feb15 16

2015

February 16

Oriah Greetings

ITANAGAR, Feb 15: The Governor of Arunachal Pradesh Lt. Gen (Retd) Nirbhay Sharma and Chief Minister Nabam Tuki have extended their sincere greetings to the people of the State on the festive occasion of Oriah.

The Governor expressed hope that the festival will continue to strengthen the emotional integration and mutual understanding among the people for peace and prosperity in the society.

In his message, the Governor said that Oriah is celebrated to evoke the blessings of Almighty ‘Rangwa’ for bumper harvest. The celebration has always helped in preserving the age-old traditions and customs of the Wancho Tribe. It also provides opportunities to work in unison for promotion and rejuvenation of the rich and colourful cultural heritage. He wished that under the able guidance of elders of the community, the tradition continues.

On this auspicious occasion, I pray to Almighty Rangwan for his choicest blessing, the Governor further wished in this message.

In his message Chief Minister Nabam Tuki said that festivals strengthen the emotional integration and foster the feelings of brotherhood and mutual understanding amongst citizens. He prayed almighty God to bless all for peace, prosperity and happiness in the society.

Nyokum Yullo begins

Staff Reporter

NIRJULI, Feb 15: Nyokum Yullo, the traditional annual festival of the Nyishis, began today with the formal inauguration of a food festival at Nyikum Niya Hall ground here.

UD Parliamentary Secretary Techi Kaso, flanked by Central Nyokum Committee vice chairperson Tadar Yari, celebration committee chairman Tarh Nachung and other members, inaugurated the festival comprising 47 stalls including 37 to serve local cuisines, besides few selling traditional ornaments, dresses, headgears and daos etc and another by Arunchal Pradesh Private Security Agency.

With hardly any source of entertainment in the Capital Complex, festivals are becoming best entertainers for the people to relieve them of their modern day stress while showcasing the rich cultures and traditions and promoting the local delicacies, Kaso said.

While finishing touches were being given to few stalls, most of the stalls were serving customers. Tarh Tutu and Tarh Yari, both young mothers who came all the way from remote Gaga village in Kurung Kumey district with opo and food stuffs to set up the stall, were hopeful of doing brisk business. The committee has permitted jhandi munda at the venue but regulated by strict rules and timing under the surveillance of its members to avoid any untoward incident, Nachung added.

ASEF donates to fire victims

ITANAGAR, Feb 15: A 10-member team of All Sagalee Employees' Forum (ASEF) led by its president Nabam Kiron Hina and Secretary General Tarh Hari visited the victims of the fire accident that occurred in Deb village under Sagalee sub-division on January 31. The team donated some amounts from the Forum to the victims as relief.

12-houses were completely burnt to ashes and properties worth lakhs of rupees damaged in the fire.

The ASEF further appealed to the likeminded citizens to extend helping hands to the victims and the administration to compensate the victims appropriately for their quick rehabilitation.

Sensitization–cum-orientation training

ITANAGAR, Feb 15: The three days block level sensitization–cum-orientation training (final phase) to build capacity of frontline government functionaries and PRI members, SHGs, youth, farmers and senior citizens of Gensi block was conducted at community hall, Gensi from February 13 to 15 by Administrative Training Institute (ATI) Naharlagun with support from district administration.

The Intensive Training Programme (ITP) mainly focused on four core sectors namely, drinking and rural sanitation, primary health, education in rural areas, rural livelihood and rural development.

T. Ronya, EAC/CO-cum-Member Secretary, Gensi and Sibe Circle, West Siang district, who inaugurated the training, highlighted the importance of ITP, a project of ATI that seeks to refurbish, reorient and upgrade the knowledge amongst all the stakeholders in all the four identified sectors.

T Lodo, Deputy Director (RTD.) cum SNO (ITP), ATI, highlighted the course content on four sectors on sanitation and water supply in rural areas, development of rural education, rural health, rural livelihood and rural development and its implementation through ATI.

Tamar Baki, Master Trainer –cum- Training Coordinator, ITP, Project, conducted the technical session on office procedures of providing information as per RTI Act, office and file management, CCS Rule, financial management; importance of ethical norms in good governance; managerial skills, motivation and team building at workplace and procedure of developmental schemes in the identified core sectors under ITP project.

Altogether 101 participants, including the block officer and the officials from Gensi blocks, including medical department, PHED, DDSE, BDO, PWD, ICDS, staff from EAC, Gensi, CO, Sibe, SHGs, Farmer Clubs, NGOs, elected panchayat leaders attended the programme.

The DoPT, GoI sponsored programme was conducted by ATI with support from district administration.

