the exporters are now eyeing New Zealand and Australia. However, the main problem is that we are yet unable to meet the demand within India and abroad,” Lalhmangaihi said. Presently, more than 70 varieties of anthurium were cultivated and more than 400 growers were engaged in it, the Horticulture director said, adding that under the technology mission programme more areas were being covered to be able to meet the global market’s demand.

The export of anthurium was being undertaken by the Bangalore-based Zopar Export Limited. Official sources said the monthly income of an anthurium-grower varies from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000. ”This venture has not only brought about a change in the horticulture scenario of the state, but also uplifted the living standard of the farmers,” he said and attributed the success to the cordial relations between the department and the growers.

To promote anthurium flowers among Mizo farmers and attract tourists, the state horticulture and tourism departments initiated a colourful Anthurium Festival a few years ago. Under the sponsorship of the Centre, the state is gearing up for another Anthurium Festival, scheduled on June 20 and 21. ”The Anthurium festival-cum-exhibition aims at promoting the market-friendly flower and attracting tourists to the scenic beauties of Mizoram,” the officials said.

The festival would also serve as an exhibition for various local products — fruits, vegetables, handloom and handicrafts. The organisers hoped that large number of tourists would be attracted by this year’s Anthurium Festival. Following the gregarious bamboo flowering and its related boom in rats’ population last year, rural Mizoram is reeling under acute rice shortage. In the wake of the famine, the Congress slammed the state government for organising such an ”extravagant” festival. The party further alleged that the anthurium flower did not benefit the rural poor, but only the rich people in the urban areas.

UNI

Cong soul-search after ‘bad defeat’

Shillong, May 27 : A day after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate Agatha K. Sangma won the Tura bypoll by a resounding margin, a dejected, despondent Congress admitted that it was indeed a “bad defeat” and “unexpected”.

With Lok Sabha elections only a few months away, the Congress is worried that the party might not win both the seats — Shillong and Tura — in the present state of affairs.

Senior Congress leader and Union tribal affairs minister P.R. Kyndiah is currently representing Shillong Lok Sabha constituency.

Meghalaya PCC president O.L. Nongtdu today said the party expected over a lakh votes for the Congress candidate, Zentih Sangma, the brother of senior Congress leader Mukul Sangma.

“It was a bad defeat for us and we never expected this,” Nongtdu said.

The party also did not expect that the candidate would be defeated in his Rangsakona constituency. In the just concluded Assembly elections, too, the NCP’s Adolf Hitler Marak defeated Zenith, a former minister.

Of the total 24 Assembly segments, the Congress candidate could perform better than Agatha only in three constituencies, the plain areas of Rajabala and Mahendraganj, besides Ampati which is Mukul Sangma’s constituency. Though the Congress had raked up the Meghalaya Board of School Education issue and dynasty politics, those could not influence the voters.

The Congress will meet soon to assess what went wrong, Nongtdu added.

According to the NCP and other alliance partners in the Meghalaya Progressive Alliance (MPA), the victory of the NCP candidate would further strengthen the unity of the party.

After a thin margin of only one vote secured by the MPA candidate Sanbor Shullai in the election to the deputy Speaker’s post, Mukul Sangma had predicted that the government would fall within two months.

However, playing down the comments of Sangma, president of the NCP’s Meghalaya unit, W.R. Kharluki, said MPA was committed to complete the full five-year term. He also said the victory had brought more unity to the MPA and the dream of the Congress to form a government in the state would never be fulfilled in this term.

Telegraph India

Tripura tribals taking up rubber cultivation

Agartala, May 26 : Septuagenarian Kripasadhan Chakma, a landless tribal living in remote Tabidapara of Tripura’s South district is not a worried man today as he is now earning a living from his own rubber garden with the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council coming to his aid.

Tabidapara is a picturesque tribal hamlet on a hill surrounded by forests, hit by acute food crisis and no jobs.

