April 23
Arunachal without full-
[ Tongam Rina ]
ITANAGAR, Apr 22: Arunachal Pradesh is perhaps the only state in the entire country
which is without a full-
There are only three regular staffs in both the commissions, amply displaying the low priority given by the state government for the protection of the welfare of children and women.
Mitali Tingkhatra, who is the Chairperson of both the commissions, said that there
is an urgent need to have separate and full-
Tingkhatra said that the Women Commission is overwhelmed handling both the commissions with very few staff. We will be able to do justice only if both the commissions are better equipped with staff and resources, she said.
Former Chairperson of APSWC and human rights activist Jarjum Ete said that there is absolute need to have separate commission for children's protection.
'Our state needs a dedicated commission for welfare of children as well as trained professionals to deal with needs of children and to ensure welfare of our children', she said while speaking to this daily.
On 28 November, 2013, the Arunachal Pradesh Government issued a notification for the constitution of the Arunachal Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (APSCPCR) to facilitate the implementation of provisions contained in the act aimed at protecting child rights and setting up children's courts.
The notification stated that the seven-
"The powers and functions of the APSCPCR will be governed by the provisions of the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005 (No. 4 of 2006), and conditions of service, except salary and other allowances, of the chairperson, vice chairperson and members of the commission will be regulated according to the government notification issued in December 2004," the notification said.
The term of office of the commission will be co-
Meanwhile, the Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights looking into abuse of a child belonging to Arunachal in Guwahati on Tuesday has written to the Kamrup DC to lodge an FIR against Kishan Maan and Dipanita Medhi as well as FIR against the management of the Society for Health and Education Development, Kamrup under Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 for not cooperating in the investigation process and for concealing the truth of the incident.
While calling for the cancelation of registration of the Society for Health and Education Development at Rajiv Gandhi Nagar, where the Arunachalee child was abused, Chairperson Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Dr Runumi Gogoi said that the home is totally unsecure and unsafe for the children. She is in touch with the Arunachal counterpart regarding the abuse case.
Tingkhatra says that there are many cases of abuse and violence against children but the Commission is not able to give justice because of lack of facilities.
SCPCRs were to be established in each state in the country as per the provisions of the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005. But even after more than a decade of implementation of the Act, Arunachal is yet to have an independent Commission for the welfare of the children.
AAPSU calls for mass rally against China’s claim on April 24
ITANAGAR, Apr 22: The All Arunachal Pradesh Students' Union (AAPSU) has decided to organize a mass rally against China's claim on Arunachal and the Chinese Government's naming of six places in Arunachal Pradesh.
The AAPSU has condemned Beijing's move to rename six places in the state and said that it was unnecessary interference by China in the internal affairs of a sovereign state.
The Union stated that "Arunachal Pradesh has never been a part of China and Arunachalees hold strongest patriotism for India".
"Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India and history has revealed that the indigenous people of the state had participated in India's freedom movement, and the people of the state have never been under the Chinese Government", said AAPSU President Hawa Bagang.
The AAPSU has also sought the attention of the Central government to solve the issue of stapled visas at the earliest.
The Union has appealed to the students' community of the state, senior citizens, intellectuals, the Arunachal Press Club, media, market welfare societies of Itanagar, Naharlagun and Nirjuli, citizens to join the mass rally, scheduled to be organised on April 24 at 7:30 am from Akashdeep to Indira Gandhi Park against the Chinese claims.
Three dead in Palin landslide
PALIN, Apr 22: Three persons, all construction workers, were killed due to landslide in Palin Town of Kra Daadi district on Saturday 22.
The mishap occurred around 9.30 AM when labourers were buried alive due to sudden slide of heavy landmass while constructing a retaining wall of a private residence.
All the bodies have been recovered within two hours of the incident by joint operations of the District Administration, police, army and villagers. The deceased were identified as Noor Haque (35 Yrs), Alias Ali (35 Yrs) and Chaiful Islam (40 Yrs) from Lakhimpur, Assam.
The bodies have been handed over to the relatives of the deceased on their request, according to an official report.
Chief Minister Pema Khandu has also expressed shock and sorrow over the loss of the
three lives and announced ex-
He also conveyed his deepest condolences and extended solidarity with the bereaved family members.
While appealing to the people to be cautious during the rainy season, Pema said that Arunachal Pradesh is prone to natural catastrophe so every measure has to be taken to avert casualties and loss of livestock and properties.
