January 09
Fate of many PMGSY roads in Bameng hanging in balance
ITANAGAR, Jan 8: The fate of many roads sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) in Bameng block of East Kameng district is hanging in balance due to poor implementation, said public leader of the area Vijay Sonam.
Interestingly, Bameng Assembly Constituency is represented by BJP MLA Kumar Waii, who is powerful RWD and Home Minister in the present BJP Government.
In a representation to the Director General (NRRDA), Ministry of Rural Development, Sonam, who also is the general secretary of state BJP, claimed that many roads sanctioned under the flagship programme to provide road connectivity to remote and inaccessible villages of Bameng block were left half done while construction of many are yet to start. Sonam claimed that the portion of road from Pakke to Waii, which was supposed to be completed before 2009, is still at the stage of formation cutting. Even, the works of formation cutting have not been fully completed till date, Sonam claimed.
The road project from Pakke Lada to Rawa has two components and one part of the road
from Pakke to Waii (12m) was taken up under NEC during 2005-
The second stage work of the 12 km road funded under NEC is yet to start whereas, the fund has been utilized, alleged Sonam.
On the other hand, Sonam said, "Waii to Rawa PMGSY road was taken up during 2013-
"There was a PMGSY project to connect Sapew village but the project has been left somewhere in the jungle without connecting Sapew village," Sonam claimed, while informing the status of road from Jomoh to Sapew.
The status of the road needs verification and it should be ensured that Sapew village got connected by road practically but not just in paper, he said.
Likewise, the road from Khenewa to Nampe (under Nampe-
Sonam urged the Director General (NRRDA) to take serious note of the facts of the road projects and to ensure that the project for which sanction has been accorded are completed in all respects to provide road connectivity to the rural areas.
He also said that the tender for next stage should be held up till the completion of the works and monitoring team should be deputed immediately to verify implementation of the road projects.
Sonam also urged the DG to involve the public of concern areas during the visit of NLMs to the project sites.
Apparent saffronisation imprint on tribal Arunachal amid political upheaval
Monday Musing
[ Taba Ajum ]
With the recent merger of Pema Khandu-
Even though a backdoor entry, the BJP has managed to come to power by manoeuvring out Congress as the grand old party bitterly failed to hold its flock together.
Party president, Tapir Gao recently claimed that by removing Congress from the power in Arunachal, they are marching towards the aim of Congress free India. BJP does deserve credit for playing a patient game and finally succeeded to form government in Arunachal. Now that they have succeeded in their dream of forming the government, huge responsibilities lie on their shoulders. Especially, people will look upto BJP stalwarts, like Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju and party president Tapir Gao.
For the last two years, development has taken a backseat due to political instability. At the same time, it is also a big issue for debate whether it is ethical for a democratically elected candidate with people's mandate in favour of a particular political party to switch over parties at the drop of a hat. It is up to the Arunachal electorates to judge whether the regional political parties are merging with the national parties just to satisfy their power lust or is it really going to bring any noticeable change.
There is growing unrest among people especially, the Arunachalee youths are unhappy with the activities of politicians. Rate of unemployment is constantly rising. Large chunk of youths depend on petty contract work for survival but over the last two years, due to fund crunch it has been badly affected. Now with friendly government in the state, people will be hoping that funds from the Central government will not be a cause of concern.
The people of Arunachal will be carefully watching every step taken by the BJP government with interest. RSS, the mentor of BJP, plays a crucial role in the functioning of its government. RSS has always divided people's opinion. While its supporters claim that it is a nationalistic organization, its critics allege it to be a communal organization working for Hindu Rashtra (country). But there is no denying that RSS is very powerful and sets the agenda for BJP government. It is here that tribal Arunachalee politicians representing BJP will have to play a crucial role.
There is every possibility that BJP's associates like RSS, VHP, Bajrang Dal etc.
would try to impose their agenda in Arunachal. RSS considers Arunachal as crucial
state and has been building up the grassroot support for years. They see a great
opportunity to counter growth of Christianity in North-
Religion has never been an issue in Arunachal and people give more importance to clan and tribe identity than religion. In fact, Arunachal must be the only place on this earth where in the same family an elder brother can be a Christian, younger a Hindu and some members Donyi Polo believer. We have been brought up to respect every religion. During Durga Puja and Diwali, we see more number of participants as tribal people. It is the only place where a Beef restaurant is located just opposite to a Hindu temple and where Muslim men sell chicken sitting nearby a tribal woman selling pork.
It is not that everything is rosy here. We have this huge dislike for non-
The politicians should strive hard to preserve these values and do not let outsiders disrupt our peaceful atmosphere. People of Arunachal will be hoping that the young Chief Minister Pema Khandu will strongly safeguard Arunachal from outside threat. Onus also lies on powerful leaders like Kiren Rijiju and Tapir Gao to ensure that divisive forces are not allowed to play major role in Arunachal.
