October 06
“Govt financially stable”
ITANAGAR, Oct 5: The government of Arunachal which was running on overdraft till recently has managed to bring in financial stability. While informing this, a senior government official claimed that cash balance in the state exchequer as on 1st October is Rs 1338.16 crore and there is nothing to worry about the financial health.
He further added that various steps are being taken to further improve the situation. “The situation was quite bad but we took various steps to stop the misuse of fund. State debt of Rs 3300 crore was since the creation of Arunachal Pradesh. Over the years, various debts kept on accumulating and no one tried to rein in the finance mismanagement,” he said.
“Arunachal missed great chance to bring in financial stability when Rs 1500 crore was received as upfront money from Hydro power projects” he said while adding that the present government has managed to control the situation as of now.
Scrap all mega dams: SPF
ITANAGAR, Oct 5: Siang People’s Forum (SPF) has made it clear that it would not compromise with its demand to scrap all kinds of mega dams in Siang River at any cost.
In a memorandum submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Forest, it sought that the environmental clearances should not be recklessly given against the wishes of the local populace.
We are not against sustainable and environment friendly development, but we are against big dams which are monuments of corrupt nexus between the state authority, contractor, corporate and vested interests. Such mega projects will only deepen the resentment and suspicion of the poorest section of the affected area, which they even don’t count as people. The mega dam issue over Siang River is pending in the Gauhati High Court, the memo added.
National sanitation rally at Jengging
YINGKIONG, Oct 5: Flagging off the National Sanitation Campaign rally conducted under Swachh Bharat Mission with a mission “Clean India 2019” at Jengging on Monday last, the Deputy Commissioner Remo Kamki said that only with participation of every citizen, the dream of Clean India can be achieved.
Holding banners, posters and placards on “Clean India 2019” around 1000 students with their teachers from schools of Jengging Township took part in the rally which started from the Royal Siang Academy School.
The DC, CO Nikita Panggam, DIPRO O Pertin, AE Er. Benya Gara and other PHE officers, officials participated at the rally.
The other highlights of the day long programme included cleaning of CHC Hospital and Government Hr. Secondary School. (DIPRO)
Refresher course for VLCC trainees held
Greater Noida, Oct 5: The 146 trainees of VLCC, from Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and
Nagaland underwent a one-
The training which consisted of Setting Goals, Habit Formation and Facing Challenges of Urban Living was enthusiastically welcomed by the trainees through proactive participation.
Through a group discussion, the trainees were led to understand the challenges that they would face in any metropolitan city which has avenues that are good as well as not positive and were advised not to take the route of earning easy money which doesn’t last, but aim at hard work and establishing themselves in life. The trainees were specially cautioned to take care of personal safety and not to venture in unfamiliar terrains. A considerable amount of time was spent in discussion and interaction on the very relevant topic of “Habit Formation and Addictive Habits” in which the participants came up with a host of queries.
The students who are at various stages of training will be placed in companies such as Alpha Beauty and Saloon, Heaven on Earth, Runa’s Beauty Saloon, Kaya’s Skill Clinic and VLCC chain of Beauty and Wellness Centres, to name a few, stated a VLCC release.
Union calls for rigorous
punishment to child trafficker
ITANAGAR, Oct 5: The Koloriang Damin Parsi-
Accused Lokam Tagi was arrested for selling his own daughter at a cost of Rs 30000.
Such crimes increase in the society as the accused are not punished accordingly and are granted bail easily; it said requesting that the culprit/s shouldn’t be granted bail.
DLSC meeting on power Transmission Line held
PASIGHAT, Oct 5: The District Level Steering Committee meeting for land acquisition for Comprehensive Scheme for Strengthening Transmission and Distribution (T&D) System was held under the chairmanship of East Siang Deputy Commissioner Isha Khosla.
Taking stock of the status of the scheme, DC Isha Khosla instructed the officers of Power department to carry out work with proper planning to avoid future complicacies. The DC also instructed the forest department to help in getting forest clearance wherever necessary. She assured full administrative support and cooperation.
Executive Engineer (E) Nido Taka informed that two sub-
APCC training on flagship programmes
ITANAGAR, Oct 5: A day-
Attending the training, CLP leader and Chief Minister Nabam Tuki exhorted the party workers to work hard and to monitor all the flagship programmes being implemented in the respective districts and blocks.
APCC president Padi Richo while speaking at the programme called upon the members to be active and participate in social service programmes also. He advised the workers to remain united and to clarify all misleading messages appearing in social media.
All the DCC, BCC and CCC presidents have endorsed the APCC President and CLP leader
to take stern action against those legislators and senior leaders who are indulging
in anti-
All DCC, BCC and CCC presidents attended and heads of the frontal wings of the party
were also present in the training. The details of the flagships programmes under
UPA-
Write Aalo instead of ‘Along’
ITNAGAR, Oct 5: United Students’ Federation of Aalo (USFA) urged the West Siang Deputy Commissioner to implement the government order renaming ‘Along’ as ‘Aalo’ in letter and spirit.