Car mows down 4, 1 dead
Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, Apr 22: In a hit and run case, a white Santro knocked down four pedestrians
at Niti Vihar, near Energy Park tri-
According to Itanagar Police Station sources, witnesses informed that the four pedestrians
were hit by a car which was speeding towards Mowb II. While Naya died on the spot,
another victim, Harish Dada sustained grievous injuries and was taken to Heema Hospital,
and later referred to a Guwahati-
The vehicle, bearing registration number AR 01E 8163 was found by the police within a few hours and bought to the Itanagar Police Station at around 11.15 PM.
The driver behind the wheels has been identified as one Joram Acho (51 years), who works as a government driver, the police informed.
The other two victims narrowly escaped and are now prime witnesses to the case.
A class 11 student, Naya is also the sister of Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union Vice President Meje Taku, who has already filed an FIR in the Itanagar Police Station, PS Case No. 86 /2017 US 279/304A IPC.
The deceased’s body is currently at Rama Krishna Mission awaiting post mortem.
Erratic health insurance scheme
Flights Of Fantasy
[ M Panging ]
The revolutionary Chief Minister’s Universal Health Insurance Scheme was launched in 2014. It was lauded as one of the most innovative measures towards improving the health care of citizens of the state.
After the scheme was launched, people of the state stood in long queues for hours
to take photographs and bio-
With the initial euphoria post scheme launch, many poor villagers availed the scheme getting cashless medical treatment and medical surgeries/procedures from empanelled hospitals in many places of the state, nearby Assam and even Vellore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Delhi.
However, in last few months there have been numerous reports of many district hospitals and empanelled hospitals refusing to accept cashless treatment. The hospitals are insisting on full cash payment and reimbursement later if the money is remitted by the insurance company, in this case The New India Assurance Company. There have been numerous instances of the insurance company not reimbursing the cash used for legitimate medical procedures/treatment. This has lead to erratic implementation of the scheme and people losing hope in the government/system.
Execution of a publicised policy fails when there are systemic failures/faults in the policy implementation. Faults vary from inflated bills by empanelled district/private hospitals, frivolous/minor observations/objections by the Third Party administering the policy on behalf of the insurance company, approved diseases list not matching with diseases diagnosed by doctors, roles of agents/middlemen etc. Whatever the reasons, the citizens of the state are suffering.
Health insurance policies have been adopted and implemented in many states. Many
big organisations, PSUs and MNCs subscribe for these health insurance policies. Even
the central government has launched the RSBY (Rashtriya Swasthiya Bima Yojana) in
2008 to provide health insurance coverage for Below Poverty Line (BPL) families and
other categories of unorgani-
Assam and Andhra Pradesh have launched Atal Amrit Abhiyan and Arogya Raksha respectively as universal health insurance schemes for the people of the state. The new health insurance scheme provides cashless medical treatment in empanelled hospitals for BPL and APL families. Every member of the household will be insured for a sum of up to Rs. 2 Lakh per year.
There are many problems plaguing the implementation of the health insurance scheme. The authorities need to study successful health insurance schemes running in other states, big organisations, PSUs etc and emulate the key aspects. One innovative way maybe is to collect a minimal premium from all insurers of the state. Andhra Pradesh collects a premium of Rs 100 per month.
Whatever maybe the case, health insurance schemes are being run successfully in many states and organisations. A strong leadership and efficient management should ensure proper implementation of the scheme. The state owes it to the public to honour its own commitments and announcements. Else the citizens may lose faith in the government/system. After all, the leadership should consider the aspect that one of the strongest weapons of winning votes of citizens may be is through the proper implementation of the CMs Universal Health Insurance Scheme. In line with the saying ‘Health is Wealth’, can we say ‘Free Health is the Ticket to the Throne of the State?’(The writer is a retired Group Captain of Indian Air Force)
Admin organize awareness on 4-
Councilors urge people to cooperate with administration
ITANAGAR, Apr 22: The second round of awareness meeting on 4-
The awareness meeting was organised by the Councillor of Ward No. 4, Gora Tallang and Councillor of Ward No. 5, Taba Yall Nabam.