“I only had a hut on khas (government land) land to live on and sometimes worked in other people’s fields. We faced poverty and food scarcity every day. But those days are gone with work available in rubber gardens,” Kripasadhan, a resident of a village under Karbuk block, said.

“Now I work in my own garden and get wages from the tribal council,” he said.

The TTAADC is motivating the hill people to settle down in rubber cultivation. The council has provided each family one hectare of land and paying wages at the rate of Rs 87 per day for developing the garden which would continue for seven years,” said Development Officer of the Council, Ratnajit Debbarma.

Debbarma said, seven years from now the rubber trees would start producing latex which could be sold in markets at a high price and one hectare of land would earn about Rs 5,000 per month which would gradually rise to Rs 12,000 per month.

After twenty five years the rubber trees, numbering about 400, could be sold at Rs 4 lakh, while with an investment of Rs 1,50,000 a new garden could be prepared.

The State Forest department introduced rubber in Tripura as a part of afforestation in 1963. The first rehabilitation scheme for tribal shifting cultivators or ‘jhumias’ began in 1977 and at present over 12,000 families were resettled in different rubber plantation schemes.

PTI

Sangma’s daughter wins Tura Lok Sabha seat

Tura, May 25 : Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate Agatha Kongkal Sangma won the Tura parliamentary by-election in Meghalaya Sunday by a record margin, crushing Zenith Sangma of the Congress. An election official said the NCP candidate, daughter of former Lok Sabha speaker Purno Sangma, won by a margin of 181,760 votes.

“I am very happy and thank the people for their overwhelming support. I am committed to keeping my poll promises of working towards the overall development of the region,” Agatha told IANS after her victory.

Elections were held Thursday with an estimated 65 percent of the total 400,000 eligible voters exercising their franchise.

The Tura seat fell vacant after nine-time MP Purno Agitok Sangma resigned as MP to contest the Meghalaya assembly election earlier this year. Agatha is the youngest daughter of the veteran parliamentarian.

With Agatha’s win, the entire family of Sangma, barring her mother, is in politics.

The senior Sangma launched his two sons - Conrad and James - into politics earlier this year. The two brothers contested the assembly elections as NCP candidates.

Both won. Conrad is now a cabinet minister in charge of finance, tourism, power and a few other departments. James is the parliamentary secretary for home.

The senior Sangma, after winning the Tura assembly seat, is now the chairman of the Meghalaya Planning Board although he is literally the de facto chief minister of the state.

The only person not interested in active politics is Sangma’s wife.

Tura, dominated by the Garo tribe to which he belongs, has been Sangma’s bastion. It has elected him to parliament nine times since 1977 and twice to the state assembly.

Agatha is a lawyer by profession and was practicing in New Delhi before she was initiated into politics. She is also a Masters in Environmental Management from School of Geography, Nottingham University, Britain.

Prior to the assembly elections in March, the senior Sangma decided to quit national politics.

Sangma left state politics 22 years ago but made a mark nationally by getting elected to the Lok Sabha as many as nine times from Tura.

He was earlier Meghalaya’s chief minister on two occasions before being toppled by a political veteran. He became nationally well known after being the Lok Sabha speaker.

IANS

Doctors under rebel fire in Manipur

Imphal, May 27 : After security forces and politicians, doctors are on the firing line of separatist rebels in northeastern India’s Manipur state, affecting healthcare in the area bordering Myanmar, hospital authorities said Tuesday. The Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), the state’s best-known speciality healthcare facility, has been closed since Monday doctors and paramedics refusing to work after a bomb explosion within its premises late Sunday.

The bomb attack, set off by a timer device, was carried out by the Kangleipak Communist Party-Military Council (KCP), one of Manipur’s 17 or more active insurgent groups. There was no casualty. The KCP has since claimed responsibility for the attack but gave no reason for hitting out at a medical facility.

The RIMS staff had staged a sit-in Monday to protest the attack.

“Doctors and nurses will attend to the in-house patients but not admit fresh patients during the strike,” RIMS Medical Superintendent Y. Mohen Singh said. RIMS authorities have decided to perform only emergence life-saving surgeries.

