Friday, June 6, 2008

NREGS lifts living standard in Churachandpur

Imphal, Jun 5 : National Employment Guarantee Scheme NREGS has enhanced the living standard of the people in Churachandpur more than any other Governmental schemes by raising the laborers coffer, a study revealed today.

Extended over a week, the survey conducted by a team of reporters based in Churachandpur including this correspondent, took in accounts the observations of hand loom weavers and traders, brick field proprietors and laborers, school principals and vendors.Of the groups included in the survey, handloom traders were the groups that receive a major blow while its weavers turned out to be the main beneficiaries.

Proprietor of Ngainou Wool House, S Sanglian told the survey team that a weaver usually takes a week to complete one traditional shawl earlier but with the introduction of NREGS, the same weaver now takes about 28 days to complete the same.

Despite reviewing their wages from Rs 60 to Rs 80 per shawl since March this year, their supply failed to revive, he said.

At the average, NREGS has affected about 35 percent of the supply in handloom industry and increase the weavers’ wages by 6 percent.

On the trend of months tuition fees paid to schools, S Liankhanlal, Principal of Ebenezer Academy said his institution witness 50 to 60 percent improvement this year.

“Last year there are student who didn’t have complete text book even up to December, but this year everyone is equipped with their text complete with their notes by March,” he said.

He nevertheless like other principals interviewed, claimed that payment on tuition fees has improved by 5 to10 percent.

Another trade badly affected by the NREGS seems to be the brick fields.

Availability of unskilled labourers, mostly women deteriorate to an extent that brick field owners were forced to raise their wages from Rs 65 per 1000 bricks to Rs 80 since January.

The team also unveiled that peoples’ purchasing power has increased by 5 to10 percent.

Partei of Kawnpui, a variety shop owner said her shop was never better off than this year ever since she open the same several years back.

At an average, the survey team revealed that NREGS has increased the wages of daily labourers by 5-10 percent and that money circulation was three fold in comparison with the pre-NREGS period.


TSE

Free treatment for BPL families at RIMS

Imphal, Jun 6 : With frequent threats and disturbances from the side of UGs in the functioning of Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), a situation has been created where the officials of RIMS are able to take up necessary measures in time for providing free medical treatment to patients belonging to BPL families.

Disclosing this to The Sangai Express, an official source from RIMS conveyed that as a follow up action to the announcement made by Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Ambumani Ramadoss during his twoday visit to the State last month, the Union Ministry has issued instruction to work out the necessary arrangements and submit the estimated cost at the earliest possible so that free treatment of BPL patients can begin from either July end or beginning August this year.Unfortunately, as a result of frequent threats and intimidation including violence perpetrated inside RIMS campus, none of the officials have been able to concentrate on their work.

This has created a situation in which the promises made by the Union Minister may not be translated into action in time, the official rued.

Explaining that under the Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) of the Government of India, free medical treatment specially for Cancer and Heart diseases are being provided to patients belonging to BPL families and this facility can be availed in hospitals like AIIMS at Delhi very easily, the official observed that besides other difficulties, as they are required to go to Delhi, patients from Manipur do not even try to get such benefits.

As such, the announcement of the Union Health Minister for providing free treatment to BPL patients in Manipur at RIMS along with setting up of a corpus fund has become something untenable.

To neutralise these ills and implement the scheme, RIMS officials need to work out a detailed report on the numbers of patients admitted to RIMS in a year and how many of them belonged to BPL families, how much medicines are required for treatment as per the prescription written by the attending doctors.

But the RIMS officials have not been able to dispense with their duties due to frequent threats and disturbances, the official reiterated.

The official further disclosed the issues related to hiking the number of MBBS seats in RIMS to 150 and providing free treatment facilities to BPL patients are among the agenda to be taken up for discussion during the meeting of Board of Governors to be attended by Union Health Minister at Delhi on June 12 .

However, as RIMS officials have not been able to prepare the required report, not to mention the necessary ground works, the discussion is not likely to have any result.

Once the facility for free treatment is introduced in RIMS, many patients coming from BPL families would be benefiting not only in cases related to minor and major operations but also in treatment of Cancer and Heart diseases, the official said, adding that necessary medicines and medical investigations would be provided free of cost to the BPL patients.

TSE

Tripura observes 12-hour bandh

Agartala, Jun 6 : Tripura observed a bandh on Thursday in response to a 12-hour bandh called by the ruling Left Front while left parties in Assam called for an Assam Bandh on June 9 to protest against the hike in prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas price.

The Assam government has decided to reduce sales tax on petrol and diesel by one rupee in response to an appeal made by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.Normal life came to a standstill in Tripura’s capital Agartala as educational institutions, shops and business establishments, banks and financial institutions remaining closed during the bandh hours.

PTI

Creaky bridges of trouble

Silchar, Jun 5 : Hundreds of residents of south Hailakandi cross about a dozen decrepit wooden bridges to work every day but the creaks of rotten wood have remain inaudible to the administration despite several complaints.

There are 14 bridges in the 70-km stretch between Lala town in Hailakandi and Bairabi on the Assam-Mizoram border.Of these 14 bridges that cut through National Highway 154, only two are concrete — the rest are of creaky wood.

The wooden bridge at Baldabaldi near Jamirabazar, for instance, collapsed two months ago, but all the government did was build a bamboo sub-way to “help residents”.

The crash snapped road link with Mizoram via Bairabi.

From Baldabaldi to Bairabi, around 35,000 people are cut off from the rest of the country.

Residents met excise and border areas development minister Gautam Roy recently and sought his intervention to get the bridge repaired.

Roy has asked the National Highway Division of State PWD in Silchar to take up the matter urgently.

Telegraph India

Mizoram opens NE’s first therapeutic garden

Aizawl, Jun 6 : Mizoram Governor M M Lakhera has urged people to lend efforts towards preservation of herbal reserves. Inaugurating a therapeutic garden, Enabling Greens, the first of its kind in the North East here yesterday, Mr Lakhera expressed concern over the continuous degradation of medicinal plants.

Speaking at the function chaired by RIPANS director Dr Lalthnapuii, the governor said people preferred modern-day medicines to medicinal herbs. Despite that the latter groups are found abundantly in the country, including Mizoram, Mr Lakhera said the garden had various therapeutic elements like energy zone, aquatic body, charkha, potter’s wheel and medical corridors.New Delhi-based JPSMS project coordinator Dr Kamal Saxena gave technical reports in the inauguration function held here at the RIPANS campus that was attended by officials concerned and students and staff of the Regional Institute of Paramedics and Nursing Sciences.

UNI