January 05
Stage set for Si-
Naharlagun, Dec 04: Stage is set for the Si-
The festival priest has already arrived from Daporijo today and the rituals/chanting has begun for the bumper harvest and well being of human beings.
Meanwhile as part of the celebration, a Tagin Audio album, produced by Gamsuk Ligu Garam has been released on 4th January in a cultural programme to pay tribute to Maaluk Doyum, a legendry Tagin radio artist.
The album with songs by Jeli Kayi Tamin, Tapo Charuk Pakmen and Gamniya Baki Garam was released by EAC, Itanager Habung Lumpung and Councilor Tai Tassung, Banderdewa Municipality today.
Traditional dance and drama competition
ITANAGAR, Jan 04: The circle level traditional dance and drama competition was conducted at Bordumsa as part of Eknath Ranade's birth centenary celebration.
The first prize in traditional dance competition was bagged by Wakhetna village while the second prize was won by Kherem Kachari village.
The first prize in traditional drama competition was bagged by Gidding village.
Eight teams participated in traditional dance competition and three in traditional drama.
MLA Nikh Kamin, Head Gaon Bura Sekhet Tang Singpho, ZPM Tonko Singpho witnessed the programme among others.
A similar competition was also organized at Diyun wherein Innao village bagged the first prizes in both traditional dance and drama competition and Deori village the seconds.
There were seven troupes for the traditional dance competition and as many teams for the traditional drama competition.
About 1050 people witnessed the programme.
Efforts to shift sawmills to Industrial zone
PASIGHAT, Jan 04: The Department of Forest, Pasighat Division has come out with a plan to shift all band sawmills in notified industrial zones for their effective monitoring.
In a letter to Dy. Director Industries, Pasighat, the EAC (Dev), who is also heading the Task Force checking forest illegalities in the district, has appealed to the Department of Industries to ensure shifting of all band saw mills across the district in the notified industrial estates like Niglok, Pasighat and Mebo.
On being asked about unregulated and unrestricted band sawmills across the district which have been responsible for major illegal timber operation, Divisional Forest Officer Pasighat Forest Division Tabang Jamoh said that he had written several times to East Siang Deputy Commissioner for shifting of all band saw mills in notified industrial estate for effective monitoring and checking of illegalities. In this connection, two district level meetings were also held at DC's office on July 24 and August 29, 2014 involving all ADCs of Mebo, Nari, Boleng and Ruksin and wherein they emphasized on shifting of these band saw mills in industrial estate. But no concrete steps have been initiated from the department of Industries, added Jamoh.
He, however, expressed the hope that this time the individual/cluster of band sawmills operating from various isolated locations and private residence will be shifted to the government industrial notified estates. (Maksam Tayeng)
News Impact
Police act tough against ILP violators in East Siang
PASIGHAT, Jan 04: As many as 45 people have been arrested and later deported for
not possessing valid inner line permits (ILP) in Sille-
The police set up check point at NH-
A case has been registered under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulations, 1873 at Sile Oyan Police Station.
Later, the police produced all 45 for not possessing valid inner line permits before the magistrate.
A Police team led by SI M.S.Bori, Officer In charge of Sile-
AAPSU supports hunger strike by aspirants
ITANAGAR, Jan 04: All Arunachal Pradesh Students' Union (AAPSU) has extended its unconditional support to the APPSC examination aspirants, who have decided to sit on 72 hours hunger strike to seek justice, and also lauded Ujum Perying for taking the lead.
"It is shocking to know that the APPSC has suspended four officials in the ranks of Joint Secretary and Under Secretary although the Commission had earlier termed the allegations leveled by the aspirants as baseless," AAPSU said in a release.
It is now necessary for the Chairman and the Members to come clean on this issue to rebuild public confidence and trust on the Commission, the release stated.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Consultative Committee has every right to have a copy of the Enquiry Report as they are the immediate affected party. The Commission must make the Enquiry Report available to the Consultative Committee, AAPSU demanded.
The suspension of the officials, particularly the Joint Secretary cum Controller of Examination, in connection with the question paper leak incident has raised our concern. The confidentiality of any paper cannot be ascertained when the Controller of Examination has access to all the confidential files. The functioning and confidentiality as well as the Integrity of the Commission are highly questionable under these circumstances, AAPSU said and stressed on the need of major reforms in the functioning of the Commission to ensure that no such things are repeated in future. AAPSU also held the state government equally responsible for showing laxity in deciding the matter after having the Enquiry Report since October 3, 2014.
Govt. will be responsible if anything happens to the protesting aspirants, added the release.