USFA observed that even after issuance of the notification by the District Administration some government establishments have failed to comply with the order and still using the word ‘Along’ in official correspondences. It urged the DC to issue fresh notification to all Govt. and non Government establishments, including business establishments, instructing them to strictly follow the order and implement the same within two months.
Meanwhile, the Students’ Federation in a meeting today strongly condemned the reported
raping of an 18-
Earlier, the meeting decided to conduct educational cum health awareness camps in various villages of Aalo area from the October 25.
GNM passes away
ITANAGAR, Oct 5: GNM Nilima Bangsia, who was posted at Hayuliang CHC in Anjaw district passed way in a hospital at Dibrugarh, Assam on Sept 26 last. She is survived by 2 sons and 2 daughters.
Born in 1962, Bangsia did her Nurse’s training at HTRC Pasighat and later appointed as ANM in the department of Health Services in 1983.
The Arunachal Pradesh Auxiliary Nurse Midwifery Cadre Welfare Association (AAPANMCWA) has deeply mourned the demise of Bangsia. The Association conveyed heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family and prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul.
Filming on Abotani and Mopin commence
AALO, Oct 5: The Golden Jubilee Central Mopin Celebration Committee has started the filming on the life story of Abo Tani and origin of Mopin at Pidi Rime village in West Siang district.
The filming at Pidi Rime was on Takar Taji’s ritual sacrifice and its deep impact on Galo society till today, stated a release. The second day of shooting at Nikte will focus on Tani’s activities in the river side and his traditional methods of fishing.
Secretary GJCMCC, Henrik Basar, Degam Ete, President CMPCS and Director of the film, Mijum Lona who were present during the film shooting said that it is a long drawn effort towards documentation, preservation and promotion of our age old culture for posterity as there is absence of written literature about our culture.
A Gauhati based film studio headed by Utpal Kakoti along with eight crew members are taking up the task of shooting in various pockets of the district. Mogi Ori is starring as Abo Tani while Higam Loyi Ango as Digi Tami, the wife of Abo Tani. DIPRO
DM to hear public complaints
ROING, Oct 5: Lower Dibang Valley District Magistrate, Ravi Dhawan informed that he will hear cases of public complaints under Section 133 IPC in his office on 2nd and 4th Saturday of every month. He said this while addressing various HoDs during a coordination meeting held in his office here today.
The DC asked the Roing DSP to increase the number of CCTV cameras at the Shantipur check gate and to strengthen the police force at Hunli Police Station which is manned by only four constables at present.
He also directed all the HoDs and government employees to clear their pending water supply bill latest by Oct 31 next, otherwise, the same will be officially deducted from their salary of the following month. He further instructed all the HoDs not to release the government employees who have been given transfer orders till their water supply and electricity bills are cleared. The DC said that the step has been taken to check further accumulation of pending bills in PHED and Electrical departments. Informing that special teams will be formed for destroying poppy cultivation in the district, the DC further asked the HoDs to be prepared for the same.
The DC also reviewed the progress of works made under various line departments in the district.
Meanwhile, Deputy Director (ICDS), Savitri Kampti informed that the Juvenile Justice Board has become functional in the district. (DIPRO)
Magisterial order
ITANAGAR, Oct 5: Executive magistrate of Itanagar Capital Complex Joken Bomjen has ordered that no shops, bars, restaurants etc should remain open beyond 8pm. This executive order comes after the magistrate was informed by the councillor of ward No. 8 Itanagar Municipal Council that some shops, bars, restaurants at Niti Vihar are kept open till late which may cause law and order problem.
He further directed the OC PS Itanagar to carry out patrolling and check such late night activities as per the order.
Contractual RNTCP staff cry for salary
ITANAGAR, Oct 5: The contractual employees under Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP) are facing financial hardship as they have not got their salaries for the past three months.
Describing the hardship faced by the contractual staff due to non-
Moreover, their TA/DA and other POL items have not also been paid to them since February, 2014, the association said and urged the concern authorities to release their salary and TA/DA within two weeks failing which the association threatened to launch pen down strike.
Students urged to work hard
ITANAGAR, Oct 5: Nabam Nagung , Superintendent Tax and Excise, has exhorted the students
of Jote Panchayat to work hard for success in life. He said that the students should
utilize their knowledge gained from academic career in practical field. Nagung was
addressing the gathering at the felicitation function organized by Jote Panchayat
Collegian Forum (JPCF) at Jote eco-
Speaking on the occasion, state program officer, NPCD, Dr. Taba Khana suggested the parents and guardians to maintain friendly relations with their children saying that parents and children can become good friend and this friendly relationship will lead to bright future for children.
Presiding over the function, JPCF chairman Teli Taning requested the panchayat leaders, GBs and senior public to extend their support in future also. Taning said such felicitation programme is necessary to motivate the school drop out children of the area to continue their education.
More than 30 graduates (degree holders in various fields) including first MBBS degree holder from Jote Panchayat Dr. Taba Khana, first Advocate Taba Tadhe and first female graduate from Jote and IV Upper Balijan area Teli Rima were felicitated during the programme. JPCF also lauded Doimukh MLA cum Assembly Speaker Nabam Rebia for extending moral support to the noble work of the organization.
