north east online - north east india news: Apr 4, 2008

Friday, April 4, 2008

Naomi Campbell bailed after Heathrow arrest

London, Apr 4 : Naomi Campbell was released on bail Friday after being arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer during a dispute over luggage at Heathrow Airport.

Campbell, 37, left the airport police station just after midnight. London`s Metropolitan Police said she was released pending further inquiries and told to report to a police station in late May.

The London-born supermodel was arrested late Thursday on suspicion of assaulting an officer after police were called to a disturbance at Heathrow`s new Terminal 5. Witnesses said Campbell was aboard a British Airways plane due to depart for Los Angeles when she became involved in a dispute over her luggage.

Campbell`s spokeswoman, Annabel Fox, said Campbell was traveling to the US to attend a memorial service and had boarded the plane when she was told one of her two checked bags was missing.

British Airways “decided to resolve this by insisting she leave the flight and then called the police to forcibly eject her,” Fox said.

More than 28,000 bags have been separated from their owners at Terminal 5 since it opened amid chaotic scenes last week.

Campbell has a history of assaulting assistants and employees.

In 2000, she pleaded guilty in Toronto to an assault charge for beating an assistant while making a film in Canada in 1998. Under an agreement with prosecutors, Campbell expressed remorse and was released without punishment or a criminal record.

In January 2007, Campbell pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault for throwing her cell phone at her maid in a dispute over a missing pair of jeans. She was ordered to do community service and attend a two-day anger-management program.

Bureau Report

Drive against Black Widow to continue

Guwahati, Apr 4 : After declaring a unilateral cease-fire, the militants belonging to the Black Widow group has submitted a charter of demands to the Government to express desire to come forward for solution of the problems through talks. However, the Government has not yet taken any decision on suspension of operations against the members of the group.

After causing mayhem in the North Cachar Hills district for the past one year, the Black Widow group suddenly declared a unilateral cease-fire by sending a fax message to the Government in the evening of March 24. The message was signed by the publicity secretary of the outfit. But early next morning, the militants gunned down four persons including three Railway employees at Harangajao in NC Hills. Though the militant group claimed that a communication gap led to the incident, the Government was not keen to believe the claim.

Official sources told The Assam Tribune today that the Government received a charter of demands from the Black Widow group, which included creation of a separate state for the Dimasa people. However, the Government has not taken any decision on suspension of operations against the group and the counter-insurgency operations in the NC Hills district are on.

Sources revealed that the strategy group of the Unified Command, which met at Dispur with the Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on the chair, discussed the situation in the hill district and the unilateral cease-fire as well as the charter of demands of the Black Widow group, but it was decided that the operations would not be suspended immediately. There were apprehensions expressed in the meeting that the militant outfit might have declared a cease-fire due to pressure mounted on its members by the security forces and it was decided that the operational pressure on the militants would continue, at least for some time to come.

Official sources revealed that the Government is concerned with the violation of cease-fire ground rules by the members of the militant groups, which have already signed such agreements with the Government to come forward for talks and this time, the Government is not ready to take any chances. As on today, the stand of the Government is that the militants would have to deposit arms to come forward for talks for political solution of the problems. “The Government has not yet formally sent any reply to the Black Widow group as the Government is likely to adopt a tough stand as the past experience in sighing of cease-fire agreements was not very satisfactory,” sources added.

Sources further pointed out that as the chief of the Dima Halam Daogah (DHD), Jewel Garlosa himself had signed a cease-fire agreement with the Government to come forward for talks and later after a division in the ranks of the DHD, Garlosa himself went out to form the Black Widow group. Under the circumstances, the Government is apprehensive of signing another cease-fire pact with Garlosa and is of the view that the militant group should deposit its weapons to come for talks.

Meanwhile, the DHD has submitted a fresh set of demands to the Government to carry forward the peace talks. Sources said that the DHD had earlier demanded creation of a separate state of Dimaraji but the Government of India categorically ruled out the possibility of further division of Assam. Following that, the DHD has submitted a fresh set of demands, which included creation of Dimaraji within the State of Assam in the lines of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), formed under the provisions of the amended Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India following the signing of the peace pact between the Government and militant outfit Bodo Liberation Tiger (BLT). The DHD has demanded that the Dimasa inhabited areas of other districts of the State should be included in the proposed Dimaraji. At the same time, the outfit also demanded that the Dimasa inhabited areas of Nagaland including parts of Dimapur should be included in the proposed Dimaraji.

Central team heads for interior areas to assess bamboo flowering effects

Imphal, Apr 4 : The Central inter-ministerial team proceeded to certain interior areas of Churachandpur district Thursday to assess the condition of people reeling under the famine caused by bamboo flowering and resultant increase in rat population, an official source said.