ITANAGAR, Jan 04: News & Views Award for Excellence in Journalism, an annual award,
to commemorate the birth of electronic media in Arunchal Pradesh has been instituted
under the banner of Frontier Films by its proprietor Taro Chatung, who had produced
the 15-
Influenced by film star Shatrughan Sinha producing weekly news programme, titled "Shotgun Show" for Zee TV, and after learning the first lessons on the basics of TV journalism and its production at Zee TV's Mumbai office in 1997, Chatung under an agreement with the Itanagar DDK started producing News & Views from July 10, 2000, which came to an end in May 2005 because of policy decision by the DDK at national level. The award carrying a cash of Rs 50,000 and certificate will be given away on January 20, the day NEFA was christened as Arunachal Pradesh (Union Territory) in 1972 at Ziro.
However, the maiden award will be given here, Chatung told organising committee headed by senior journalist Pradeep Kumar, which met in the Press Club here today.
The criteria for the award included minimum five-
The screening committee, headed by Sahitya Academy awardee, Y D Thongchi, with Mamang
Dai, a Padma Shree awardee, IPR director C M Longphong, film maker Moji Riba and
social activist Sunil Mow as members, invites three bye-
Five hard copies of each write-
Appreciating the initiative, Dai said that it would go a long way in promoting journalism in the state, which faces many an uphill tasks to serve the people. Among others APC president Chopa Cheda, senior journalists Utpal Boruah, Tapan Das and Partha Bhowmik were present during the occasion.
Wealthy Sissen plagued by govt apathy
ITANAGAR, Jan 04: It has enough spices to ensure a better living for its residents but no road to take them forward. Enter Sissen village in East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh. The tiny village, perched atop a hillock on the right bank of Siang river, has earned laurels for record production of organic spices but still lacks a motorable road connecting it with the rest of the world.
The only means of communication for the few hundred villagers is a bamboo hanging bridge over the river. Adults as well as children cross the river risking their lives everyday.
The village, under the administrative control of Kebang circle, has only 21 households and 140 voters (as per 2011 Census). The residents had boycotted the April 9 Assembly and Lok Sabha elections to draw the attention of politicians to their plight. But nothing has been done to reduce their problems so far.
The village has farming enthusiasts from each household growing spices such as cardamom, ginger, red chilli, turmeric, medicinal and aromatic plants, and many other agriculture and horticulture products. Every person of the village has turned into organic spices growers' to sustain themselves without depending on contract works or government jobs.
The villagers sold more than two tonnes of large cardamom (Golsey) in the nearest
market in Kekar Monying (near Sisen hanging bridge), Pasighat and Assam's Dibrugarh
district last year at Rs 800-
"Our villagers carry their produces by head load from their respective farms to the nearest motorable road by covering around five to six km after crossing the hanging bridge. A person used to carry more than 35 kg of cardamom in local made basket that is worth around Rs 30,000 (per basket)," said Bakin Siram, a young farmer.
He said due to suitable soil and climatic condition, each household in the village earns minimum Rs 1 lakh annually from cardamom, orange and ginger cultivations. "Apart from spices cultivation, women from the village sell vegetables, red chilli, fruits, etc.," he said.
Earlier, the villagers hardly earned Rs 10,000 per year before opting for horticulture and agriculture farming. "Earlier, our people could hardly earn even Rs 10,000 per annum. Now we have admitted our children to various private schools in Pangin, Pasighat, Aalo and Itanagar," Siram said.
Witnessing handsome returns, the villagers have started cultivating rubber and medicinal plants to supplement their annual income. If things go in right direction, the villagers could earn minimum Rs 5 lakh per annum, he claimed.
"Sisen has been one of the successful farming centres of the state. Despite communication bottleneck, the villagers scripted a success story through various schemes of the state horticulture department," East Siang DHO Balom Apum said.
"We provide seedlings, barbed wires and constructed water tanks from government schemes for them. They identify areas for community farming near their village and utilise it judiciously," Apum said.
To encourage spices farming, the state government and the Spice Board of India had on October 26 last year signed a memorandum of understanding here.
According to the MoU, the Spice Board of India would set up two auction centres at Namsai and Kimin, besides model nursery at the Eastern, Western and Central Zones of the state.
The Board would provide 30% share on subsidy to the cultivators and 20% shares would be provided by the state. The Board would also document the indigenous spices of the state. The state government would facilitate marketing of the spices through "Buy Back Policy", and had decided to include spices in the flagship programmes of the state.
"Arunachal Pradesh has huge potential for organic spices especially large cardamom, ginger, turmeric and star anise, and we will assist farmers towards its production through various schemes," Spice Board Director (Development) S Siddaramappa said.