Donate for flood victims, appeals ABK
ITANAGAR, Oct 5: Adi Baane Kebang (ABK) appealed to all to donate generously to provide relief and rehabilitation to the flood victims of Anpum and Loklung villages of Lower Dibang Valiev district.
ABK recently conducted an awareness programme at Kaying to find ways to help the
flood affected villagers and constituted a 14-
The programme was organized jointly by ABK’s West Siang district unit, State Youth Wing, West Siang District Women Wing and AdiSU West Siang District Unit.
Hatchery unit starts producing chicks
ITANAGAR, Oct 5: The mini hatchery unit of Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), West Siang established in collaboration with ICAR AP Centre, Basar, started producing chicks.
The Unit with a capacity of producing 2700 chicks per batch along with poultry unit of Vanaraja and Kamrupa birds, produced its first batch of Vanaraja chicks on October four. The baby chicks are being reared in the poultry unit of the KVK farm at Bame.
Terming it a major success in the history of ICAR centre, its joint director Dr. R. Bhagawati hoped the unit will meet the growing demands of baby chicks of the farming community and revolutionize the commercial poultry farming in the district.
News Impact
Speaker accepts “resignation” of two Cong MLAs, Sawin, Wangsu allege coercion
ITANAGAR, Oct 5: The political drama has heightened in Arunachal with Legislative Assembly Secretariat issuing a notification dated 1st October 2015 that two Congress MLAs have resigned from the membership of Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly.
The MLAs whose resignations were accepted are Wanglam Sawin, MLA 55-
The Speaker accepted their resignation under provision of sub-
Consequent upon the resignation of two MLAs, the seats of 55-
With this, the strength of Congress party has been reduced from 47 to 45.
However, Wangsu and Sawin in separate letters to the Speaker withdrew the resignation letters stating that they were forced into it by the Chief Minister Nabam Tuki and that letter be treated as “invalid, null and void until and unless submitted in person”.
Some of the content of the letter is reproduced below.
“Following an invitation for a dinner party on 16th September 2015, the prevailing political issue was discussed by a group of around 17 MLAs with the Chief Minister Nabam Tuki at his official residence. Soon after an ‘irrevocable’ resignation letter signed by each of the MLAs were collected and handed over to the Chief Minister.
The letter announcing resignation from the membership of the Legislative Assembly contained that in case of any betrayal and failure to support any person other than the present CLP leader and Chief Minister Nabam Tuki the letter would be submitted to the Speaker to get it approved and thus lose our membership of the Legislative Assembly. Remarkably, we were directed not to mention date on the letter, which were mere photocopies of one single letter, excepting our signature”.
Wangsu and Sawin, states that “all these were done against our consent or free will and above all against the democratic spirit. Such resignation would be a sheer betrayal of the mandate and faith of the people whom we represent, and thus would be a mockery of democracy”.
The copies of withdrawal letters have been sent to the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh and Chief Election Commissioner of India.
In a joint statement, Wangsu and Sawin said that “It would be a breach of trust and disloyalty to the people who had given us the mandate to represent them by resigning from the Assembly only to appease or show our support to an individual.
Meanwhile, APCC chief Padi Richo Party has said that resignations won’t affect Congress in the state.
BJP open to formation of govt
ITANAGAR, Oct 5: BJP is very open to the idea of dissident Congress leaders joining force to form the government in Arunachal, said a senior BJP leader in the state, who did not wished to be named. Top brass in Delhi has given green signal to such a move, he said.
“Forming of BJP government in the state will ensure better implementation of the central schemes. We will ensure that funds are not misused,” said the BJP leader.
According to the sources, sections of dissident Congress MLAs are exploring possibility of joining BJP and making all out efforts to have 2/3rd majorirty that is needed to defect from the Congress Party.
BJP has 11 members in the 60 member Legislative Assembly.
Thousands protest against SC verdict on refugees
[ Pisi Zuing ]
NAMSAI, Oct 5: In what can be termed as ultimate display of resentment and anger
against Supreme Court verdict of Sept 17, thousands of ordinary citizens and at least
16 organizations led by All Tai Khampti Singpho Students Union and Tai Khampti Singpho
Council under the banner of Joint Action Committee on Chakma-
Namsai district has a sizeable number of Chakma refugees, settled near Chongkham.
The rally commenced from the Poi Pee Mau Ground and culminated at Deputy Commissioner’s office. Altogether 7000 plus people comprising of students, women and public from various corners of the district were part of the rally.
At the DC's office N.M.Das, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Namsai received the public memorandum on behalf of the Governor, Chief Minister and Chief Secretary of Arunachal Pradesh submitted by JACCHIN.
Through the memorandum, the indigenous people authorised the Government of Arunachal Pradesh to file a review petition in the Supreme Court and seek curative recourse. It highlighted the alarming growth in the Chakma population in the district, who, if granted citizenship enmasse would jeopardize the demography and pose a serious threat to the existence of indigenous people.
