Monday, October 12, 2009

PM to visit Meghalaya next month

P
rime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit Meghalaya next month to inaugurate the new building of the Shillong High Court.

This was conveyed by Singh when Meghalaya Chief Minister DD Lapang met him here yesterday. "The Prime Minister has kindly agreed to come to Shillong early next month to inaugurate the High Court building," Lapang told PTI.

The Chief Minister, accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Mukul Sangma and Revenue Minister Prestone Tynsong, met the Prime Minister at his residence. The Prime Minister told the delegation that he would discuss the state government's earlier demand for financial package with Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

Meghalaya had demanded Rs 562 crore as additional Central assistance primarily to implement the pay hike for state government employees as recommended by the Sixth Pay Commission.

Electrocuted jumbo dies in Assam tea garden

G
UWAHATI: An elephant was electrocuted near a tea garden in the Kathiatoli area of Nagaon district, about 140 km from here, on Saturday.


The carcass of the pachyderm was found near Kandoli tea estate. Forest officials said it was an accident and not a case of retaliatory killing. "The elephant died after its trunk touched a livewire near the tea estate. It was not killed by human beings," Nagaon divisional forest officer A Ahmed said. "There has been an increase in the movement of elephants between Karbi Anglong and Nagaon since the past few days. But there has been no untoward incident," he added.

The Burapahar forest range of Kaziranga National Park is in Nagaon district. On the south, it is bordered by the hilly and forested Karbi Anglong district. The man-elephant conflict has been on the rise in Nagaon. But the situation has not yet become as alarming as it is in Sonitpur, Golaghat and Udalguri. In Nagaon, most of the cases of man-animal conflict are reported from the Chapanala and Salna areas.

Shimanta Goswami, president of local NGO Green Guard said, "Elephants from Karbi Anglong come down to Chapanala, Salna and its adjoining areas almost everyday. Though there has been no man-elephant conflict in the recent past, herds of wild jumbos have damaged many houses and crops." He added, "Elephants are increasingly straying into human settlements as they don't find enough food in the forests after scanty rainfall. Though jumbos from Karbi Anglong often come down to Nagaon, the cases of man-elephant conflict has been lesser this time."

Statistics reveal Sonitpur recorded the highest human casualties with eight deaths till May 24 this year, while Dhubri comes second with five, followed by Udalguri (3). Two persons had been killed by wild elephants in the Chirang wildlife division in the same period. On the other hand, the Sivasagar Wildlife Division, Jorhat Wildlife Division, North Lakhimpur Wildlife Division, Dhemaji Wildlife Division and Goalpara Wildlife Division had recorded one human death each till May 24 this year.

Manipur scribes boycott govt news

I
MPHAL: Reacting sharply to alleged high handedness of Manipur police commandos against two scribes, the media fraternity of the state has
decided to abstain from all development news of the Okram Ibobi Singh government with immediate effect.

The decision was taken following an emergency meeting of All Manipur Working Journalists' Union (AMWJU) on Sunday evening.

Ayekpam Birjit, a reporter of a vernacular eveninger along with his two friends, including a newsman, were moving along Paona Bazzar' BT road crossing on Saturday night when some police commandos waylaid them around 10 and detained them for an hour.

The commandos, who were in an inebriated state, even threatened to shoot them.

Birthday brings Gogoi up, close and personal

JORHAT: Assam saw an altogether different Tarun Gogoi on Sunday up, close and personal talking at length about his "naughty" days as a stu-dent,
his dream to fall in love with a girl many years ago and his "supportive" wife and family as well as militancy.

Gogoi, who is originally from Jorhat, had a walk down the memory lane on his 75th birthday. After cutting a cake presented to him by the local press club here, he said, "I was quite naughty in school, used to play a variety of games with friends and, sometimes, even got involved in petty squabbles with them. I cannot forget the hours of adda (informal get-togethers). We used to ride horses moving around on streets! Sometimes, we had tea at restaurants and
managed to run away without paying a naya. Watching movies in night shows was another favourite pastime."

Recollecting one particular incident, Gogoi said when he was in primary school, his class teacher had once asked him about his aim in life. his reply was, "I want to be a prime minister." He said, "I had a liking for social work and politics was the right medium to pursue it. Also, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was a great source of inspiration for me. Incidentally, it was none other than Nehru who led me to join politics."

Speaking about his days as a youth, he said, "Those days were different when boys and girls were rarely seen talking to each other or going together in public." On a lighter vain, Gogoi said though he wanted to fall in love with a girl, "it (romance) did not happen maybe owing to a lack of proper opportunity". The CM said he was grateful to have an "understanding wife and family" who had been supporting him though he could not give them quality time.