Sissen village is also historically significant as the British troops had launched
an attack on the Adi warriors during the 1911 Anglo-
Despite having all the potentials to be among the front-
The light of development would only reach the people once the unconnected villages,
including Pongging, are linked with the Trans-
For a more representative Delhi Police
Abhimanyu Chandra
Two weeks ago, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, alerted Parliament to an astounding fact: In Delhi, instances of discrimination against people from the Northeast had increased by 226% over the previous year.
Benighted private individuals-
Nido Tania's death brought racism against people from the Northeast to the forefront;
the issue was reported not, as is customary with it, just by the Northeast media,
but by the national press as well. On January 29, 2014, 20-
Activists, representatives, and reports suggest that other less fatal acts of racism,
and against Northeast people less-
Statistics and student groups suggest the police, too, is discriminatory. According to the North East Support Centre and Helpline, between 2005 and 2011 Delhi Police registered just 36 out of 96 cases of crime committed against people from the Northeast. The Nending Anyung incident illustrates the perception of an unjust police. Anyung, a nurse from the Northeast, was subjected to racial, regional epithets at the All India Institute for Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on September 10, and was subsequently strangled. That was bad enough. But then Delhi Police, at least in the eyes of Arunachal Students' Union Delhi (ASUD), was negligent in its response. ASUD located the police's apathy in Anyung's identity. The police dragged its feet, ASUD reasoned, because Anyung is an Arunachalee, is from the Northeast.
The problem with all of this is threefold. One, obviously, is racism. Two, the perception
(backed by at least some evidence) that the police-
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plan to recruit Northeast youth into Delhi Police,
a plan he announced on a visit earlier in the month to the region, is a useful corrective
for restoring trust. (Data on the composition of Delhi Police is unavailable. But
a 2011 article on an incoming group of 344 sub-
A more representative police alone will not, to be sure, address discrimination in Delhi against people from the Northeast. And the Centre seems to realize this; along with several other measures, it has announced plans to include more content on the Northeast in a revised CBSE syllabus. And, to be sure, discrimination against Northeast people is not limited to Delhi. Nonetheless Delhi is the national capital, and so the stakes there are particularly high. If Delhi is to have a certain amity between those governing and those governed, and if its diverse population is to coexist, then a robust social fabric is a necessity. The Prime Minister's recent announcement is a solid step in that direction.
One hopes that if not in the next one year, or even the next five years, then perhaps in the next ten years the Minister of State for Home Affairs will have better news for Parliament: that instead of more than doubling, discrimination in Delhi against people from the Northeast has halved.
(This column was first published in Huffington Post India)
Copyright © 2008, The Arunachal Times Publications Pvt. Ltd., Siang House, Sector
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All rights reserved.
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Political war over terror boat issue
The terror boat issue has been turned into a political battle between Congress and BJP. Congress today asked the NDA government to come clean on Pakistani 'terror boat' issue by naming the terror organization involved in the incident. Party claimed that different versions were coming out and there was no concrete evidence to prove a major terrorist strike was averted. Congress also accused the government of sensationalizing the issue. BJP reacted very strongly to Congress charges and said the opposition party's reaction on the issue of such sensitive national security was shocking.
A fishing boat, suspected to be from Pakistan, allegedly exploded after a dramatic
chase off the Gujarat coast on New Year's Eve after the vessel was intercepted by
Coast Guard near the Indo-
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Punish the divisive elements
Dear Editor,
This is in response to the news report “Now, Gujarat cops make ‘terrorists’ shout
pro-
While the terrorists and lumpen elements need to be seriously punished, care should
be taken that those who try to malign a whole religious or ethnic group for heinous
acts of a few can also not succeed in escaping from the clutches of the law. Though
sexual atrocities have become a “national phenomenon”, yet certain vested interests
try their level best in painting the whole Bengali race in a “rapist” colour. Similarly
a very filthy mindset of equating Islam with terrorism has gained roots and it has
got reflected through the ugly deeds of Surat police. Not only do these parochial
outlook character-
By drawing inspiration from civilized countries ranking high in Human Development Index, India should also strictly punish the divisive elements who engage in portraying particular section of population in derogatory light.
Yours,
Kajal Chatterjee,
Kolkata
Let there be freedom of choice
Dear Editor,
Recently there has been lot of talk concerning anti-
Locally, I think the philosophies of the indigenous faith of tribals are competent enough to stand on its own. It does not need a law to uphold it.
Like the way other countries are open to Hinduism, India should also be open to their religions and people should be given the freedom to choose which religion to follow. Indian political leaders should not make anti conversion law as an issue to create unrest in the country and we as educated and free citizens must understand the politics of religion. If our leaders want to promote Hinduism, then they must do in the same way other democratic countries of the world do i.e by giving people the freedom to choose.
Yours,
Takam Tadar
Delhi University
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