The team headed by joint director Pankaj Kumar, department of cooperation, Union ministry of agriculture also includes Sarvan Kumar, director, planning commission, JO Sharma, assistant director, ministry of finance, Subhas Singh, assistant commissioner, ministry of rural development, Dr Biswas, director of agriculture and cooperation as well as GP Pandey, ex-director NEFCI.

Pankaj Kumar while speaking to some local journalists before the team`s departure from the district headquarter today morning said, “We are to make an assessment of the magnitude of crops destroyed by the rodent menace.”

Stating that NREGS was one of the most effective means to deal with the people affected by the rodent menace after mass bamboo flowering, he emphasized on the proper implementation of the scheme.

Reiterating that they had come to make an assessment of the situation and requirement of the people, Pankaj said additional funds would be provided after they submitted reports which would be based on their findings to the ministry of home affairs.

He also hinted at a relief package for the people and some other measures to sustain life and to support them till the next harvest after the assessment.

As far as famine was concerned, the problem faced in Manipur and Mizoram were similar, he observed.

In Manipur, the Churachandpur and Tamenglong districts were the hardest hit by the mautam although Chandel district was also affected to some extent. Churachandpur district was the most affected by rodent menace.

Mention may be made that since mass bamboo flowering occurred in two eastern districts of the state the Manipur government has implemented various programmes to overcome the rodent menace mostly under sponsorship of the Central government.

No spectacular damage to human life and economy was encountered in the district by the bamboo flowering, but there was loss of bamboos because of the flowering. Once the bamboo flowers it dies normally, the report of the district information officer said.

IFP

11 Tipaimukh children die of mysterious disease

Imphal, Apr 4 : At least 11 children aged below six years died Thursday at villages in Tipaimukh sub-division of Churachandpur district due to an unknown disease, a report said.

Among the 11 children, six were from Lungthulien village, three were from Leisen and one each from Parbung and Patpuihmun, the first official report received here said.

The children died till around noon today after brief illness with symptoms similar to malaria. The name of the deceased children were not immediately available due to communication gap.

Fear of spread of the disease to other people in the neighborhood prevails in the area, the report said.

The village authorities are likely to make report the prevailing situation and issue an SOS for preventive measures to the concerned state authorities tomorrow, the report said.

IFP

A Shangri-la in Shillong

Shillong, Apr 4 : The International Shillong Trade Fair has recorded high footfall at the Laitumkhrah ground here, with Shillongites thronging the stalls like never before.

If the women are swooning over the range of gem-studded jewellery on sale, the foodies are lapping up the dollops of kulfi made by Ravi Raj Kulfi of Delhi.

Dry flowers from Thailand, exquisite handicrafts from Kenya, dry fish from Bangladesh, marbles of Pakistan, gems from Myanmar and khukri of Nepal — the package is appears irresistible for the tens of thousands of visitors who jostled for space on the fair ground.

There are 25 stalls put up by various entrepreneurs from the northeastern states with help from the National Small Industries Corporation Ltd (NSIC).

Secretary of the Industries and Trade Fair Association of Assam Rajeev Das said the move aimed at encouraging a healthy competition among entrepreneurs from Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya and Assam.

As many as 180 stalls, including 19 from Thailand, one each from Kenya and Nepal and several others from Bangladesh, Myanmar and Pakistan are drawing crowds.

“Unable to resist the lure of jewellery and the glow of flowers from Thailand, we have made some purchases,” Veronica, who has come to the fair today along with her friends, said. The fair will end on Tuesday.

Telegraph India

Mizoram Govt announces health care scheme

Aizawl, Apr 4 : Mizoram Health Minister R Tlanghmingthanga today announced the Mizoram State Health Care Scheme, covering all the households not having a single government employee.

Tlanghmingthanga told newspersons here today that an agreement had been reached with the Reliance General Insurance Company Ltd (RGICL), the lowest bidder, of Rs 28,98,88,192 to implement the scheme.

The scheme aims to provide health care cover of Rs one lakh floater for one family per year and will benefit around 1.50 lakh families who are not entitled to state medical reimbursement for government employees and their dependents.

The scheme will also cover admitted cases in general wards within and outside Mizoram in the state-run and recognized private hospitals and the Reliance company’s empanelled hospitals.

“The scheme which comes into effect from April 1 is the first of its kind in India,” health officials said.

UNI

Hot Naga chilly heading for explosion

Dimapur, Apr 3 : After the disastrous attempt at marketing local ginger last year, Nagaland seem not to have learnt a lesson and is virtually heading towards a similar debacle this year. This time round, it is the world famous Naga king chilli on the hotbed. If the state government does not come up with a solution in time, which means right now, a few months later, the local farmers are going to be on the wrong side of the deal again.