The chief minister, however, said what hurts him most is mindless killing of people by extremists "in the name of seeking freedom and social rights". He said, "Mindless violence, starting from the 1983 Nellie massacre to the recent bloodbaths, unleashed by people against fellowmen, leaving many orphaned and widowed, hurts me most. I wonder how human beings can behave like animals and kill innocents so ruthlessly. I was also very dis-turbed by the Assamese-Bengali conflict."

South-East Asia looks towards North-East to boost trade ties

D
estination North-East: That's where South-East Asia is heading. Ambassadors of at least eight South-East Asian countries will be arriving in
Guwahati later this month in a bid to boost trade links with northeastern India. The ambassadors and their secretaries will be taking part in a seminar with the same theme.

The seminar is being organized as part of the Asom International Trade Fair, which will kick off at the Veterinary Science College ground at Khanapara from Wednesday. The North East Trade Promotion and Development Council (NETPDC), which has organized the trade fair, said all the eight ambassadors have confirmed their participation so far.
NETPDC adviser Dhiren Saikia said the eight countries which have confirmed their participation include Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and China. "The two day seminar will be organized on October 23 and October 24. We hope the discussions at the seminar will result in a concerted approach that will boost trade between the countries soon," Saikia added.

"The fair is be organized with help from the Doner ministry and Doner minister B K Handique is also very interested in the seminar. The ministry is also in touch with the South-East Asian countries to ensure that high-level officials from these countries also participate in the seminar," he further informed. Handique and minister of state for commerce Jyotiraditya Scindia are also expected to participate in the event.

It may be mentioned that there has been a considerable increase in international trade fairs in the region over the last decade. Speaking on the impact of these trade fairs, Saikia said that they have helped build an ambience for industrial development in the state. "These have also helped local artistes and producers to showcase their items to some international traders and has given them global exposure, which might help them later. People from outside are interested in our indigenous handicrafts and several other items. These trade fairs have also provided a market for these handicraft items," he added.

BJP calls bandh in NC Hills on Monday

S
ILCHAR: BJP has called a 10-hour bandh in NC Hills district beginning 5 am on Monday seeking peace talks with both factions of DHD and revival
of NC Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC) which is under suspended animation. The party's other demands are resumption of work on the Lumding-Silchar broad gauge section and East-West corridor project be-sides payment of salaries to NCHAC employees.

On the other hand, the political atmosphere in the district is getting vexed after surrender of DHD(J) militants. While one of the core demands of the outfit (surrendered) is creation of an autonomous state comprising NC Hills district within Assam, the Dilip Nunisa-led faction has started spear-heading its demand for a separate state called Dima Raji (Dimasa King-dom) comprising NC Hills and Dimasa-inhabited areas of Nagaland (Dimapur) and Assam's Cachar and Nagaon districts.

The DHD(J) had submitted a long list of demands to chief minister Tarun Gogoi and joint secretary (home) Navin Verma on October 2 on the occasion of the ceremonial surrender of the outfit. The demands include granting of autonomous state status to NC Hills within Assam under Article 244 of the Constitution and change of nomenclature of NC Hills as Dima Hasao Raji.

"We are for a separate state (Dima Raji) covering Dimasa-inhabited areas of the North-East. We want revival of the glorious history of Dimasas who ruled this part of the North-East during the 17th and 18th century. DHD will not agree with anything short of Dima Raji during peace talks with the government," said Dilip Nunisa in his address before a large gathering at Kalachand near Maibang in NC Hills recently.

The gathering, attended by a good number of Dimasa intellectuals and NGOs, was intended to create mass support and put pressure on the authorities at a time when the Jewel faction has jumped into the arena with their list of demands.

Union home minister P Chidambaram has already made it clear that peace talks will be held with both factions of the DHD and there will be no pro-vision for separate sittings with each of the surrendered outfits.

Observers feel solving the Dimasa conflict through peace talks will not be an easy task with the demand of both factions being in sharp contrast to each other. "The main challenge for a permanent solution to the NC Hills problem is to negotiate the unmatched demands of the Nunisa and Jewel groups. The leaders of the surrendered groups should take the initiative," said a teacher of Haflong Government College.

Campaign ends, countdown begins

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TANAGAR: Prime minister Manmohan Singh and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee rushing down to Arunachal Pradesh, hectic campaigning by state
leaders cutting across party lines, desperate attempts by Election Commission officials to reach the remotest corners with polling materials and reports of sporadic violence between different party supporters.

The last 30 days in this frontier state had all the ingredients of the "great Indian election drama".
And on Sunday evening, all the heat and dust of electioneering came to an end, marking the beginning of a "long" wait for all political parties, from the Congress to the regional People's Party of Arunachal, to see who finally manages to make it to the corridors of power in this landlocked state.

Along with Haryana and Maharashtra, Arunachal Pradesh is going to polls on October 13 to elect representatives for its 60-member House. The electioneering this time was a bit different compared to previous occasions as most of the political parties, instead of going for door-to-door campaign, depended on their star campaigners. The parties also used choppers this time, with Congress leading the list of parties requisitioning helicopters.