The blast took place near the Institute’s Microbiology department which is close to the director’s office.

RIMS sources said a caller identifying himself as a KCP member made an extortion demand a week ago. RIMS authorities would not confirm this immediately.

Only last fortnight, Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss, who became the country’s first health minister to visit Manipur in 30 years, had said: “I promise to make RIMS the best in the region and one of the best in the country in two to three years.”

Ramadoss also announced free treatment at RIMS for people living below the poverty line. The minister said MBBS seats at the institute would be increased from 100 to 150 this year and a 100-bed fully-equipped cancer centre would be set up at RIMS.

However, morale among the institute staf has dropped precipitiously since the bomb attack.

IANS

RIMS blast strongly condemned

Imphal, May 27 : In protest against the last evening’s bomb blast at RIMS, the functioning of the OPD, Casualty and Operation Theatre of the hospital has been suspended for three days with effect from today.

However, all indoor health care services and emergency operations shall not be affected during this period.
Meanwhile, Director of RIMS Prof L Fimate, while decrying the bomb attack which come at a time when efforts are being made by the Centre to develop RIMS as unfortunate, has urged all the social organisations in the State to raise their voice to ensure against such violence incidents do not recur.

Condemning the incident, a joint meeting of the Head of Departments, president and secretaries of Teachers and Medical Officers’ Associations, Junior Doctors’ Association, Non-Teaching Employees’ Welfare Association, Trained Nurses Association of India, RIMS Branch and RIMS Students’ Union held at the conference hall of the medical institute in the morning today has decided to suspend the OPD and Casualty services for period of three days with effect from today.

All the indoor health care services and emergency operations, however, shall be continued unaffected and Casualty shall re-open on May 29 at 8 am.

The meeting also decided that all classes shall be cancelled during the period, however, the examinations shall remain unaffected.

Furthermore, the meeting decided to submit a memorandum to the RIMS authority to improve security chain and also to restrict vehicle entry for patient party inside the campus and issue an appeal to all underground organisations operating in Manipur to make RIMS a ‘free zone’ and to refrain from repeating such act of violence in future in the larger interest of patients, staff and students.

After the meeting, a relay protest demonstration led by the Director of the Institute has also begun from today.

Placards with slogans like ‘Bomb attack in Hospital is an act of terrorism’, ‘Don’t carry out terrorist activities inside Hospital area’ ‘We condemn bomb blast inside RIMS compound’ etc were seen being put at the site of the protest demonstration.

Talking to The Sangai Express in connection with the bomb attack, Director of RIMS Prof L Fimate said that the bomb attack which come at a time when the Centre has been paying serious attention for development of RIMS was very unfortunate as it may give out wrong signal.

So, all the social organisations in the State should raise their voice so that no such violent incident do not recur in the future.

Pointing out that even in times of war, hospitals are spared, the Director urged all concerned to refrain from attacking RIMS.

TSE

Bomb Blast at RIMS, KCP (MC) accuses, Dr Fimate rubbishes

Imphal, May 27 : Stating that the last night’s bomb attack near the office of RIMS Director Dr Fimate was carried out by the 5th Laljaba Unit Demo special team of KCP (MC) under the instruction of its Central Security Council, secretary military affairs of the outfit Lanheiba Meitei has explained that the attack was carried out as part of KCP (MC) ‘Amotpa Sengdongpa Operation’.

In a statement, Lanheiba Meitei appealed to the people not to be taken aback by the attack at a hospital as it was not directed on the premier medical institute as such but to teach a lesson as a last warning to Dr Fimate, Medical Superintendent Dr Mohan and their cronies who have indulging in corrupt practices, thereby belittling the noble profession of doctors.

The attack was in no way related to activities of RIMS or the contract works, Lanheiba asserted.

However, on the other hand, RIMS Director Dr Fimate has categorically refuted the charges levelled against him by KCP (MC) as ‘concocted and baseless’.