Immediately after the Naga king chilli went international after being declared the hottest chilli in the world, there was a flurry of activities from all quarters - the government, the horticulture department, entrepreneurs and of course, farmers. Peren, Kohima and Mon districts were declared potential areas for cultivation of this spice by the department; and this was followed by trainings, equipments and other facilities being provided. The Government of Nagaland, not to be left behind, rushed into a three-sided memorandum of understanding (MoU) with India’s leading tobacco company, ITC Ltd and the Spices Board for producing and marketing Naga Chillies through a host of initiatives. The farmers fueled with optimism, have begun cultivating the ‘hot’ commodity on a scale like never before.

For this matter, a nursery in Jalukie has been selected as the model project for the ITC where a high tech nursery has been erected by the department to grow the chilli saplings. These saplings are to be distributed to farmers of the Union of Cooperative Society, and plantation will be done on an area of about 40 hectares of land by different farmers by mid-April. The first harvest is expected by the first week of July which will be quite a huge quantity of the spice but till now the disposal of the product remains ambiguous.

Though according to the MoU with the ITC, the company has assured to “buy back” the spice from farmers, there is no mention of the rate at which the company will buy the chilli from the farmers. According to the government, the rates will depend entirely between the farmers and the ITC, however, it is expected that consensus will not be easily arrived at.

With the price of the Naga King chilly reaching as high as Rs. 180 per kg even in the local market, the farmers are bound to expect a similar, if not more from the ITC, while the company will need to procure the produce at the lowest rate possible in order to make a profit. In this case, it is probable that the King chilly from Peren and other districts will flood the market resulting in a huge surplus and inevitable loss for the farmers.

Another factor which will affect the rate between the farmers and the ITC is the MoU itself, which has an understanding of “Buy Back” from the farmers, based on the assumption that the company will help in “technology transfer” during the cultivation. However, it is disclosed that the company had invested very little in the cultivation of the spice with the state Horticulture department chipping in most of the resources for this cultivation, in which case, ITC is expected to profit at any rate considering their lack of investment.

The present scenario prevailing in the state, leaves the chilly farmers vulnerable to exploitation as far as the rates of the spice is concerned. With the expected rise in production of this commodity, the local market will be flooded with surplus which will only aggravate the price of chilly to the profit of non-local middle men. Another matter of great concern is the lack of storage facilities which will not help matters considering the high perishable character of the Naga King chilly. Moreover, there is no facility to even dry the king chilly on such a mass scale. The Horticulture Department had last year bought and distributed about 10 solar drying units for Naga king chilly but farmers found these solar dryers unsuitable for Nagaland climate which contains high relative humidity. Home dried chilies are also found to be unsuitable in the market because of the smell of smoke that persists in the product.

At this crucial juncture, the state government needs to immediately take steps to ensure that our local farmers are not at the wrong end of the bargain while also preparing and educating the farmers on settling for a reasonable rate. Instead of simply taking the credit and washing off its hands from a ‘done-deal’, the government, in collaboration with the horticulture department and the state agricultural marketing apparatus must be involved in bringing the local farmers and the national company to a consensus over the rates. Such an initiative from the government will go a long way in ensuring the viability of a long term commercial market for the local farmers else, the Naga farmers are anticipated to face another discouragement of wasted labour, time and money amidst a field of rotted hottest chilly in the world. The impending doom can be seized up in the words of Heikiting, a farmer from Jalukie spearheading the model project, who says, “We are entirely depending on the ITC…, If the ITC fails to buy it (chilly), we are done for”.

NC Hills gets BSF battalion

Guwahati, Apr 3 : The Border Security Force (BSF) has deployed one more battalion in North Cachar Hills to exclusively guard personnel engaged in the railway gauge conversion project.

Two battalions of the central paramilitary force are already engaged in counter-insurgency operations in NC Hills and Karbi Anglong.

“We held a series of meetings with the Railways recently and decided to deploy one more battalion in NC Hills to provide exclusive protection to the personnel engaged in the gauge conversion work,” inspector-general of the BSF (Assam and Nagaland frontier), P.K. Mishra, said today. He was attending a surrender ceremony at the 128 National Disaster Response Force headquarters of the paramilitary force at Patgaon.

A Karbi Longri North Cachar Hills Liberation Front militant, Nelson Phangcho alias Aklam Timung, laid down arms before Mishra today. Nelson, who was the bodyguard of the commander-in-chief of the outfit, Somja Timung, deposited a 9mm pistol with a magazine and two rounds of ammunition.