Capital Complex Deputy Commissioner, Prince Dhawan, along with his team of officers,
Nani Tath, EE Naharlagun Highway Division, PWD Nirjuli; Jiken Bomjen, EAC, Itanagar;
Tame Yajum, EAC (HQ); and Liken Koyu, CO (LM) were present to clarify the doubts
of the land-
The Deputy Commissioner informed the members present in the meeting that in the first
round of ward meeting, only a handful of land owners came forward to remove their
structure voluntarily. He further requested all to co-
Itanagar Municipal Councilors, Taba Yall Nabam and Gora Talang have appealed to the public to cooperate with the district administration for early construction of four lane national highway 415. Both the councilor were addressing an awareness meeting of affected people under Right of Way (RoW) for four lanning of highway convened at a city hotel here on Saturday. Capital Complex, Deputy Commissioner, Prince Dhawan along with Highway officials briefed in detail about the eviction drive to be carried out against the encroached structures along the RoW.
Man on anti-
ITANAGAR, Apr 22: Spreading the message of anti-
The 45-
Stating that dowry system was one of the main reasons for female foeticide in India, Bhawar said he would continue his mission till the end of his life.
Bhawar, who has travelled most parts of Arunachal and the country several times, was all praise for Arunachalee people as he has found no dowry system or cases related to dowry in entire Arunachal Pradesh.
"I have found no dowry system and dowry related incidents in entire Arunachal Pradesh
and other tribal societies in the North East. Hence, I have decided to shift focus
on Swachh Bharat Mission and drug-
Bhawar opined that there was a drug problem in some pockets of the state, which needs to be looked into by the government seriously.
Angandwadi agents of Human Resource Development: Mein
ITANAGAR Apr 22: A day after the state government and Department of Women and Child Development said that it has taken serious view on the unauthorized absence of Anganwadi workers and helpers from their respective Anganwadi Centres to attend the three days conference at Itanagar, Deputy Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Chowna Mein today called them the agents of Human Resource Development at the grass root level.
He said this while speaking at the first state level conference cum foundation day celebration of All Arunachal Pradesh Anganwadi Workers and Helpers Union at Chimpu on Saturday.
He said that they have a big responsibility in educating the village women about their health care, nutrition of the newborn and hygiene. He urged them to work in close coordination with the village women as a facilitator and to motivate the womenfolk in villages to avail benefits from various women welfare schemes like Mahila Samridhi Yojana and Rashtriya Mahila Kosh wherever applicable.
He also urged them to work in coordination with the ASHAs and ANMs for effective implementation of various health care services in villages.
Responding to a 12-
Mein further assured to release their honorarium at enhanced rate immediately and said that the department will be asked to transfer their honorarium to their bank account through Direct Benefit Transfer. He also informed that the state government has already taken a decision to conduct DPC of all departments every six months and said that no case of promotion will be considered without DPC.
Tapir Gao, state BJP President has called upon the Anganwadi Workers and Helpers to nurture every child that comes to the Anganwadi Centres to be a responsible citizen.
Appreciating the Anganwadi workers, he said that they are educating the future nation builders.
President AAPWU and the Chief Advisor to AAPAW&HU Jalley Sonam, said that Anganwadi Workers & Helpers of the state have no knowledge about their rights and benefits. He informed that the AAPAW&HU has been formed to unite all the Anganwadi Workers and Helpers and working women in the state. He said that Anganwadi Workers also have rights to claim for minimum wages, avail benefits under social security act, pension and maternity leave. He further informed that efforts will be on to affiliate the AAPAW&HU with the Indian Labour Union.
President AAPAW&HU, Yasi Nalo Sonam clarified that the rally by the Anganwadi Workers
and Helpers was not against the government or any department, while Secretary AAPAW&HU,
Techi Agri read out and submitted the 12-
State BJP evaluates govt performance
ITANAGAR, Apr 22: In a first of its kind, the state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to evaluate the performance of the state BJP Government in presence of national level party leaders in its party executive meeting scheduled to be held here on April 27.
According to the BJP, ministers will be making presentations on the performance and achievements of their respective departments during the meeting. They will also have to present the road map and vision of their departments, the party said. This practice is being introduced in line with the practice of the BJP at the Centre.
The presentation of the ministers will start with a general overview of Goods & Services Tax (GST) in the context of Arunachal Pradesh and how it will be rolled out in the State by Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein. This will be followed by presentation of performance report of their respective departments by Honchun Ngandam, Minister, Education, Bamang Felix, Minister, Public Health Engineering and Sanitation, and Jomde Kena, Minister, Health & Family Welfare, said state BJP Media Secretary Nalong Mize in a release.
This will be followed by one-
In the state party executive meeting, political and social resolutions that have been passed in the recent national executive meeting held at Bhubaneswar in Odisha will also be adopted.