The moment, the BJP government came to power, a retired IAS officer from mainland India who has served in Arunachal called me and said, "I really hope your politicians will stand up against those associates of BJP which are known for spreading hatred. Here in mainland India we know that they play the communal card for electoral gain. If they were serious enough, Ram Mandir should have been built in Ayodhya long time ago. Arunachalee tribal people are very emotive and any attempt to divide people on religious and ethnic lines will have huge psychological effect."
A person from mainland India has given us first warning and now it is up to our respected politicians to heed the warning and the concerned citizens of the state to remind our political representatives about troubles in the offing.
No end to water crisis at Debing
Correspondent
RUKSIN, Jan 8: Water scarcity has become a perennial problem in Debing village. Like previous years, this year too, the villagers have been facing acute shortage of drinking water.
Unfortunately, the villagers said, the Public Health Engineering (PHED) Department still has not realized the sufferings of the people.
According to them, the main reason for water crisis was the defective structure at water intake point. The water supply project implemented by PHED at Debing was funded under National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP).
"We earlier informed the elected leaders about irregularity reining in project implementation and consequent water supply problem, but they neglected the issue. Now, we would like to invite our local MLA and other leaders to visit the water project site to see the reality," said senior villager Tasen Dabii.
It is pertinent to mention that the local administration, following public complaints, had conducted inquiry into the alleged irregularity in the project. Later, the inquiry committee had instructed the executing department for rectification of the project structure. But there has been no visible improvement in the water supply system.
When contacted, the Assistant Engineer of PHED expressed his ignorance about the prevailing water problem at Debing. According to him, the officials made alternative management of the intact point after dismantling the CC structures. The Engineer however, did not rule out technical problem in equal and smooth distribution of water through pipelines.
Located at Assam-
Hamara Arunachal !
Flights Of Fantasy
Group Captain M Panging
VM (Retd)
Hamara Arunachal... Arunachal Pradesh...the Land of the Rising Sun...the Pradesh of14th century Malinithan, the medieval Ita Fort, the land of Parsuram Kund of Mahabharat era where Parsuram washed away his sins, the land of Bhismaknagar and the beautiful Rukmini who was whisked away in marriage by Lord Krishna...the land of the 400 years old second largest monastery of the Buddhists.
Hamara Arunachal...the Pradesh of picturesque Mechukha, scenic Ziro valley, lovely landscape of Bomdila, Dirang, Tawang...snow laden Mayudia...white water rafting on the Siang, Subansiri and Dibang rivers, challenge of fresh water angling in Kameng, Siang, Dibang and Lohit rivers... rejuvenating mountain trekking in the virgin areas of Pemako.
Hamara Arunachal... the Pradesh of 28 major tribes, 100 sub tribes, 50 distinct languages and dialects...intermingling and happily living alongside each other for centuries in complete harmony with people and nature... Animists, Buddhists, Hindus, Christians living peacefully.
Hamara Arunachal...the largest state in North East India...with the lowest density of population in the country...the Pradesh of the majestic Hornbill, exotic orchids, rare animal and bird species.
Hamara Arunachal... the Pradesh of hardworking, sturdy tribal villagers who tend to be brutally honest, display high integrity, helpful out of the way...one rarely heard of rape, murder, burglary in tribal villages in the olden days...
Hamara Arunachal... also the Pradesh of big and expensive SUVs, many rich politicians,
contractors, government officials...many multi-
Hamara Arunachal... also dependant on aid from central government... only few industries in the state due to inadequate electricity supply, poor roads, unavailability of raw material...a nascent tourism industry due to poor infrastructure, transportation, roads, bleak electricity.
Hamara Arunachal... also a Pradesh with pot holed roads in almost all district head quarters and capital, frequent electricity load shedding...very low voltage...water scarcity despite numerous rivers.
Hamara Arunachal... also with people who erect structures and plantations overnight to claim land compensation... people oppose dams, airfields, railways, colleges.. .just about everything!
Hamara Arunachal... also a Pradesh with too many Unions and Organisations ...there seems to all kinds of them including an Unemployed Engineers Association..!
Hamara Arunachal... also land of Khushi-
Hamara Arunachal... ya...Kiska Arunachal?
Habung Welfare Society organizes cleanliness drive
ITANAGAR, Jan 8: Over 150 members of Habung Welfare Society carried out a cleanliness drive at Tomo Riba State Hospital, Barapani and Super market areas of Naharlagun on Sunday. The volunteers included officers, housewives and students.