It has also reminded the indulgence of Chakmas in unlawful activities like the formation of Arunachal Pradesh Deprived People’s Front (APDPF), kidnapping, extortion, mindless poaching, smuggling of flora and fauna, encroachment on private and public land.
The memorandum sought for immediate halt to illegal influx of Chakmas and Hajongs from outside Arunachal Pradesh and that the present settlers be confined to their respective designated blocks and belts.
It has asked for preparing a fresh dossier of the Chakmas and Hajongs by identifying those who came prior to 1971.
They demanded that those who came after 1971 be immediately detected and deported and that the White Paper on Chakma Hajong refugees of Arunachal Pradesh be also revised, updated and put to public domain.
The memorandum further demanded that a separate department be set up by the govt
to look after the Chakma-
Chow Molaseng Namchoom, President ATKSSU when asked about the future course of action reiterated the union's commitment to continue the fight till an acceptable solution is found. He added that the participation of such huge crowd in the rally was clear reflection of the opposition of the people to the verdict.
The organizations that participated includes Tai Khampti Development Society, All Namsai District Students Union, All Namsai Area Youth Association, Senior Citizens Forum, Chongkham Village Council, Singpho Development Society, All Changlang District Students Union, Mahila Mandal Chongkham, Women Welfare Society Namsai, Socio Economic Welfare Association, Adi Bane Kebang (Women Wing) Namsai District Unit, Adi Bane Kebang, Namsai and Lohit District Unit, Galo Welfare Society, Namsai District Unit and Deori Tribe Welfare Association, Mahadevpur.
End blame games, AAPSU tells Cong and BJP
ITANAGAR, Oct 5: All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) urged both Congress and BJP in the state to end their blame game and work together as a unit for the state’s interest.
It is a matter of great shame that both the parties got into blame game at a time
when the state is facing threat of annihilation by external force, AAPSU said referring
to the burning Chakma-
There may be ideological differences between the two parties but they must work together on bigger issues that involve state’s interest. Otherwise, the people of state will never forgive them, the release said.
Welcoming the state government’s decision to file petition against the Supreme Court’s judgment directing to grant citizenship rights of Chakma and Hajong refugees in Arunachal Pradesh, AAPSU criticized the people’s representatives of those affected districts of Namsai and Changlang for keeping mum on the issue. The apex students’ body of the state vowed to continue its fight against the SC judgment through all democratic and legal means until the apex court reversed its earlier judgment given in favor of the refugees.
PPA withdraw MLAs disqualification petitions
ITANAGAR, Oct 5: With Congress govt in deep political turmoil because of the growing infighting within the party alongwith the fading hope of any significant action by the Speaker of the Arunachal Legislative Assembly against the Disqualification Petitions submitted to the Office of the Speaker against the five defected PPA MLAs, the People's Party of Arunachal in its Core Committee Meeting attended by all the senior Executive Members unanimously decided to withdraw the disqualification petitions submitted to the Speaker on 10th April' 2015.
The speaker of the Arunachal State Assembly has failed to live up to the high tradition of his high and august office of discharging important judicial functions of whether a member has incurred disqualification, it said. The Speaker lacks the much needed judicial temperament and inordinate delay over the petitions which are lying deliberately unattended to for the past 9 months reveal complete absence of fairness and objectivity; betraying a high degree of partisanship and a total lack of understanding of the true meaning and purpose of the Tenth Schedule, the party added.
The People's Party of Arunachal would like to let know the entire people of the state the unfortunate and compelling reasons for taking recourse to such a drastic political decision, it said adding that the manner in which the entire episode of political defection of five PPA MLAs was given shape to within a very short period could not have been possible without the active aid and close connivance of the Speaker of the Arunachal State Assembly, despite the fact that the People's Party of Arunachal had already communicated in written the possibility of defection of the Legislators well in advance, said a party statement.
In spite of the periodic reminders, the Speaker having been the kingpin behind this whole game of defection of PPA Legislators showed no signs of taking any positive move, it said while adding that PPA is of the firm opinion that this decision of challenging the partisan attitude of Speaker shall go a long way in reforming the dirty elements of Arunachal Politics in future.
Rono Hills celebrates 1st Alumni day
Introspect why the state today is torn apart on community lines: Rebia
ITANAGAR, Oct 5: The Alumni Association of Rajiv Gandhi University (AARGU) today observed its 1st Alumni day at the Rono Hills. Host of activities including foundation day lecture was held during the day.
Speaker of the Arunachal Legislative Assembly Nabam Rebia who was present on the occasion appealed to the alumni fraternity to introspect on why the state today is torn apart on community lines and called upon them to be the torchbearers in promoting harmony. “Today we are witness to an ever growing divided Arunachal with hundreds of organisations mushrooming on community and clan lines. This is not good for the growth of the state. The university fraternity, and in particular the alumni who are in various positions in society have a duty to prevent this”, he said.