DC calls for early preparation of District Irrigation Plan
KOLORIANG, Apr 22: Kurung Kumey Deputy Commissioner, Kangki Darang stressed upon early preparation of comprehensive District Irrigation Plan (DIP) and urged the line departments to include strategic action plan from all the blocks/circles in the DIP.
He was addressing the District level Implementation Committee (DLIC) meeting under the Pradhan Mantra Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) of Kurung Kumey district on Friday last.
Deputy Director Agriculture-
A consultant from NABCONS updated the house about overall status of the DIP through a power point presentation. The meeting was attended by all the stakeholders of the PMKSY, including progressive farmers.
Namsai: A land of legends and traditions
[ Dr Biplab Tripathy & Subhechya Raha ]
The 18th district of Arunachal Pradesh, Namsai with its panoramic beauty and mothernature's abundance, has a long history to recall. Though a fair few years of being separated from Lohit (2014), this young district holds the tradition, culture and legends as old as time.
Namsai, a district and a town, located 75km east from Tinsukia (Assam), is drawing good attention recently owing to fast development of township. The local language Khampti syllables Nam and Sai meaning the water and sand, together makes Namsai, denoting the grace of sand, besides the water body of beautiful Dihing, a tributary of the Brahmaputra.
Home of the Khampti Tribe, this land witnesses a brief medieval history of the Sutiya
kingdom. The Sino-
Legends involve endless battles and conflicts between the Sutiyas and the contemporary Ahoms, where mostly the Sutiyas gaining the upper hands. In 1376, murder of Ahom king Sutuphaa treacherously by Sutiya king Jayadhwajpal can be considered as the nick point of the scenario. History recalls evidences when the Sutiya king pretending a friendly reconciliation, invites the Ahom king on a regatta at the Safrai River and enticed him to barge without any attendant. Being defenseless, king Sutuphaa was brutally executed by the Sutiyas. This triggered the conflict to its vigor, resulting in a series of battles and uncompromising bloodsheds.
Not until 1524, Nityapal, the last ruler of the dynasty was assassinated by the Ahoms, accomplishing the century long revenge. Nityapal's incapability made the kingdom vulnerable enough to the Ahom attackers, that they took the opportunity of its weakest position. Losing before the Ahoms, the Sutiyas still refused to quit and leave ground. They moved near the frontier, making the conflict continue for another 150 years. Finally in 1673, the entire kingdom fell into the Ahom domination. However, Namsai never witnessed any Muslim invasion. The Ahoms fiercely withstood the Delhi Mughals and the Turkish and Afghan attackers of Bengal. Hence, Namsai holds pride, being one of the last territories to be brought under British Rule in the beginning of the 19th Century along with other Ahom territories.
Today, this area is mostly recognized as Khampti homeland. The Khamptis and Singhpos are the major tribes found here. Theravada Buddhism is the religion dominantly followed by the locals since time immemorial. Christians and Hindus are also counted in notable numbers. The tribal population has shown a rare duality of accepting the modern lifestyle along with perseverance of culture and tradition.
The Khamtis celebrate festivals like Poi Pee Mau and Maika Samphai. Sangkan is celebrated with splashing of clean water and ceremonial bath of the Budhha. Tupula bhaat, pitha and khichdi are the popular delicacies prepared by the people. The local men are easily distinguished with traditional costumes such as Siu Pachai and Phanoi. And women look graceful with Sinn and Famoi, amber earrings and coral beaded necklaces. Here, economy is widely dependent on agriculture, as it is the major reasonable subsistence for the Namsai residents. Rice is the crop mostly grown. Other than this, mustard seed cultivation and tea plantations are also included. Timber production is widely popular due to presence of varieties of vegetative species, but it is largely controlled by the government to avoid over exploitation of vegetation.
Tourism also holds a promising future here. The eye soothing greenery and vegetation are natural tourist attractors. The Golden Pagoda of Namsai being one of the largest monasteries of Arunachal Pradesh attracts plenty of visitors from all around the country every year.
In spite of all these, education is still widely embraced with establishment of numerous schools, colleges and universities. With rising township and advent of recent urbanization, communication has also been made hospitable with NH2 road which was originally built by Oil India. The Noa Dihing bridge inaugurated in 2002 on Noa Dihing River is the heart of the communication of this region and is the second most important bridge in Arunachal Pradesh after Parasuram bridge.
Thus, along with modernization, an unforgettable history is hidden deep within the heart of Namsai. A unique blend of urbanization and tradition indeed makes the environment interesting and amicable as the people have beautifully learnt to balance both the aspects of life hand to hand.