Attending the social service, Capital DC, Sandeep Kumar Singh appreciated the society and requested the students participating in social service to spread the message of cleanliness to their friends, parents and relatives.
Also speaking, Deputy Chief Councilor Itanagar Municipal Council, Tarh Nachung urged people to come forward in keeping their surrounding clean. He further requested the participants to carry out social service in other parts of the twin Capital City as well, so that other people also join the drive against the garbage.
Appealing everyone for their continued support, Chairman, Habung Welfare Society
of Capital Complex, Habung Lampung hoped that such social service will help remove
the tag of 3rd dirty city of the country and that Itanagar will move towards one
of the cleanest city in Swachh Survekshan-
Pario inspects road projects
ITANAGAR, Jan 8: Palin-
Stating that his top priorities are road connectivity, Pario said that he will make all out efforts to connect all the five circles namely, Palin, Chambang, Yangte Gangte, Tarak Langdi with good roads.
So far, five road projects have been approved and sanctioned this year and works in many projects are in progress.
Training on 'Nursery Management in Fruit Crops'
ITANAGAR, Jan 8: In all, 25 trainees from different villages attended a three-
Dean of the College, Dr. A K Pandey who inaugurated the training programme, highlighted the importance of nursery and its potentiality to develop fruit orchard.
He said that good quality planting material is having high demand and, therefore, nursery management training is having topical importance. Propagation of fruit crops are mostly done by vegetative propagation for true to type plants. Various propagation methods need skill and in this regard training can help the participants a lot, he added.
Professor and Head, Fruit Science and Course Director of the training, Dr. B N Hazarika also emphasized that the training is intended to nurture and support unemployed tribal youths who can become future nursery entrepreneurs.
A team of resource person, as well as senior faculty spoke on various topic of nursery management and gave practical demonstration to the participants during the training.
Planting materials were distributed to participants along with certificates.
2 bike lifters nabbed
ITANAGAR, Jan 8: Yazali Police apprehended two bike lifters along with two stolen motorcycles on January 6 last. As per the report, a police team from Yazali Police Station led by OC SI Afa Phassang arrested the two bike lifters, who have been identified as Md. Iqbal Khan alias Nurul (20) of Rampur Tinali, Dirjo, Lakhimpur, Assam and Ganesh Das alias Narish (18) presently residing near Doimukh shortcut, Nirjuli.
One stolen bike and a scooter were recovered and seized from their possession. One more accused managed to abscond on a stolen scooter. All out efforts are being made to arrest the absconding bike lifter. The arrested accused have been produced before the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ziro and remanded to 10 days police custody.
Fear grips Poma village over reported sighting of Tiger
ITANAGAR, Jan 8: The people of Poma village are living in fear following the alleged citing of Tiger in the vicinity of village.
According to the villagers, the tiger has been spotted roaming around Khamyir and Poma area. Reportedly, the growls of the tiger can be heard during the night for the past few days. Due to this the villagers are living in constant fear.
"People are not being able to move around in the area because of the fear of the tiger. Normal life has been totally crippled. We appeal forest officials to look into the matter urgently and help us," said Techi Rajen, a resident of Poma village.
Traffic wardens to launch 'whistle down' strike
ITANAGAR, Jan 8: The Itanagar Traffic Wardens (ITW) have decided to launch a 'whistle down' strike from January 9 onwards to press for fulfillment of their demands, which include, regularization of jobs, pay enhancement and ensuring life security.
In a release, the ITW on Sunday stated that decision was also taken to protest against
pay deduction by the office of CEO-
APCDPOWA mourns fellow officer's demise
ITANAGAR, Jan 8: The Arunachal Pradesh CDPOs' Welfare Association (APCDPOWA) has expressed shock and grief over the demise of Tao Nalo, who was serving as the CDPO of Nacho ICDS project.
Saying that he was a very hard working and sincere officer, the association offered condolences to the family members and prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul.
Traditional dance and drama competition
ITANAGAR, Jan 8: The teams of Ganga Village and Kargu Gamgi have been selected from Capital Complex for the district level traditional dance and drama competitions to be held at VKV, Itanagar on January 12.
The teams were selected on the basis of their performance in the traditional dance and drama competitions for Capital Complex organized by Vivekananda Kendra, Arunachal at Vivekananda Hall of RK Mission, Itanagar on Jan. 7 last.
The theme for the January 12 competition is "Our Culture; Our Pride".
RRWS members visit Tor-
ITANAGAR, Jan 8: A team of 56 members comprising executive members of Riika Riibla
Welfare Society (RRWS) and others hiked to the age-
RWS President, Nyelam Nedo suggested that the site should be preserved. Secretary RRW, Tassar Talar said that the geological value of the stone should be noted to know it better and that the site should be preserved and promoted for tourism purpose.
