north east online - north east india news: Apr 2, 2008

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Assam House decries rise in women trafficking from NE

Guwhati, Apr 2 : The issue of women trafficking from the Northeast, which is assuming alarming proportions over the years, was today discussed in the Assam Legislative Assembly, with the Government pledging action against anyone involved in it.

AGP MLA Sushilla Hazarika, citing a report published earlier on March 28, raised the issue during the Zero Hour. Cutting across party lines, Hazarika was backed by a number of women MLAs, including Deputy Speaker Pranati Phukan.

State Cabinet Minister Rockybul Hussain, replying on behalf of the Government, informed the House of tough stand taken against women traffickers. Hussain requested the MLAs to inform the police if they find any such cases in their respective constituencies. “We have instructed the SPs to immediately arrest persons involved in such immoral trafficking,” he said, and added: “All district administrations have already been instructed to set up women’s cells and some of the districts have already set them up.”
Against 150 trafficking cases registered between 2001 and 2007 in the State, he said 411 people were arrested and charge sheets filed in 48 cases. Investigations are pending in 82 cases, he added.

Molestation and harassment of North-east students, especially the girls in metropolitan cities, also figured in the discussion, with the minister informing that a DIG was appointed in New Delhi to deal with such cases.

Taking part in the discussion, AGP MLA Alaka Sarma said: “In our recent visit to a jail in the State, we found some undertrials who were arrested for their involvement in women trafficking. They (the undertrials) told us that the Government only arrests them, but for reasons best known to it, the “big bosses”, who are operating the immoral trade from behind the scene, are allowed to go scot-free. So we appeal to the Government to book those who operate flesh trade from behind the scene so as to put an end to the menace.”

Kamali Narzary of the BPF said: “Some people also lure innocent girls from remote areas promising them lucrative jobs, but put them in immoral trade. It is unfortunate that some women are also involved in the racket. Without mass awareness, the menace can’t be checked.”

Deputy Speaker Phukan, participating in the deliberations, highlighted the economic plight and illiteracy of the womenfolk as a major reason for exploitation. She added that women were victims of not only trafficking but also domestic violence. Though legislations are in place to protect them, illiteracy is a major hindrance, she added.

Others who spoke on the issue included Congress MLA Malaya Barman and BPF MLA Kamal Singh Narzary.

Hussain pledged strict action against anyone found involved in human trafficking, including any “prominent and powerful’’ persons. He said a special women’s police station has already been set up in Guwahati, and the CID also has a women’s cell to deal with such issues.

Here, Army fight rodents too

Imphal, Apr 2 : Alongside fighting a dozen insurgent groups in Manipur, Indian Army has just finished its successful campaign here against an unknown enemy - a band of rodents.

“The Army was called in to fight the rat menace in Henglep and Thingat subdivisions of Churachandpur district in Manipur,” said Group Captain R K Das, Army’s spokesman in Eastern Command.

These subdivisions along with other areas in Churachandpur were worst hit by rodents as a result of Mautam, an ecological event of bamboo flowering that happens every 48 years.

The situation became so acute that soldiers posted in the area to combat insurgency were called in to kill rats.

“Army personnel also held educational classes at the affected subdivisions to teach villagers how to eradicate rats,” Captain Das said.

The Manipur government requested Army and Assam Rifles personnel to escort vehicles carrying foodgrains to be distributed in the interior villages of militant-prone areas here, the spokesman said.

PTI

Safety net for women from Northeast in Delhi

Guwahati, Apr 2 : A police officer of the rank of deputy inspector-general will be posted in the capital to deal exclusively with cases of harassment and molestation of women from the Northeast who work or study there.

Forest minister Rockybul Hussain made the announcement during a Zero Hour discussion in the Assembly here today on trafficking of women.

When Alaka Sarma of the AGP asked whether the government had done anything to prevent molestation and harassment of women, particularly students from the region studying in Delhi, Hussain said it was an issue that had been addressed. “You will all be glad to know that a move is on to appoint a special DIG-level officer to address their security concerns. The state is concerned about the issue.”

The minister did not specify who would make the appointment but a source in the chief minister’s office said the Delhi government was most likely to choose the officer. “We do not have details but since the minister has said this in the Assembly, something is definitely on.”