Recounting his long association with university and particularly his experiences of the time when he was involved in the process of changing of the university into a central University, he also said that there is a great requirement for human resources today and our youth need to develop a respect for dignity of labour. The alumni association needs to play a bigger role in the State’s growth, he said, adding that his support would remain steadfast.
Member of the Central Advisory Board of Education Dr. Joram Begi, who is also a former Registrar of the University in his address elaborated on the historical growth of the university and also expressed that funding in higher education is a matter of concern, even though it is the most vital tool for building a knowledge based society.
“The alumni of a University have to carry its image and that can be judged by what impact its alumni are making in the society they live in”, he said.
Earlier, in their addresses Vice-
With 6081 alumni who have graduated from the University, the AARGU has launched various activities and are on a membership drive to include more former students in its work so that substantial contributions can be made to their alma mater.
Capital set for Sustainable Mountain Development Summit
ITANAGAR, Oct 5: The 4th edition of the Sustainable Mountain Development Summit (SMDS-
The SMDS–IV assumes immense relevance and significance for the mountain states as it is being organised in the aftermath of the massive earthquake in Nepal, which has once again, brought to attention issues of national policy on disaster and the vulnerability of the mountain states, said Fantry Mein Jaswal (Retired IRS) who is also the chair of the SDFA and convener of the Summit.
Disaster Risk Reduction is the central theme for the Itanagar Summit while the other two are Mountain Agriculture and Forests.
Two side events, the Legislators' meet and the Policy Makers' dialogue are also being organised.
The 4th Himalayan Legislators’ meet will provide a platform for legislators from mountain states to voice their common issues and concerns, to deliberate and make an action plan for climate change legislation.
More than 80 state legislators and Members of Parliament are expected to attend the meet which is drawing greater attention this year in view of COP 21 being held in Paris at the end of this year.
A Chief Secretaries’ Conclave is also being organized which will bring together the Chief Secretaries of the 11 mountain states.
Project to conserve Hoolock Gibbon launched
ITANAGAR, Oct 5: Commemorating the fifth day of the Wildlife Celebration a new project
called Conservation of Eastern Hoolock Gibbon in Eastern Assam-
The project will be implemented by ENVIRON, a society for conservation and management of nature and natural resources in North East India in partnership with Department of Environment & Forest and partner NGO Aitijya (The Heritage) through education, awareness and community conservation initiatives .
The Department of Zoology, Rajiv Gandhi University and GB Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development (GBPIHED), NE Unit, Itanagar will provide all technical supports to the project.
Dr. Kuladip Sarma, Principal Investigator of the Project gave a comprehensive overview of the project.
Two technical sessions were also conducted to review the present conservation status
of the Eastern Hoolock Gibbon in Arunachal Pradesh-
Dr. Zahan Ahmed, Veterinarian from Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and Dr. S. Tadap from Itanagar Biological Park (Itanagar Zoo) presented papers on “Translocation of gibbons and conservation issues" and “Conservation Breeding and Habitat management of Gibbon” respectively.
The project will pilot a conservation education module in schools through trained teachers and among community through the local youth volunteers. It will also foster and facilitate dialogue between key stakeholders, local community, youth groups, district administration (local block officials), forest officials and various civil society organizations towards conservation of Eastern Hoolock Gibbon.
Experts from various civil society organizations along with academicians from RGU students actively participated in the meeting.
Stakeholders from various walks of life gave their suggestions to strengthen the project activities. The meeting also discussed about the educational materials to be produced and formats of different training programmes to be conducted under the project.
Guru Divas observed remembering Golgi Bote Talom Rukbo
ITANAGAR, Oct 5: The Central Donyi Polo Yelam Kebang (CDPYK) Pasighat, observed its Donyi Polo Guru Divas day for the first time at Engo Takar Dere at the Central Donyi Polo Gangging complex at Pasighat, East Siang on Oct 2 in a befitting manner.
The daylong programme started with the devotional song of ANGUN BEDANG and lighting of lamp by Central Donyi Polo Yelam Kebang, president, Tabi Jerang. People from all walks of life including Donyi Polo believers from Assam participated in large numbers and paid floral tributes to the portrait of Golgi Bote Talom Rukbo as the Guru of Donyi Poloism.
The programme included deliberation on Rukbo’s contributions in the field of socio-
Participating in the programme, Gichik Taaza, Vice President (HQ) of Indigenous Faith & Cultural Society of Arunachal Pradesh (IFCSAP) remembered Golgi Bote Talom Rukbo as the pioneer of indigenous movement in Arunachal. He was the former chief adviser of IFCSAP.
Taaza also suggested for observing the Donyi Polo Guru Divas throughout the state in the years to come and also initiating “Guru Deksina” offering to be started in the Guru Divas by all the indigenous faith believers at various prayer centres on Oct 2nd every year.
Late Rukbo was also the president of All NEFA Student Union now known as AAPSU from
1959 to 1966, and during his tenure a memorandum was submitted to the Centre for
demarcation of Assam-
Colourful cultural programmes were performed by artists of Karpung-
50 species spotted in Ziro Butterfly Meet
ZIRO, Oct 5: The second edition of the three-
The meet, organized by NgunuZiro, saw participants from Nagaland, Assam and Sikkim this year.
