Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Hnahthial begins fresh protest for district status

Aizawl, Apr 30 : After completion of a long march, members of the Hnahthial District Demand Committee have resorted to a fast-unto-death here. This, they hope, would exert more pressure on their demand for the district status for the subdivisional town. Even as the demand committee is determined to “bring home” the district by hook or by crook, the state administration stands firm on its point that there is no general consensus among villages for conferring the status of district to the town.

Chief Minister Zoramthanga had not denied that he had promised a district status for Hnahthial, but on a “condition that all the claimed villages agree to fall under the proposed Hnahthial district”, an MNF party source has said and added that three or more villages have opposed to the demand. However, the demand committee claimed that the Chief Minister had promised them the district status only on condition that if the MNF candidate (F Lalthanzuala) was elected from the Hnahthial seat in the 2003 elections.

Meanwhile, the Congress party has offered full support to the demand for Hnahthial district, while strongly slamming the chief minister for “never keeping his words”. “If Zoramthanga had promised a district status, he should give them without any hesitation. But, if it is not possible due to administrative reasons, he should tell that to them straightforwardly,” a Congress statement said here today.

“If the fast still proves futile, the demand committee will further resort to road blockade on National Highway 54, the lifeline of the entire southern parts of Mizoram,” committee secretary J Lalliankima told UNI here. “We will not rest until we get the district status,” he added.

UNI

ZAV Air to operate in North East

New Delhi, Apr 30 : The Civil Aviation Ministry has confirmed that it has granted initial No Objection Certificate’ to ZAV Air to operate scheduled regional air services within the Eastern and North Eastern Region. The Centre has now introduced the concept of scheduled regional airlines, which will primarily operate in a designated region.

Civil Aviation Minister, Praful Patel said air services in North-east are operated under a memorandum of understanding between North Eastern Council (NEC) and Alliance Air and according to Route Dispersal Guidelines laid down by the Government of India.

Meanwhile, Airport of Authority of India (AAI) proposes to take up new airport projects in Itanagar, Pekyong and Chiethu Greenfield airports in North-east. Pre-feasibility of new Greenfield airport at Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh has also been carried out, the Minister added.

PTI

Army launches Tipaimukh vigil

Hmar outfit claims blast responsibility

Imphal, Apr 30 : Troops of the 57 Mountain Division started patrolling the Tipaimukh hydel project site in Manipur’s Churachandpur district today after militants blew off a drilling rig and brought work to a standstill on Saturday.

“The army started patrolling the Tipaimukh project site and surrounding areas today. Troops moved into the area from Parbung, the nearest security post in the district,” a senior police official said.

Militants had blasted a drilling machine using an IED, forcing all engineers and workers to flee the project site, located on the Manipur-Mizoram border.

The Hmar Peoples Convention (Democratic) has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Terming the project a “destructive intervention” by North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (Neepco) and the Manipur government, the outfit said the ongoing drilling works were against the interest of the Hmar people living in the area.

The incident took place on the Mizoram side of the project. The Neepco authorities have lodged a complaint with the sub-divisional police officer of Sakawrdai in Mizoram.

Neepco executive director T.C. Borgohain last evening submitted a report to Manipur principal secretary in charge of home and power, D.S. Poonia, a source said.

Stating that some rebels damaged a defective drilling machine that was lying idle for some days, Borgohain urged the state government to ascertain the safety of the officials and workers.

A Neepco official said the corporation was expecting “appropriate action” to provide security to the officials and workers. He added that work would resume within a week of the government providing “environmental and personal security coverage” to the officials.

Sources here said Neepco has also urged the Centre to provide nine companies of CRPF for the project site. The Manipur government will soon discuss deployment of security personnel at the project site. There is no police station or outpost in Tipaimukh.

The Okram Ibobi Singh government is likely to request the army to protect the project site until alternative arrangements can be made.

Officials of the power department are constantly in touch with those in Neepco.

The power company has also informed the Manipur government that they had to suspend a survey for a road diversion on National Highway 150 some weeks ago because of threats by unidentified persons. Various civil society organisations in Manipur are opposing the project, saying it would destroy the environment and the economy.

Chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh convened a meeting of Neepco, state government and senior police officials in Imphal on May 2.

An official source said the meeting would discuss all security-related matters.

Chief secretary Jarnail Singh and director general of police Yumnam Joykumar Singh would attend the meeting.

Telegraph India

Bamboo, answer to Mizoram’s economic prosperity

Aizawl, Apr 29 : Even as Mizoram reeled under Mautam, famine due to excessive bamboo flowering, the bamboo entreprenuers have stated that bamboo cultivation could boost the State’s economy.

Participating in an international conference on improvement of bamboo productivity at New Delhi recently, Mizoram Bamboo Entrepreneurs’ Federation (MIBEF) president J Laltlanmawia said they wanted to make bamboo production economically viable for the State.