‘It is nothing but character assassination and defamation’, Dr Fimate said, adding that interested persons may confirm the truth of the matter from the candidates concerned.

Dr Fimate felt that KCP (MC) has come up with such false charges as RIMS authority has turned down its monetary demand.

Levelling a series of charges, Lanheiba said in the recent appointment to the posts of attendant and nurse, Dr Fimate had taken Rs 10 to 3 lakhs from each of the candidates besides Rs 8 lakhs from one Dr Ranjana (Microbiologist) and Rs 7 lakhs from one Dr Pratima (Gynaecologist) for the post of Senior Resident Doctors.

Rs 10 lakhs had also been taken from one Dr Romeo (Medicine) for promotion to Assistant Professor.

Because of such corrupt practices, Senior Dr Sudha, who cannot grease the palm of Dr Fimate had to take voluntary retirement from RIMS.

Moreover, Dr Ibomcha, one of the most qualified doctors, had been sidelined from an interview recently in favour of an ST candidate who is nonspecialist MBBS citing ST quota for the selection.

If the seat was reserved for ST quota, then interview fee should not have been charged from the general candidates and allowed them to participate in the interview in the first place, Lanheiba reasoned.

On top of this, without displaying the list of the panel on the notice board, various appointments are being made on the sly, Lanheiba said, citing reinstatement of one Dr James who was under suspension in Gynaecology Department and appointment of five MBBS doctors whose names were not even featured in the waiting list in the Anaesthesiology Department of RIMS, Lanheiba alleged, warning that KCP (MC) would not spare Dr Fimate and his corrupt cronies even if they were dying on their sick beds.

TSE

Probe into NC Hills anomalies

Guwahati, May 27 : The Assam cabinet today constituted a one-man inquiry commission to probe the alleged corruption and financial anomalies in the ASDC-BJP led North Cachar Hills Autonomous District Council.

Government spokesperson and health and family welfare minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently said Raj Bhavan had brought to the notice of the state government how funds were diverted by the council to help DHD (J) rebels.

Justice (retd) R.K. Manisena Singh has been asked to probe the charge. Sources said the commission has been given two months to wrap up the probe. Singh was earlier entrusted with the job of probing the violence that broke out during an Adivasi rally at Beltola last year.

At a marathon meeting tonight, the cabinet also approved the modalities prepared by the cabinet sub-committee headed by Bhumidhar Barman to update the National Register of Citizens.

It also cleared the decks for giving cabinet status to Bhupen Hazarika and Vaishnavite scholar Sonaram Chutia.

In another development, Dispur tonight dissolved the elected council body of the Guwahati Municipal Corporation following advice from advocate general A.K. Phookan.

Sources said the decision was taken since the term of the sitting mayor, Dolly Bora, expired on May 22. Besides, 27 of the 54 councillors have already resigned.

Telegraph India

ULFA recruiting Bangladeshis, rebel arrested

Shillong, May 26 : The recruitment of Bangladeshi nationals by the outlawed ULFA came to light on Monday with the BSF arresting an ultra, a native of the neighbouring country, from Meghalaya.

Troops of the BSF’s 35 battalion nabbed Parameshwar Chandra Kotch near the Chandabui outpost in Meghalaya’s West Garo Hills district today.

A resident of Sherpur district in Bangladesh, Kotch has been working for the ULFA since 2001 under the direct guidance of ULFA leader Ranju Chowdhury at the Baragajni camp of the group in Bangladesh, the BSF quoted Kotch as saying during investigation.

Kotch said he used to collect information for the ULFA from the Indo-Bangla border areas.

The BSF claims that Kotch was instrumental in recruiting youths of Meghalaya and Assam into the outfit.

He has ferried youths in groups of three-four at least 15-20 times from Assam and Meghalaya to the rebel camps of Bangladesh, he said during investigation.

The arrest comes in the backdrop of India pressing on the neighbouring country to dismantle the ULFA camps working in its territory and flush out the militants. Dhaka has been denying about the presence of Indian militants in its territory.

Agencies

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