A West Delhi police booklet titled Security Tips for Northeast Students/Visitors in Delhi, published last year, caused a stir with its patronising and mildly racist tone.

Sarma said after the day’s proceedings that the appointment of a senior police officer specifically to look into complaints of abuse of women from the region was long overdue.

Participating in the House discussion, she had suggested constituting a team of women legislators and home ministers of the northeastern states to work out a strategy to check trafficking.

The government said all legislators should be vigilant against trafficking in their constituencies and inform the nearest police station about any person/organisation suspected to be involved in such activity. “It is a good sign that the issue is being discussed in the House. This development itself should be enough for those involved (in the racket) not to continue trafficking. I request all of you to remain vigilant and inform the police, who will deal with an offender firmly, irrespective of how influential he or she is,” Hussain said.

Attributing the high incidence of trafficking to the socio-economic condition of the victims, the minister said the superintendents of police of all districts had each been asked to open a women’s cell.

“We are also organising awareness rallies. Intelligence agencies of the government, in association with NGOs, are identifying, rescuing and rehabilitating victims. Trafficking involves luring the victims with the promise of jobs or marriage, besides coercion. We have arrested quite a few people under the Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act. But the problem necessitates a multi-pronged approach given the issues involved,” he added.

Official statistics show a steep rise in the number of trafficking cases since 2001. While only six cases were registered and as many persons arrested that year, the numbers swelled to 23 cases and 52 arrests in 2007. The highest number of cases, 28, was registered in 2004. As many as 82 people were arrested.

Central team in Mizoram for ground reality on mautam effects

Aizawl, Apr 2 : An inter-ministerial team, led by central agriculture joint secretary Pankaj Kumar, is currently touring Mizoram’s countryside to study the ground reality of the bamboo flowering-caused famine.

The team officials, after meeting farmers at Phulpui and Sateek villages near here yesterday, left for Kolasib district today. As many as 90 families of Phulpui village depend on sugarcane farming and the average annual income of each family was between Rs 30,000-Rs 80,000.

However, these farmers have been rendered with virtually no harvest this year due to the rodent menace, a consequent of bamboo flowering last year, the central team was informed.

The orange farmers of these two villages whose annual income was Rs 50,000-Rs 1,00,000 have also lost almost their entire crop due to the rodent attacks. Even today, rodents are still gnawing at their orange trees, witnesses said.

About 130 of the 190 families of Sateek depend on rice cultivation, but their annual produce was reduced to only three tons of rice, the central team was informed.

The central team will visit as many villages as possible and will submit its report to New Delhi to avail Centre’s aid to Mizoram.

Grim situation in Mautam-affected Mizoram

Aizawl, Apr 1 : A visit by a five-member team of ActionAid, Centre for Peace and Development and Young Lai Association, has revealed the grim reality of starvation faced by thousands of people across Mizoram belonging to the tribes of Chakma, Lai, Bowm, Burmese and Mara.

The team visited the villages of Chamdur Project-II, Bolisora and Hrutezwal under Bungtlang Development block of Lawngtlai district in southern Mizoram where nearly 10,000 people are facing extreme situations of starvation because of Mautam (bamboo flowering).

People’s food stocks have been depleted, their Jhum fields and kitchen gardens are completely destroyed by the rodents who also have infested their homes and have ruined their belongings. The sudden increase in the rodent numbers is due to the bamboo flowering – a natural phenomenon that occurs once in every 48 years.

The people in these parts depended largely on Jhum cultivation for sustenance and they barely have any other sources of income for purchasing food. But due to the Mautam, their crops planted in 2007 hardly yielded any harvest (maximum yield of 20 kilos of rice per family). Nearly 55 per cent of the population is surviving on roots of yam and banana from the neighbouring jungles.

As the onslaught of the rodents continue without any relief support from the government or from any non governmental agencies – people fear that even these forest reserves will be exhausted in the coming two to three months and they will have to further forage into the jungles for food.

Gulsogi, a 50 year-old Chakma widow from Bolisora village with seven family members, says that “if our family is not supported by relief from the government, we expect starvation which may even lead to death.” Her family like most others in the village has reduced their meals from three a day to just one or two a day.