Altogether, ten bamboo entrepreneurs and seven State Government officials participated in the conference, attended by more than 500 delegates from across the globe. Rare bamboo products were also exhibited during the conference. “The State Government should take steps to setting up a separate department towards promoting bamboo industries in Mizoram. It will also help in eradicating unemployement,” Laltlanmawia said.

The MIBEF also urged the State Government to promote the Bamboo Development Agency, where several expensive bamboo processing machines were lying unutilised. “The Government should hand these machines over to the practical workers,” the MIBEF stated.

UNI

NSCN (IM) supplying arms to ultra groups

Guwahati, Apr 30 : Frequent violations of the ground rules by the members of the militant groups under cease-fire agreement with the Government is posing a serious law and order problem and it is alleged that apart from assisting several militant groups of Assam, the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (I-M) is also involved in supply of weapons to different armed groups to boost its own coffers. The Assam Government has informed the Centre on several occasions on the problems created by the NSCN members as the outfit has been reportedly providing helping hand to the smaller groups like the Black Widow group and the Adivasi National Liberation Army (ANLA), which helped the outfits to increase their strengths considerably to emerge as potent forces. The NSCN hand is also suspected in the skirmishes along the Assam-Nagaland border.

Sources said that confusion about the area covered by the ground rules of the cease-fire agreement with the NSCN also created problems from time to time and as the agreement is only applicable in Nagaland, the Assam Government is free to take action against any member of the outfit found to be involved in any unlawful activity in Assam. Assam is not the only state to face problems because of the activities of the NSCN has posed serious threat to Tirap and Changlang districts of Arunachal Pradesh.

Security sources said that reports of members of NSCN involving in gun running has added a new dimension to the problem. The NSCN has by now established strong ties with the clandestine arms dealers and the members of the outfit are now involved in gun running to boost the coffers of the outfit, sources said. Sources further said that majority of the militant groups of the North East barring the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) bought weapons from the NSCN at some point of time or other and the ULFA has its own channels for procuring weapons.

Sources revealed that some Maoist rebel groups also bought weapons from the NSCN and according to intelligence inputs, the dealings took place in West Bengal. There were reports of attempts of Khalistani groups to procure weapons from the NSCN but that could not be confirmed.

Sources also revealed that the NSCN was not disposing off its old weapons to make money and “according to reports of the intelligence agencies, the outfit is bringing in weapons to sell it to other militant groups.”

AT

Assam to create over 10,000 jobs in Health Dept

Guwahati, Apr 30 : State Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarmah today informed that more than 10,000 more jobs are coming up for recruitment in the Health department in the near future. The Minister further divulged that recruitment for as many as 300 Health department posts would be done within the next month, besides, an overall 1,000 number of State Government posts.

“The rest of the posts under the Health department would be filled in a phased manner,” he stated.

The Minister further informed that he had met Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi this morning stressing for the need of a special strategy for Barak Valley.

“I have seen that the pass percentage of the candidates applying for various posts is very low. In the recently held examination for the recruitment of surveillance workers too, the number of candidates who appeared for the examination and also the percentage of successful candidates is very low,” he divulged.

“We would try to tackle this problem in a different way. May be, printing the question papers in Bengali could be answer as most of the students in the Barak Valley are more verse with reading and writing in Bengali, especially in places like Hailakandi,” he pointed out.

Replying to a query, the Minister informed that the Health department is planning to adopt an unconventional strategy to tackle the outbreak of diarrhoea in districts like Jorhat and Golaghat.

Regarding the reported anomalies in the recruitment of youths for the posts of surveillance workers, the Minister said that all the successful candidates have been called for an interactive session, which has been scheduled for May 3 and anybody wanting to clarify any issue regarding the alleged anomalies can take part in the interaction programme.

AT

Man vs animal: A wild battle for existence in Assam

Guwahati, Apr 30 : A 22-year-old female elephant recently dislocated its hip joint after falling 30 feet into a swampy pit in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district. In agony for five days after being pulled out, it finally succumbed.

In another incident, an elephant was hit by a train when it tried to save its calf stuck between the railway tracks.

Not just elephants, a leopard was recently battered to death by residents of Sivasagar district in upper Assam. It had strayed into the town and attacked four people before being killed.

The conflict between man and animals is becoming commonplace in Assam as encroachment increases.

“We human beings don not treat the animals right. It’s only when we provoke them that they retaliate,” says wildlife expert, Parbati Baruah.

Baruah points out there’s a huge gap between concern for wildlife and actually translating those concerns into workable solutions.

“The people in wildlife committees should dedicatedly give time on the field. Or else we won’t get results. One cannot do Project Tiger sitting in Delhi or Guwahati,” she says.

Conservation of animals is becoming difficult for the forest department as poaching is on an increase in the Northeast.

Training programmes to spread awareness hold key to preventing incidents like these but the state’s flagship elephant project has just Rs 1.5 crore as funds to implement this.

CNN-IBN