Ziro valley had caught the imagination of the world of the butterfly enthusiasts
with the first live photography of the Kaiser-
The participants photographed more than 50 different species of butterflies during
the three-
Participating in the meet as the resource person, Monsoon Jyoti Gogoi revealed that
the three most sought after butterflies in the world are the Kaiser-
Nawangla Bhutia, the President of the Butterflies and Moths of Sikkim (BAMOS) expressed his desire to work more closely with NgunuZiro in order to promote rare butterflies and conserve habitats in the eastern Himalayas.
Samrat Sengupta, a wildlife biologist, shared some basic tips of photographing butterflies.
Other participants included Palash Goswami, a conservationist and mountaineer, of Seven Look from Assam and Ngulljolal Khongsai of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS).
NgunuZiro is a non-
Ziro Butterfly Meet has been started as a part of its initiative to create awareness among the local people about the rich biodiversity of the place and the need to conserve them. The event also serves to fulfill its objective of promoting the concept of responsible tourism in the state of Arunachal Pradesh.
Some members of NgunuZiro are participating in the North-
[ Nimina Namchoom ]
Some years ago, coming to the state capital was no hassle as work could be combined with pleasure and the time could be considered a mini vacation with evenings spent visiting relatives and friends, doing a bit of shopping and going on drives from Itanagar to Naharlagun and other nearby places. But nowadays the traffic chaos, the potholed roads, the long snaking line of cars, haphazard parking etc has completely changed the atmosphere and sucked dry the pleasure of being in the place. Even small tasks like vegetable shopping seems a daunting undertaking here taking into account heavy slow moving traffic and long wait to reach the market areas.
Other than staying away from the roads, the traffic cannot be helped, but it can be made bearable if all the drivers and pedestrians follow the rules and maintain basic etiquette. Imagine getting stuck in the traffic for hours, waiting patiently and following the rules while slowly inching your way at a snail’s pace towards your destination and suddenly a car zooms past into the oncoming traffic without a thought for the patiently waiting and creating a bigger jam further along the way, because there is no space for a third car in a two lane road. The open indifference of the driver in not noticing the waiting cars causes more trouble for all as the wait becomes longer.
Stuck in the traffic, you sit observing the world around you while you are forced to sit still waiting and see that a rag picker who is picking plastic bottles along the way and carrying a huge sack of his pickings is keeping up with you as you have travelled one kilometer in an hour and later crosses you. The ridiculousness of the situations makes you want to laugh and cry too as you have worked hard and saved to afford the luxury of sitting and travelling in an air conditioned car, while a person walking is travelling faster than you!
One other way of whiling away your time while you are stuck in traffic is to watch people in two wheelers zooming past without wearing any protective gear and without any concern for the oncoming traffic. You start thinking how I wish something would happen so that they learn a lesson… you check your negative thoughts but cannot help it every time the same happens. The same negative thoughts occur when bikers speed and overtake, cutting into your lane and almost touching your car. The rider acts like the king of the roads driving on empty roads swerving this way and that while car drivers have to act swiftly on seeing a bike suddenly appear from nowhere. A bit of awareness on the dangers of rash driving, sense of self preservation, knowledge on traffic rules, common sense on how and where to park and where not to so that it does not inconvenience others etc will go a long way in making driving in the roads here bearable, even if it does not solve the traffic problems.
A car owner takes pride in keeping the car clean and shiny but getting it dusty and grimy with use is inevitable and expected. An unexpected source of getting your car dirty in the capital city is to come under a pedestrian overbridge and getting spit on. A big red spit stain on the spic and span wind shied of your car is an eye sore and can spoil your mood. One other mood spoiler is the bad parking practice prevalent here. You see cars parked haphazardly along the roadside so that a space that could be utilized to park multiple cars properly is occupied by just one car, cars double parked blocking the way for the other car to leave, cars parked on pedestrian ways, on drains, on both sides of the roads making the roads narrower etc.
Who do we blame for the traffic woes in the capital city of the state? The Rain Gods for washing away and worsening the condition of the roads, the authorities for not keeping up with the Rain Gods and maintaining the roads in time, the huge number of car owners who all want to travel in their own cars, the drivers who do not obey the traffic rules, the commuters who have to travel to and fro from Itanagar to Naharlagun and back for their work… Whoever we assign the blame on, we have to appreciate and salute the traffic police and traffic wardens who can be seen regulating the traffic breathing in the toxic fumes and dust, standing in the rain or under the scorching sun diligently doing their duty day after day. (The contributor is DIPRO, Upper Subansiri)
Blood on My Hands: Confessions of Staged Encounters
[ Satyabrata Pal ]
Summary:
The book exposes the confession by an army officer about staged encounters, exposing the precarious human rights situation in Jammu & Kashmir and India’s Northeast.
An anonymous army officer splits open the anatomy of staged encounters in India’s Northeast and Jammu & Kashmir, exposing the culture of killing with impunity. “Blood on My Hands” also explains, shockingly, how awards and citations are linked to a body count. Speaking to Kishalay Bhattacharjee, the confessor speaks of the toll this brutality has taken on him.
