Violence in Northeast Has Gone Down: Chidambaram

Itanagar, Apr 4 :

Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday told NDTV that violence in the Northeast has gone down. He said that talks are on with rebel groups, and United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) may join talks.

However, Chidambaram emphasised that splinter groups in Northeast will be dealt with firmly. The Home Minister reiterated the point that Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh is integral part of India. PTI adds: Mr Chidambaram is in Itanagar to review the security situation in the state amid speculation that Myanmar may launch an operation against Northeast militants having bases there, officials said.

The Home Minister, who is on a two-day visit of the state, will hold a high level meeting with the Army and security agencies. He is also scheduled to visit Khonsha, headquarters of Tirap, a district declared disturbed along with adjoining Changlang, under the Armed Forces Special Power Act because of activities of militants from neighboring Nagaland and Assam.

The militants use the forests in the two districts sharing border with Myanmar as corridor to their bases across the international border. After being driven out from Bhutan and Bangladesh, the militants have reportedly taken refuge in camps in Myanmar. Union Home Secretary G K Pillai had visited Naypyidaw, the new Myanmarese capital, in January. http://www.ndtv.com/news/flash/embed/player_vod_em.swf

Finnish Idea Explodes Northeast

Sinlung Says:
Northeast India simmering with Issues of neglect, under-development finds itself in the top of activities every day although the mainland Indian media ignore the region.

With strikes, bandhs, Chakka-Jams everyday and every where. Whatever way and method to air opinion – has been tried, tested and perfected in Northeast India.

From catapults in Imphal protests to Molotov Cocktails…there’s an endless possibility set on this path to destruction of public or sometime private property.

And here’s one of them read below.

Molotov cocktail or kerosene bomb becomes a popular tool to vent anger

By E.M. Jose

Firemen get to work with a vehicle torched with Molotov cocktail in Shillong

Shillong : The Molotov cocktail, a crude bomb devised by Finnish soldiers during their fight against the Soviet Union in 1939, has emerged as a handy and cheap tool to ventilate anger and frustration in Meghalaya.

Four Shillong students, arrested for hurling a kerosene bomb at St Edmund’s School, had used the same method to cause damage to the office of the principal and an adjacent room.

It is not known whether or not the disgruntled youths knew about the soldiers from Finland who used bottles filled with petrol as bombs against the Soviet army during the tenure of then foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov, but the method they use has similarities.

Coined by Finnish soldiers after the Russian minister Molotov, the petrol, kerosene, and gasoline bombs were in circulation during the Winter War in 1939.

“We are concerned that the Molotov concept is gaining popularity in Meghalaya and there is a need to put a stop to this,” East Khasi Hills superintendent of police A.R. Mawthoh said.

Miscreants are using the principle of Molotov to settle personal scores, which needs to be nipped in the bud, the official said. The Molotov cocktail is easy to make. It is basically a glass bottle fitted with cloth wicks and filled with petrol, kerosene or other inflammable substances. When the bottles are thrown after lighting the wicks, they can cause damage to buildings or vehicles, which are the usual targets.

Petrol bombs were used during an agitation by NGOs under the banner of the Steering Committee Against Murder of Democracy over last year’s jailbreak.

There were similar attacks during protests against uranium mining as well.

In February, goons also threw a petrol bomb at the office of a Khasi daily, but police are yet to arrest the culprits.

“Soon after the agitation sponsored by the Steering Committee Against Murder of Democracy, we banned carrying of petrol in bottles or independent containers,” the East Khasi Hills deputy commissioner, J. Lyngdoh, said.

“We also need to think whether we can extend the ban on the use of kerosene in small bottles or independent containers as there are chances that the miscreants can also use kerosene bombs as well,” he said.

A senior home department official said with the Meghalaya Maintenance of Public Order Bill in the Assembly being passed, those who throw petrol bombs at government vehicles and the buildings will be taken to task as they will have to compensate for the damage caused to property during an agitation.

“We hope the proposed bill will contain the use of petrol bombs,” he added.

300,000 Enumerators Not Enough For Census Work in Northeast

Guwahati, Apr 3 : Along with the rest of the country, the massive exercise of counting and profiling India’s 1.2 billion people began in the northeast  with enumerators collecting personal details of chief ministers and governors among others.