The gauge conversion project in the hill district of Assam has been declared a national project. However, work is often interrupted with militants, particularly of the Jewel Gorlosa faction of the Dima Halam Daogah, targeting officials of the North East Frontier Railway and those of private companies engaged in the project.

Telegraph India

Centre may consider Prez’s rule in Manipur

New Delhi, Apr 3 : The Centre today said it may consider imposing President’s Rule in Manipur if situation in the militancy-affected state worsens.

Union Minister of State for Defence M M Palam Raju said that as of now there is no move to impose President’s Rule in Manipur.

“The Centre may consider it if situation in the militancy-affected state worsens,” he said, adding other options might also be considered.

Raju was speaking at a function at Sainik School at Palgei, about 10 kms from here.

The Centre, he said, would also look into alleged violations of “suspension of operation” (SOO) agreement entered by militant outfits with the army and para military forces.

Kuki militant outfits like the Kuki National Army had signed SOO agreement with the security forces in 2005.

PTI

Vote bank politics fosters illegal migration into NE

New Delhi, Apr 3 : Outwardly secular, politics in India is all about vote banks and keeping a party in power. No wonder the problem of infiltration of illegal migrants remains unresolved, threatening to snowball into major crisis, say intellectuals from the Northeast.

‘Voice of Assam,’ a collection of writings of 25 distinguished litterateurs fear a situation was developing which may lead to a major ethnic conflagration.

As a result of infiltration “few districts of Upper Assam coming together and raising a demand for another separate state free from the domination of Muslims fundamentalists, cannot be ruled out,” says the book.

The writers warn that unabated infiltration of illegal Bangladeshi migrants is turning the secular society of Northeast being divided into “religious, linguistic and tribal segments at the state and administrative levels, ostensible on the ground of opposing secessionism and aversion to party politics.”

The book blames the vote-bank politics, both at the regional level and at the Centre, for the situation.

“Each political party of the state, national or regional, has fallen victim to the ‘vote-bank’ politics which has so far proved to be the main hurdle against fighting the ever-growing menace of infiltration,” says the book ‘Voice of Assam,’ edited by Satish Chandra Chowdhury and Harendra Kalita.

The problem is likely to overwhelm the entire Northeast and her indigenous people in not too far distant a future, it warns.

The book also alleged Pakistan and China of conspiracy to “destabilise” the situation of Northeast, as well as to “convert it into a Muslim majority area”.

During the Chinese aggression of 1962, Pakistani flag was hoisted in quite a few places in central Assam with the slogan-’Pakistan Zindabad’, thereby sending an unmistakable and inauspicious message which, alarmed New Delhi for the first time.

As a result, at the instance of the legendary figure of the Indian police, late B N Mallick, the Prevention of Infiltration from Pakistan (PIP)scheme was introduced in 1964 with a view to detect and deport the Pakistani infiltrators, it says. “ISI and its fundamentalist complements are now directing their full force to grab the Northeast,” says one chapter in the book.

“There are reasons to believe that the activities of the ISI and some of the secessionist outfits, are being remotely orchestrated by China. In the present context, physical conquest of the Northeast may not be a viable proposition for China but that should not mean that she had given up her designs over this area of the country.”

It is indeed significant that China’s map including Arunachal and a part of Assam, is not known to have been withdrawn or revised by her. China’s role in training and arming the Naga and the Mizo rebels is also no more a secret, says the book. The book says, “Even from the economic point of view, China is presenting threat to the small scale industries sector of the Northeast.”

“China has been flooding the markets of the Northeastern state with cheap available consumer goods-particularly electronic appliances. Such availability of consumer goods at unbelievably cheap rates, has amounted to dealing a severe blow to the SSI sectors of the entire Northeast.”

Bureau Report

Mizoram gets Rs 120 crore for highway development

Aizawl, Apr 3 : The Centre has sanctioned Rs. 120 crore to Mizoram for development of National Highways during 2008-2009. This was informed by the Union Minister for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways Mr T.R.Baalu to the Chief Minister of Mizoram Mr Zoramthanga, who called on him in New Delhi today. Both the leaders also discussed the road sector projects in the state.

The Mizoram Chief Minister requested Mr Baalu to declare a new national highway of about 180 kilometers in the State connecting Keitum on NH 54 and Zokhawthar Trade Center at Myanmar border. It will provide shorter trade route to southern parts of Mizoram. He also requested for construction of 117 kilometer road connecting Myanmar border and Nalkawn on NH 54 which lies entirely in the State.

Mr Baalu assured the Chief Minister that his Ministry will consider the proposals of the State Government depending upon the resources and priorities.

AIR News

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