An essay by Journalist Bhattacharjee on encounters in West Bengal, Punjab, Manipur,
Assam, Nagaland and Mizoram and a postscript – where bureaucrats and diplomats speak
on record about the hidden policy of extra-
Extracts:
“Then he is shot. I have never seen anyone react before the shooting takes place. Hands are never tied just in case they injure themselves but they know what it is and they don’t resist. It is a sort of resignation.”
“This book records the chilling moments of planning and execution of innocents, in the voices of the people who ordered them, the people who carried them out and those who witnessed them. In hearing their voices, we can see that this is an undeclared war, where civil and private spaces have become battlegrounds.”
“In Jammu and Kashmir the battalions facing the international border buy weapons from Pakistani intelligence agencies. Muslim men from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are abducted from Jammu, kept in the post for two or three months, and once these weapons are purchased, they are killed and shown as militants trying to infiltrate with weapons. The CO gets a thumping report and the unit gets a citation.”
“You know what ‘shopping’ is?
That is when you are desperate, and you are looking for these gangs to supply you victims. Sometimes they may fail, but you still have to show your kills, so you set out on your own – and Guwahati is the place to strike the deals. You can’t just pick someone up from the road and shoot him. It’s like shopping for arms or narcotics or any other illegal product.
They are available and are in good supply, but the chain is important to know; and nobody breaks this chain. You only keep adding to it.”
“All the chakras (awards, referring to the different gallantry awards all of which end with the word ‘chakra’) give you points, and how do you get the chakras? Kill people. Add up points. Move up the ranks. The only casualty in this is the truth. The stories they make up – how they ‘put their lives at risk’ and ‘managed to avert a terror attack’, and killed whomever.”
“They were two militants who were picked up just after their prison term and before they went home.
So as they stepped out of the central jail, they were abducted.
This is crazy, but it is routine. This is another target group exploited by the suppliers. They wait for their release and then abduct them. In the villages, everyone would know they are in jail and would be indifferent to their absence. There was an open bidding and I won the bid.”
“In this book, perhaps for the first time, some of the perpetrators of this form of violence have narrated accounts of how they hunted down their prey. Their revelations of how the system has coerced and supported them in committing atrocities, then concealed and even rewarded acts of almost unthinkable depravity, are profoundly disturbing, and compel one to question the essential morality of civil government in India.”
“Name after name, story after story, date after date. The sheer volume and horror of the stories is numbing. And it is just as difficult to maintain sufficient civic indignation to question and debate all the preposterous accounts of encounter killings that are fed to us by a tame media. It is far easier to rationalize that the victims were in some way culpable, and deserving – at least in some sense – of their fate. Because the reality of a democratic State whose agents arbitrarily kidnap, torture and kill for personal benefit or gratification, is simply too horrific.” (Pal is a former Indian diplomat. He served as India’s High Commissioner to Pakistan, and as a member of the National Human Rights Commission)
Copyright © 2008, The Arunachal Times Publications Pvt. Ltd., Siang House, Sector
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All rights reserved.
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Timely intervention by MHA
The killing of a Muslim man few days ago over rumour that he has consumed beef at Dadri near Noida has divided nation on communal line. Adding fire to the fuel, politicians are further harming communal bonhomie with some wrong timed statements. At this time when country need everyone to unite and strongly condemned the killing of man over suspicion of his food habit, the political parties are busy in blame game. They have stopped to a very low level.
Everyone was expecting central government to come out and take tough stand on this issue. Today, even though belated centre has asked all the states to ensure zero tolerance to any attempt to incite communal tension and exploit religious sentiments. In an advisory, Home Ministry has asked states to take strictest action as per law against such elements without any exception. This advisory by MHA has come in right time. With assembly election in Bihar days away, it is expected that more communal incident might take place. Hopefully the state governments will take the advisory issued by MHA seriously and take tough action against the persons involved in communal activities. Also the political parties should stop dividing people on communal line. For their short term gain, they are putting future of nation at stake.
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Sickness do not strike only during OPD hours
Dear Editor,
How emergency should one be to be an emergency for the doctor on Emergency duty? What an absurd question? One surely will laugh off. I'll not grumble. But wait till I take the reader through the situation that compelled me to ask the preposterous question well, more to myself in fact.
Amidst the fear of Dengue doing the rounds these days, any uneasiness particularly fever is dreaded least it prove to be the hazardous and life threatening.
So when my youngest son suddenly complaint of serious uneasiness with high fever in the month of August 2015, I lost no time to take him to the general hospital, Pasighat.
The unreasonable haste to take my son for treatment was due to my mother's dengue positive result confirmed just few days earlier. As he is staying with his grandmother, I with a foolish sense of adroitness victoriously jump to the conclusion that the fever was none other than dengue.
Thus, virtually dragging him shoved into the car absent minded and headed towards the hospital.