Corrigendum
ITANAGAR, Jan 8: In the news item published on Jan 7 edition of this news daily with
the heading 'Aisu Panyang wins 'Little Miss Catwalk' title at 'Nanhipari Little Miss
India-
Copyright © 2008, The Arunachal Times Publications Pvt. Ltd., Siang House, Sector
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All rights reserved.
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Time to pass on the baton
The bitter feud in the Yadav family is threatening the very existence of Samajwadi Party. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, his father and party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav is engaged in intense battle for the control of party. Brother Shivpal Yadav and close confidante Amar Sing is aligning with senior Mulayam while cousin Ram Gopal Yadav is mentoring CM Akhilesh. The family feud just a month before crucial UP election is extremely wrong timed. Parties like BJP and BSP is making most of the opportunity provided by feuding family. BJP is planning big rallies and party President Amit Shah has virtually shifted base to Lucknow.
Shah is believed to be monitoring each and every move of family and is trying his
best to use it for the benefit of BJP. On the other hand BSP is trying to woo Muslim
voters which constitute 20% of population away from Samajwadi party and form a formidable
coalition of Muslim-
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The mystery behind the Arunachal CM Bungalow
Dear Editor,
The then Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki invited me to visit CM Bungalow
situated at Itanagar to check it’s Vastu faults. I surveyed the bungalow and suggested
certain changes in its layout with shifting of Borewell from south-
Religious rituals may not be affective in this case. Late Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu took possession of the bungalow after performing special pujas by Tibetan spiritual guru Dalai Lama. If puja, religious rituals have any impact or if Tibetan spiritual guru Dalai Lama have any miracle power than why the three chief minister’s premature death occurred?
This problem can be solved through vastu faults correction only. So, the govt. should take necessary steps to correct the vastu faults of the bungalow. After that govt. may convert this bungalow to state guest house or the CM residence as nobody will have to face any kind of difficulties.
Yours,
Rajkumar Jhanjhari,
Vastu Consultant,
Guwahati
Now the focus should be on developmental agenda
Dear Editor,
While condemning the ever altering political scenario of the state, Green Arunachal Foundation (GAF) appeals all the political leaders, irrespective of their party affiliations, to stick to their pledges of serving the people of the state with honesty.
The people of the state have been intrigued and frustrated by the incessant changes
of parties and shifting of allegiance to different party leaders. The state government
has till now failed the people miserably and has trampled all their wishes and aspirations
of marching ahead with the rest of the country. Developmental activities have been
fewer too far and too elusive due to the constant political turmoil. The people have
been feeling torn and worn out by the unfortunate political tug-
However, signs of hope and optimism have started showing up with the state government merging with and opting for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a party that is in power at the centre. To add honey to the pie even our neighboring elder state Assam also is being ruled by BJP. Now is the privileged hour for the state government to undertake numerous important and crucial issues to place back the state on track.
One of the foremost tasks of the government should be to bring a meaningful and durable solution to the never ceasing boundary disputes with Assam. At a time when the central government and both Assam as well as Arunachal Pradesh are ruled by BJP governments, it is the most opportune moment to take up the boundary issue holistically with the neighboring state so as to end the long pending confusion. The state government needs to refer to all the available legal documents and legal experts to elucidate an acceptable solution.
Another pivotal issue tormenting the state and its people is the vexed Chakma-
Yet another important topic to be taken up by the state government with the centre
is the decade long pending Greenfield Airport imbroglio. It must not be forgotten
that Arunachal Pradesh shares international boundaries with three neighboring countries.
And it needs no reminding that the ‘giant red dragon’ next door never tires off from
claiming Arunachal Pradesh to be part of it. In such a situation, it’s no less then
regrettable that at a time when every state of the union of India has been connected
by air, Arunachal Pradesh – which is deemed to be a sensitive state -
It is supposed that with the state government merging with the political party at the centre, Arunachal Pradesh should see rays of light after the long slumber in darkness. It is not to be forgotten that during the UPA rule the then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh announced and aided a special package of Rs. 2000 crore to Arunachal Pradesh in 2008, and of course, the grant was put to good use for the development of the state under the leadership of the then Chief Minister Lt. Dorjee Khandu. Now, due to the uncertainty looming large over the state government in the last few years, developmental works have almost been halted. As such Arunachal Pradesh has slipped back to those many years. Therefore, it is of utmost necessity that the state government appeases the centre to grant such special packages double the last one. Probably, then only the state would be able to stumble back from its stagnation.
It’s time the elected representatives stop making fool of the people who had put faith in them. People have suffered enough. It might prove catastrophic if the electors are dragged to the point of no return.
Yours
Takam Tatung,
Chairman,
Green Arunachal Foundation, Itanagar
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