(Dr Biplab Tripathy is an Assistant Professor, Arunachal University of Studies and
Subhechya Raha is a student, MSc, Madras University) References: owww.wikipedia.org
owww.onefivenine.com or www.tribes-
Exclude Adi villages from Lower Siang: AdiSU
Correspondent
RUKSIN, Apr 22: The Adi Students Union (AdiSU) has reiterated its demand to exclude
five Adi villages from Nari-
The Union has demanded the state government to implement the Dharmendra Sharma-
The AdiSU on Saturday conducted a meeting at Depi village Community Hall in Nari circle and gathered the opinion of local villagers. The meeting, chaired by AdiSU Finance Secretary Kaling Eko, seriously discussed the 'boundary demarcation' issue.
The AdiSU functionaries clarified that they were not objecting the creation of Lower
Siang district curving certain portions of East Siang and West Siang districts, but
the villagers of namely Depi, Depi-
The Union also alleged that an attempt is being made by some vested organizations
to compel the state government to notify the territorial jurisdiction of Lower Siang
district contrary to the Dharmendra Sharma-
"We will not tolerate any deviation of the recommendations made by the high power committee in case of boundary demarcation. We are opposing posting of DC and SP at Likabali until the five Adi villages are left out from Lower Siang and boundary demarcation is cleared", said Kaling Eko.
The AdiSU leaders further informed that they have decided to launch rigorous agitation from early next month and the state government will be responsible for any inclement situation due to its movement.
AICC approves Pradesh Cong committee
ITANAGAR, Apr 22: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi has approved the appointments of Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee office bearers, spokespersons and chairmen of some of its cells, according to an official release, and the APCC has eight vice presidents and four spokespersons.
Awareness prog conducted on prevention and control of deafness
[ Karda Natam ]
DAPORIJO, Apr 22: A day-
During the programme, Dr Tape Dakpe from the district hospital spoke about the NPPCD and gave awareness on ways to prevent deafness. DMO, Nyage Geyi also attended the programme at Muri Mugli to encourage the trainees and enlighten on the importance of the programme and scheme, especially for the rural areas.
APFA chalks out annual plan
ITANAGAR, Apr 22: The Arunachal Pradesh Football Association (APFA) in its annual general meeting held at Naharlagun on Saturday has prepared its annual plan for the upcoming season.
The meeting presided over by APFA Vice President Kipa Takum made the registration of district football associations mandatory for each district to take part in any football tournament organized under the aegis of the APFA.
The House also unanimously decided to organize the prestigious Tadar Tang State Level Football Championship in two stages. Accordingly, the districts will be divided in six zones for qualifying round and two teams from each zone will qualify for the finals, which will be played at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Naharlagun.
Zones divided are: Zone 1 -
Several amendments in the constitution of the Association were also approved during the meeting.
Speaking on the occasion, APFA Secretary, Kipa Ajay expressed concern over the slow progress of football stadiums construction work at Daporijo, Ziro and other places for the last three to four years.
"Without proper infrastructures and facilities, we cannot produce promising players from our state in any discipline," he said. He also appealed to the Chief Minister to take urgent steps for early completion of new football stadium construction works for the betterment of sports and games.
The meeting was attended by executive members of APFA and representatives of various
district football associations and sub-
Earth Day celebrated
ITANAGAR, Apr 22: The Earth day was celebrated in Shiv Ganga Vidya Mandir, a senior
secondary CBSE affiliated school, at Sector-
Speaking on the occasion, Justice of Allahabad High Court, Arvind Kumar Mishra appreciated the efforts of environmentalist in creating awareness about nature conservation.
Presiding over the programme, Professor S S Ojha of the University of Allahabad motivated
the children to have compassion for all living beings. He also requested students
to say no to plastic and launch a nationwide anti-
Other speakers included Vice Chancellor of Awadh Agricultural University, Professor Akhtar Haseeb.
Public Relation Officer of Shiv Ganga Vidya Mandir, Garima Singh, along with 5000 participants took a pledge to plant trees and save trees, no use of polythene and save ponds, lakes and rivers in their surroundings.
On the occasion, more than 500 environmentalists were honoured by former Russian Army Commando, Oblonokov Igor.
Thousands of school children, volunteers from Swadeshi Jagran Manch, ISKCON, and Art of Living and the common masses participated in various activities, including tree plantation to mark the occasion.
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