Meet resolves to ban IMFL during Myoko

ZIRO, Feb 15: Use of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) will be banned during Myoko festival this year. The decision was taken in a meeting of Hija Employ Association, All Hija Youth Association, student community, panchayat leaders and members, GBs and general public of Hija village chaired by Hija Zila segment’s ZPM Dani Buker.

Myoko festival will be celebrated from March 20.

The meeting urged department concerned for early maintenance of all electric poles to ensure uninterrupted power supply during Myoko.

The ZPM requested all to follow the rules and regulations adopted in the meeting for smooth celebration of the Myoko festival. The meeting also appealed to every member of Hija village to join the social service on every second Saturday organized by All Hija Youth Association.

Training of counting supervisors held

AALO, Feb 15: Training to counting supervisors and poll officials was imparted by mastertrainer Henrik Basar, SDHO Mechuka at Gumin Kiin today.

While outlinging the details counting procedures, the master trainer presented practical demonstration on counting of polled votes.

Meanwhile, elaborate arrangement has been made at Aalo Town Club for counting of votes on February 16. DIPRO

Awareness prog on social issues

ITANAGAR, Feb 15: Indo Global Social Service Society (SMILE) organized a programme to create awareness among the young generation about various social issues, their rights and welfare schemes launched by the government at IGSSS office, Nyakum Lapang here today.

Resource person Neelam Rupa while explaining the definition of social issues, briefed on difference between personal and social issues. Also, she gave a thoughtful presentation on development, direction, and destination.

The other resource person Bengia Seema had a brief discussion on social issues like, substance and drugs abuse and shared her views on how to overcome it.

The other topic discussed were, ‘development induced displacements’, preservation of indigenous languages, adultery in the society, gender discrimination and student politics.

Youth Coordinator, IGSSS Utpal Pegu highlighted on various government schemes available for youth and the others.

Discussions were also held on Right to Information (RTI), Right To Education (RTE), Right to Food and Forest Rights Act.

The program was attended by 30 participants.

Yesterday (on February 14), a similar programme was organised by the SMILE at Lourputung, Itanagar, not at Nyorch, Naharlagun as wrongly mentioned in the published news. SMILE regretted the typographical error.

News Impact

PM Modi to flag off Rajdhani Express

ITANAGAR, Feb 15: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive here on February 20 on a day's visit to attend the Arunachal Pradesh Statehood Day celebrations at Indira Gandhi Park, officials said today.

Modi will inaugurate the Arunachal Festival being held here along with the Statehood Day celebrations, said IPR Secretary, Dani Salu.

Salu, who is also the state protocol officer, said that the prime minister will flag-off the Arunachal-New Delhi Rajdhani Express and also inaugurate the comprehensive power transmission line project and the Itanagar water supply project. Modi will arrive here at 10 A.M. and return to New Delhi by 12 noon, he added. PTI

Illegal hunter nabbed

ITANAGAR, Feb 15: A team of wildlife officials from Daying Wildlife Sanctuary and Pasighat Police has nabbed an illegal hunter from Sanyasi Thukura under Anchal Wildlife Range yesterday.

The team led by DFO Tashi Mize following a tip off conducted a joint operation on Friday night and apprehended the hunter Saturday morning while he was cooking food for other members of the gang.

The arrested person stated that he along with four other persons entered into the sanctuary with two SBBL and one DBBL guns for hunting purposes. Smoked organs of barking deer and their camping equipments were seized.

Other four members of the gang, who managed to escape, might have been tipped off by their partner, police suspect.

The arrested person has been handed over to the Officer-in-Charge of Sille-Oyan Police Station. An FIR has been lodged against the four others.

Rijiju exhorts young generation to promote culture

TEZU, Feb 15: Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju while attending the 43rd Tamla-Du festival of the Mishmis in the Lohit Valley of the Mishmi Hills urged upon the young generation to recognize one’s culture and tradition and carry it forward, rather than losing it.

He described ‘Culture’ as most valuable, which, according to him bestows identity upon the community. “It is the local culture which provides the uniqueness and flavour. It is reflected everywhere. It is the culture which provides the feel and identity of a community”, he said.

He felt the numerical strength cannot undermine the confidence of a cultural identity of a community. He cited how he participated as a member of Lok Sabha in six debates in a single day in order to place the voice of the people of the state on the floor of the parliament as the state has only two parliamentarians to represent the state. In the same manner, he felt that numerical weakness of a community can be written off by confidence and hence one should strive to preserve one’s culture in the boiling pot of humanity.

He also informed that the BJP led central government is slated to pass a bill in the parliament, which will make offence against north easterners in rest of India punishable by minimum of five years.