Though the people of Arunachal, particularly Congress supporters, were happy to see the Prime Minister and the finance minister, there was an element of disappointment, too. For, AICC chief Sonia Gandhi and the party's youth face, Rahul Gandhi, had to cancel their visit to the state owing to inclement weather. Though political observes feel it's going to be a smooth run for the ruling Congress this time also, the party isn't taking any chances. Union minister of state for parliamentary affairs V Narayanswami, his counterpart in the water resource department, Vincent Pala, party secretary Ranjit Thomas and senior leader Sanjoy Bapna camped in the state for a month to oversee the campaigning.

On the other hand, NCP national general secretary and Garo strongman Purno A Sangma and his minister daughter Agatha Sangma attended various election rallies across the state, while Trinamool Congress stalwarts, including Union ministers Mukul Roy and Saugata Roy, led the campaigning for the party. The opposition BJP had invited party president Rajnath Singh and cinestar-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha as its star campaigners. Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, too, visited the state to bolster the campaign for his party (JD-U) candidates.
Though no major untoward incident was reported during the run-up to the polls, there were some sporadic incidents of violence between supporters of Congress and Trinamool Congress in Tirap and NCP and Congress in East Siang district. However, no casualty was reported.

Altogether 7, 32, 956 voters, including 3, 64, 539 women and 1, 585 service voters, will decide the fate of 154 candidates, who are trying their electoral luck from 57 constituencies. Of the total 2, 057 polling stations, 512 have been identified as "sensitive' and 511 "hypersensitive". Elaborate security arrangements have been made to ensure a smooth and peaceful polling. Besides the existing police and paramilitary forces, an additional 32 companies of troops would be deployed. The state government has already declared "dry days" from October 12 to 14 and October 21 to 23. The day of polling has been declared an official holiday, while the votes will be counted on October 22.

Polling officials and materials meant for remote and inaccessible booths have been airlifted, while polling parties for other booths have already left for their respective destinations. As a precautionary measure, all border points of the state would be sealed till the poll process ends.

Congress has 57 candidates in the fray, followed by NCP (36), Trinamool Congress (26), BJP (18), People's Party of Arunachal (11), Janata Dal-United and Independent (3 each). The ruling Congress has already opened their innings with three candidates from Tawang incumbent chief minister Dorjee Khandu (Mukto), first-timer Jamber Tashi (Lumla) and Tsewang Dhondhup (Tawang) being elected unopposed.

Electronic voting machines will be used in all the booths, while 33 Central observers have been appointed to oversee the poll process.

Altogether 10, 305 government employees and adequate micro-observers have been roped in. The coverage of photo electoral rolls this election is 88.42 per cent while the total coverage of electoral photo identity card (EPIC) stands at 91.64 per cent.

In the 2004 Assembly polls, Congress had won 34 seats, BJP nine, NCP and Arunachal Congress (AC) two each and Independent (13).

However, all the BJP legislators and the two NCP MLAs later switched over to Congress. On the other hand, the two Arunachal Congress MLAs and Independents have became associate members of Congress, leaving the House without any Opposition.

Litmus test for Cong in Arunachal

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TANAGAR: With Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) fast emerging as a potent player in Arunachal Pradesh and the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool
Congress making its debut in the state's electoral politics, the ruling Congress is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the wind blows in its favour in the coming elections to the 60-member Assembly.

For Congress, which had won 34 seats in the 2004 elections, the October 13 poll may not be a cakewalk. And the party, it seems, is aware about the challenges lying ahead. Barely an hour ahead of campaigning came to an end on Sunday, Arun-achal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Nabam Tuki hurriedly called a press conference and clarified certain charges that the opposition had been levelling against his party.

"Congress' contributions towards the growth of Arunachal can't be compared with others. We are confident that the mandate of the state's people will be in our favour," Tuki said. "The opposition parties are targeting Congress out of sheer frustration. They have realized that their pres-ence will not have much impact on our (Congress') prospects," he added.

Referring to the BJP's claim that whatever development in the state had taken place was because of its "untiring efforts", Tuki said, "Congress never works on others' diktat. We work only in accordance with its commitment to the people."

Commenting on the NCP and Trinamool's presence in the fray, he said Congress would never go for any alliance with any party. "Congress will return to power with absolute majority. Our party has nothing to do with NCP or Trinamool, despite both the parties being UPA's allies in New Delhi," he said. Though political pundits feel that the anti-incumbency factor would play a crucial role in the prospects of Congress with many dissident leaders contesting the polls on tickets of other parties, Tuki said it would not be a major factor. "Anti-incumbency may be a factor in some constituen-cies. But Congress will win the elections with a thumping majority."