An estimated 300,000 officials in Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim have been detailed to carry out the task of door-to-door headcount for the National Population Register.

‘The idea is to list the number of people residing in each state besides providing house numbers and also listing the household goods used by each house,’ R.K. Das, principal census director of Assam said. Also taking into consideration the terrain of Northeast India, the current number of enumerators might not be enough to complete the same in time.

The census in Assam would be carried out in three phases – the final figures would be published in the 2011 census report.

‘The census report would also provide economic indicators, besides touching on aspects like literacy, housing facilities, amenities, caste, religion and other things,’ Das said.

‘This is the first time the enumerators would be seeking details of assets, properties, household goods, literacy and other information to create a comprehensive database to be incorporated in the National Population Register,’ the official said.

They will first begin the process of house listing, which records information on homes. The headcount of people will take place from Feb 9-28, 2011. The full census results will be released in mid-2011.

‘I and my wife filled up all the details as sought by the census officials. People should cooperate with the officials and reveal the truth and not try to suppress facts,’ Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said.

Cultural Fest ‘Octave 2010’ Concludes in Kolkata

Kolkata, Apr 1 : A three-day cultural festival, ‘Octave 2010’, showcasing northeastern cultural heritage, has concluded in Kolkata.

The festival was organized by the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC) between March 29 and March 31.

Over 200 dancers, musicians, crafts persons from Arunachal Pradesh , Assam , Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland , Sikkim and Tripura were participated in the event.

“Here in EZCC we were organized a programme called ‘Octave’, where we were presented the folk art and the culture of the north eastern states.

There were eight northeastern states as we know, but many of us don’t know about the richness of their culture. So we have arranged the programme. Here we were presented folk dances of all the eight northeastern states. In addition to that, we have also organized a fashion parade,” said Dr. Jayanta Sthanapati, Director of the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC).

Handicrafts from all the northeastern states were put on display at the stalls.

“I liked coming here. There is a lot to see at the stalls. There are traditional costumes of all the northeastern states; there is a lot of bamboo handicraft. It is all very good,” said Deepti Raha, a visitor.

Participants from these states performed traditional folk dances.

A fashion show was also held where traditional garments of the northeastern states were showcased.

All Rescued Kids in Tamil Nadu From Zeme tribe

By Dhananjay Mahapatra

New Delhi, Apr 1 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered a thorough probe into the alleged incidents of child trafficking from Northeastern states by missionaries. Additional solicitor-general Indira Jaising said from the sketchy police report, majority of the children rescued from “homes” run by missionaries in Tamil Nadu appeared to be minor girls.

A bench comprising CJI K G Balakrishnan and Justices Deepak Verma and B S Chauhan issued notices to Manipur and Assam governments, seeking their response to the serious issue of trafficking.

The SP, Kanyakumari district, in his affidavit, informed the apex court that on a tip-off, the child welfare inspection committee visited ‘Bethesda Blessing Ministries Home’ at Plavilai, Kaliyakkavilai, run by Pastor Shaji and found 76 children in squalid conditions.

Kanyakumari SP informed SC that all children belonged to ‘Zeme’ tribe in Manipur and Assam and that Rev Paul belonged to the same community. “Due to poverty, parents of these children entrusted them to Rev Paul on the promise that he would provide better education and healthcare to them,” the SP said.

Miss Barak is Sangita Phukan

Senapati (Manipur), Apr 1 : Twenty-one year old Sangita Phukan of Assam has been crowned as the Seven Sisters Miss Barak, 2010 in the contest which was held at the indoor stadium of Senapati district headquarters yesterday.

Sangita hails from Jorhat district, Assam.

Talking to media persons after being crowned the new Miss Barak, Sangita, who graduated in English last year and is still continuing her study, said that she aspires to become a well known writer.

Towards realizing her dream, Sangita has so far written and published two books.

Sangita said she would like to continue her literary journey to highlight problems afflicting the Northeast region, their root causes and the problem thereof.

The Miss contest was held as part of the Seven Sisters Barak Festival, 2010 organized by Youth Hope Foundation, Senapati under the sponsorship of 59 Mountain Brigade.

The theme of the festival was ‘Peace through culture and identity’.

In all 14 contestants from Assam, Nagaland and Manipur participated in the contest.