Unfortunately, the time was after 1 PM. Here, I found the outdoor patient's registration counters unattended. So I went to the section where Dengue related samples are collected. Attending people here advised me to contact the Emergency Doctor for a prescription as the registration counters were closed for the day.
As advised, I went to the Emergency Ward where I encountered a nurse on duty. My request to her to call the Emergency Doctor was met with a curt and heedless remark that I should have brought the patient during the outdoor patient (OPD) business hour . Additionally, the medical maven diagnosed at a glance that the patient didn't fullfill the criteria to be examined by an Emergency Doctor as the patient was on his feet and didn't appear sick enough. Hospital staffs had the instruction not to disturb the Emergency Doctor for minor illness; she briefed me and disappeared into an adjoining room carelessly.
Frustrated I went to the Emergency Doctor myself after sometime. His care and responds was an antipode to the nurse's behaviour.
I don't harbour any resentment towards the hospital staffs or its administration
but will remark with certitude that there is a serious setback in process of training
the health workers to deal with the patients. They need better public relation. Their
tactless deportment in dealing with the sick seriously needs re-
I believe a sympathetic and heartening response will surely beget better results than medicines and injections. After all nobody wants to be sick and sickness never strike only during OPD working hours declaring its arrival.
Yours,
legobaying
Pasighat
Separate page or section on environmental awareness
Dear Editor,
It is quite important nowadays to build environmental awareness among the public; and media outlet such as your newspaper could play an important role in that. Encouraging people to participate in building environmental awareness is challenging but not an impossible task.
I would humbly like to request you and the editorial board of your esteemed newspaper to kindly think upon in developing a separate page or section dedicated exclusively towards environmental awareness. I propose that you make this section into a participatory approach or as an interactive platform and invite dedicated professional and amateur writers, conservationists, ecologists, environmental enthusiasts and dedicated readers for providing news items, resource materials such as short reports, case studies, photos and images related to ecology, environment, pollution and conservation issues from across the nation with a special emphasis to North East India and even from abroad.
Section Editor may select and process the most important and interesting note, investigate
and research on some of the grim socio-
A blog site for posting comments by eco-
This will certainly build up a dedicated group of environmental volunteers who could cater broadly to the society regarding the losses and gains we are making every day in our national ecological account. Once a specific reader's/citizen's forum is developed, one could see how powerful that group could become in the not so distant future.
Such dedicated young and old activists could stun professional journalists, seasoned academics and researchers with their ability to locate or identify our immediate, hidden environmental issues and problems that no one else may have captured before.
Readers may be able to take or provide the newspaper with exclusive environmental news items, pictures or image that may surpass a professional news agency in quality; since the participant/reader could be the first person who may have been able to reach a particular site or captured an action before any professional news group.
I humbly call this approach as Joint Participatory Journalism (JPJ) and sincerely believe that it could not only raise the quality of news items for environment; but, also could cater to as a valuable supplement to professional news items.
I sincerely believe that your esteemed newspaper could certainly become an important tool for raising the environment awareness not just by providing news to the public; but, also by connecting the public to the root cause of environmental degradation and need for conservation.
An image of a butterfly collecting nectar from a flower or a tiger family with cubs resting under the shade of a tree convey a stronger positive message to the readers particularly to our younger generations rather than images of useless political violence.
While I do agree that the media should act like a mirror reflecting and capturing only what is happening in our society everyday; but, at the same time they should also remain as an open window of hope, opportunities and be balanced in covering every aspect of our life including environment.
My humble request to the readers of your esteemed newspaper is to kindly join this proposed initiative; if they are also interested to see a participatory environment awareness page in the near future.
I sincerely believe that many across India and overseas would be delighted to see such a page or section coming into circulation at least on the web version.
Like the existing Reader's Forum, it will serve as an excellent bridge of communication regarding environment and North East India is particularly an important topic due to its unique ecosystems and rich biodiversity. To the best of my knowledge no other newspaper and/or magazine have this unique approach for developing environmental awareness through participatory initiative from the readers and this newspaper could be the first to embark upon it. Although, easier to write than to execute; there is no doubt that this will be a monumental step towards environmental consciousness and participation among the people of this vast nation.
However, I sincerely believe that if the readers come forward to participate, cooperate and collaborate in the above initiative with the editorial staff this is absolutely possible.
Yours,
Saikat Kumar Basu
Lethbridge, Canada
Breaking silence
Dear editor,
Through your esteemed daily, I on behalf of all contractual supervisory field staff under Revise National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) would like draw the kind attention of concern department in connection to remuneration and other reimbursement of employee.
Despite relentless services rendered by us, our monthly POL was yet to be reimbursed since February 2014. Our monthly remuneration is not paid on time. We are facing the same problem for many years now but we have remained silent unlike other departmental staff since, we know that if we go for strike even for a single day, it will directly impact on patients/public health. But, we have to break our silence and bring our problems to public domain so that public shall know that there is vertical programme with NRHM known as RNTCP whose employees are always loyal to authority despite various hardships.
Hence, I would like request the concern authority to look into the matter before it is too late.
Yours
A contractual staff
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