The total lack of alternative sources of income is another factor aggravating the starvation. Even the NREGS programme has failed to generate enough work (the people have got only 27days of work in 2007-08).

The government’s initiative of ‘BUFFACOS’ – providing Re1 for every rat tail submitted by a villager- has not brought any relief to the people as people in these parts do not even know about such a programme. The Fair Price Shops are still functioning in these villages under the Public Distribution System (PDS) scheme. However, a large population is excluded as they lack the purchasing power to even buy PDS rice. People have resorted to taking food on credit from the fair price shops.

The biggest threat the people face is lack of seeds for the current planting season– March-April. Failure to plant this season will mean that the crises extends to 2009 creating a near famine situation unless the government and civil society organizations respond without delay to provide relief to the villagers.

The situation is worse in the inaccessible southern areas of Mizoram bordering Myanmar and Bangladesh. Lawngtlai and Saiha are two of the worst affected districts. There are reports of onset of blindness among some due to poor nutrition. One fall out of the crisis is that children are dropping out of school. Even in villages neighbouring the capital Aizwal, the situation is grim.

‘North East models should not give up’

Pompeting against 27 candi-dates from all over the country for the coveted ”Femina Miss India 2008” title, 20-year-old Sangeeta Bora, a petite beauty from Assam, is determined to achieve her dreams.

With a degree in Journalism, Sangeeta is pursuing a full-time modelling career in Delhi after winning the ”Miss Luit” title in the North East in 2006.

”Miss India contest is a excellent platform for all the girls as it is a national level competition and is also recognised internationally. The grooming we get here is simply the best in the world,” Sangeeta said.

While talking about being one of only two contestants from the North East, Sangeeta told UNI that every region in the country was different, and the image of North East being culturally aloof was not entirely accurate. ”There might be a little difficulty in adjusting to a new environment initially, and people from North East are more westernised in attitude,” she said. ”There are many beautiful young girls in the North East and they should realise that it takes a lot of hard work and determination to participate in the fashion and modelling world. They should remember failure is not final,” she said.

ATSUM rejects “Select Committee Report”

Imphal, Apr 1 : The public consultation meeting held on Monday by the All Tribal Students’ Union Manipur (ATSUM) at Kuki Inn, Imphal has flatly rejected the so-called “Select Committee Report” on the Manipur Hill Areas Autonomous District Council Bill, 2008 that was placed before the members of the Manipur legislative assembly on March 19 last.

In a press statement issued on Monday, the ATSUM president Dr John Pulamte and general secretary Thomas Taishya stated that the members present expressed their indignation that the right of the hill peoples of Manipur guaranteed by the Constitution of India is being meddled around “shamelessly” by the Manipur Legislative Assembly.

The statement further cautioned that in the event of the justice being denied on April 3 –when the next sitting of the Manipur legislative assembly is being fixed to discuss the bill – then the ATSUM will not hesitate to launch a far reaching ‘mass tribal movement’ to redress the grievances even to the point of disassociating the tribal from anything that has to do with Manipur.

It may be mentioned that the report of the Select Committee on the Manipur Hill Areas Autonomous District Council Bill, 2008 which was tabled in the House on March 19 in the assembly was referred to the Hill Area Committee (HAC) of the Manipur legislative assembly due to ‘procedural lapses’ in the content and discussion for the same has been fixed on April 3.

The Bill was tabled in the assembly on March 19 by the tribal Development minister DD Thasii. However, it was referred to the HAC. The bill was referred again due to ‘said the assembly speaker.

It is also pertinent to mention that sixteen tribal MLAs staged a walk-out protest in the Manipur assembly on March 12 after the assembly speaker Sapam Budhichandra referred the Manipur Hill Areas Autonomous District Council Bill, 2008 to the five-member selection committee ‘due to the cropping up of “technical errors” in the Bill.’

The Manipur Hill Areas Autonomous Bill, 2008 was introduced in the House on March 11 by the Chairman of Hill Areas Committee, Manipur Legislative Assembly Thangminlien Kipgen and it was referred to be discussed the next day as decided by the assembly speaker. However, it has been decided again to be discussed on April 3.

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