The title of the first runner-up and the second runner-up has been respectively bagged by 19-yr old Himakshi Argawala of Guwahati, Assam, and 16-year old Sangrila Meisanam of Keishamthong Top Leirak, Imphal.

Along with the crown of new Miss Barak, 2010, Sangita received cash prize of Rs 1 lakh while the first and second runner-up were given Rs 50,000 and Rs 30,000 respectively.

Five jury members conducted the contest.

Other sub-title winners of the contest are Dibakmi-Best designer; Lungai Kim – Miss Congeniality; Himakshi Argawala – Miss Talent; Lijano Aoubum – Miss Catwalk; Sangrila Meisanam – Miss Photogenic; and Theiyaphi – Miss Perfect 10. Chairman of Hill Area Committee Thangminlien Kipgen, MLA of Tadubi A/C K Raina and GOC of 57 Mountain Division Maj Gen DS Hooda graced the function as chief guest, special guest and president respectively.

 

The Sangai Express

** ‘Barak Queen – Crown’ Pic courtesy Hueiyen Lanpao; Other pictures are exclusively owned by BCCL and Sinlung.com,

Media Asked to Focus on Development of Northeast States

By Shreeraj Gudi

New Delhi, Apr 1 : Union Government’s interlocutor for Naga peace talks R. S. Pandey on Wednesday asked the media to report more on progress and development of the northeast region than just covering problems.

“Northeast has more stories on prospects and development than problems. There is a vast region of peace and tranquility. The areas which are enjoying peace and harmony should be shown to the outside world,” Pandey said.

His comments came while participating in a dialogue on “North East: Fallen off the media map?” organized by the Foundation for Media Professionals (FMP).

Pandey asked the scribes to highlight the basic human values in their reporting when he said the northeastern part of the country can really produce good and sellable news. But he expressed concern that the mainstream media did not have much focus on that region.

In his address, Pandey stressed that the psychological gap between northeast region and mainstream or metropolitan cities-centric media should be bridged.

“There is an immense psychological difference, this needs to be filled with,” Pandey said.

He said covering northeast is a big challenge and a bit difficult but even in that one can achieve success.

“This is the time of media proliferation. If the bosses in the media can decide, they can send and get report extensively,” Pandey said.

He said there are commonality as well as differences in the homogenous group of northeastern states, which are home to over 200 tribes.

Pandey, who also served for over a two decade in Nagaland as Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer acknowledged that infrastructure development in the region is still a big challenge, though the region showed good in Human Development Index (HDI).

He expressed confidence that the things were improving compared to 30 years ago, but they still need more focus.

Unsustainable Traditional Land Clearing in Northeast India

Guwahati, Mar 31 : Traditional land clearing for planting of hill rice and vegetables (jhum) in Northeast India is now a part-time job.

Looking at the extent of burning on the hillsides, jhum has gone beyond its sustainability as a way of life. There are too many people practicing it with too little land for a 15-year cycle.

And this means that people can no longer simply live off the land in order to survive, send children to school, and meet the basic needs. They now need some level of government employment as some sort of “multi-cropping”1 to augment their income needs.

Of course for those families that don’t have one member employed at a basic level by government, it is a different story. Half the year is spent first clearing the land and burning just before the rains, then planting and guarding until the harvest of rice. For the other half of the year, they will wait or look for other work on a construction site or labor elsewhere.

The hills are burning today as people expect rain in early March. For two months there has been no rain at all and that is unusual. The first flush of leaves on the tea farms in Assam will be lost if rain does not come in a week, and also much of the ash from the burnings will have blown away.

The burning is extensive, and fires go way beyond the area to be planted in a season. In a nearby village, part of a tea farm burned along by the road and a transformer close to the scrub also burned. Often, a catchment area for water gets burned and in the last few days someone’s house also got caught up in the fires.

Marginal trees get sapped of their life when they could have been a source of production. Bananas are scorched and people have to wait for a new sucker to emerge. When the hillsides burn, much of the nutrient goes up in smoke and the ash gets blown away. When the rain comes, it often carries off any ash left on the surface.

[ via ESSC News ]

Hailstorm Wreck Havoc in Northeast India

 Agartala/Aizawl, Mar 31 : Hundreds of houses were destroyed, a large number of trees, electric and telephone posts uprooted and crops heavily damaged in pre-monsoon rains accompanied by strong wind and hailstorm in Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur, official sources said here Tuesday.

Officials in the state capitals said the seasonal cyclonic rainstorm accompanied by heavy lightning, which lashed the state Sunday and Monday night, also killed one person and injured many. Many cattle were also killed.

“The Northwester (cyclonic rainstorm) would continue till the onset of monsoon. The seasonal Northwesterly is now active in entire eastern and northeast India and few other places in the country,” meteorological department director Dilip Saha told IANS.

A 21-year old youth was killed and seven others injured when struck by lightning at Amarpur in south Tripura late Monday night. The injured were shifted to hospital.

“Lightning and thunder, accompanied by high velocity winds, lashed entire Tripura during the past two days, damaging standing crops and uprooting electric poles, telephone lines and big trees besides destroying over 300 houses,” an official of the state relief department said.

In Mizoram, over 600 houses were destroyed and at least 20 people injured in the cyclonic rainstorm across mountainous Aizawl, Kolasib, Serchhip and Lunglei districts.

“The worst-hit area was the northeastern part of the state under Aizawl district adjoining Manipur, where at least 400 houses were completely damaged,” Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla said in the state assembly.

“The deputy commissioners were asked to visit affected areas with relief materials,” he added.

The cyclonic storm ripped through Manipur, damaging at least 400 houses and injuring 15 people, mostly women and children.

An official said Ukhrul and Imphal West districts were the worst hit.

There were also reports of damage to vegetables, a variety of horticultural crops, food grains and trees in many parts of the three northeastern states.

http://videosfromindia.smashits.com/videoplayer.swf

Storm Lashes Mizoram, Over 1000 Houses Damaged

Over 1,000 houses have been damaged in Mizoram lashed by heavy rain, coupled with hailstorm and strong wind since Sunday, official sources said today.

Saiha town was hit by hailstorm midday today in which several houses were damaged, police said.

The extent of damage is yet to be ascertained as communication lines were snapped by the storm.

North eastern part of the state was worst hit by the storm which ravaged more than 400 houses on Sunday night where hails as big as eggs landed on the GCI-roof tops causing heavy damage to the human dwellings in this part of Aizawl district adjoining Manipur.

Other districts like Serchhip, Kolasib, Lunglei and Saiha were also not spared as more reports on the devastation poured in despite communication problems.

Cell phone network systems were disrupted following the storm hitting Aizawl district and many villages remained incommunicado.

Power supply was also disrupted in some places as electric poles and lines were damaged by the storm.

http://english.ntdtv.com/mFlvPlayer.swf

NH 40 4-Laning to Begin This Year

Kolkata/ Guwahati Mar 31 : Four-laning of National Highway 40, which connects Shillong, capital of Meghalaya, with Guwahati, is expected to commence in 2010. Work on Shillong bye-pass would also start by the end of this year, said Mukul Sangma, finance minister of Meghalaya, while presenting the state budget for 2010-2011.

“Both projects are now at an advanced stage of consideration for award of work by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI),” Sangma said.

In the current year, he said, the state government provided Rs 180 crore from the state plan for construction of roads and bridges, by which 368 schemes will be completed by this year. This will result in 46 km of new construction; 227 km blacktop roads; 42 km improved and widened roads and 895 metres of bridges.

Of this, 8 are ongoing projects with a target of 44 kms of upgraded roads and 6 are under-construction bridges under North-Eastern Council (NEC) sponsored schemes.

Sangma said that Rs 30.24 crore has been provided for additional land acquisition for upgrading Umroi Airport, near Shillong. The land will be acquired shortly, he added. He further said that steps had been initiated for setting up a permanent helipad in Shillong.

On power sector front, Sangma said that to meet the shortfall, some hydro projects have been identified for completion in the 11th Plan. Capacity of 193.5 MW is expected to be added to state’s own generation during these five years. He added that the state government was in the process of allotting hydro and thermal power projects to NEEPCO and other parties.

The state’s generation capacity is 186 MW, which is exclusively hydel-based. Meghalaya’s share of power from central utilities in North-East is around 130 MW. However, due to transmission constraints, only 60 MW of power can be drawn during peak hours and 80-100 MW during off-peak hours.

As a consequence, power availability is only around 40 per cent to 50 per cent of total requirement. The present unrestricted power demand of the State is 610 MW, of which 480 MW is industrial demand and 130 MW is domestic demand.