“North-easterners of the country are sentinels, guarding the frontiers of the country to keep the tri-colour flying high, harassment against them cannot be tolerated”, he asserted. He also termed the Mishimi as ‘honest and straight forward’ with clean heart, suggesting that human being should be smart but not overtly cunning while lamenting that it will be a “great tragedy” if youths are going to the jungle to train in arms.

“It is the collective failure of the system, as politicians, government officers we have failed them. Arms and violence has no place in a democratic nation like ours”, he claimed, while informing that height and chest expansion relaxation for recruitment for those in north-east.

Meanwhile the host, the local representative, Mohesh Chai apprised the union minister of the density of educational institutions in Mishmi belt which is lowest with only one college to name, that is the Indira Gandhi Government College. Therefore, he urged the minister for the establishment of the All India Institute of Medial Sciences in the region. He also informed the minister that the region being prone to flood, he urged the minister to look into the matter.

The parliamentary secretary for horticulture, Mutchu Mithi also spoke on the occasion and extended his festival greetings.

Earlier, the chairman of the celebration committee, Bakrim Chikro informed that the collective celebration of the festival started in 1972 with the initiation of the elders of the community.

MLAs Tesam Pongte, Kento Rina, Laisam Simai, Tsering Tsashi, Zingu Namchoom and the representative of the IMCLS, Enju Linggi and the general secretary Rajiv Mihu also attended the festival.

Light delights people of Pakoti, Richukrong

ITANAGAR, Feb15: The villagers of small hamlet Pakoti, 8 kilometers off Seppa the distirct headquarter of East Kameng has reason to smile these days, as every household gets electrification including the government secondary school Pakoti hostels (both boys and girls), and the teacher quarters following the restoration of non-functional Pakoti Micro Hydel (2x50 KW) by the department of Electro-Mechanical Sub-Division Seppa under Bomdila Division on 18 December 2014.

The department sources informed that restoration came after local MLA cum Parliamentary Secretary Mama Natung had meeting with the department pressing for early restoration of defunct micro hydel recently. It said that the micro hydel was established under Hydro-Power Department under the total amount of Rs 1.45 crore and commissioned in March 2011. The hydel generates 25 kilowatt monthly. Later the department and the company conducted a trail run. But due to lack of accommodation and operating staffs of the said department, it remained defunct for the last couple of years.

With the restoration of hydel, now the entire Pakoti village and its adjacent villages have been illuminated, added the department.

The four technical staffs including operator and chowkidar is stationed at Pakoti for the maintenance and constant monitoring, informed Junior Engineer who was looking after the restoration work. To effective running of the said micro-hydel it said that more manpower is required. The department of Electro-Mechanical had bifurcated from Hydro Power Civil in October 2014.

Meanwhile in a release, Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism Mama Natung informed that Richukrong circle headquarter has also been electrified this month. It connects from Lasa village under West Kameng district, Natung added. He went on to claim that he personally initiated with the concerned departments of both districts in enabling electrification at Richukrong. Informing that he has allocated fund for fencing at Primary Health Centre (PHC) and Drinking Water Supply at Pakoti village under his home constituency from local area development fund, Parliamentary Secretary appealed to public to cooperate with the developmental activities. The power is precious energy, he said and emphasized on judicious use of power in both places. “Many developmental projects are in pipeline, I appeal public to support the development activities” said Natung.

Roing witnesses rise in criminal activities

[ Karyir Riba]

Roing, home of the peace loving Idu-Mishmis and Adis of Lower Dibang Valley district, is witnessing a tremendous growth in criminal activities in and around the township. The town which was once believed to be one of the safest places to live in, has become home to anti-social activities. Crimes ranging from drug peddling to theft to even extortion are at large here.

Lower Dibang Valley is believed to be one of Opium affected district in Arunachal Pradesh. It is an undeniable fact that, on an average, almost every other village here has a supplier or 'kani adda', as it is popularly known. Unfortunately, the major part of the population that is falling prey to these 'addas' is the youth. With a huge number of the youth involved, the case of drug abuse in the district is really frightening.

Various women groups of both the communities have been fighting against this menace since a long time now. Time to time, they try to create awareness against drug abuse through seminars being organised in the town, as well as in villages, and they have also went to the extent of destroying opium cultivations and have also managed to send many peddlers behind bars.

The Adi Bane Kebang Women Wing (ABKWW), that had recently carried out a massive destruction of opium cultivation at Anpum says, "We have and will always fight against the drug menace, and we have always tried to include students, parents, learned elders and public leaders to help us in this fight for a safe and healthy society. Not only administration and police, but the general public should also play their part in keeping the district crime free. The district administration and the police department should keep strict vigil in the district and take necessary measures in order to decrease the crime rate, if not completely eradicate it". Although the effort of these women groups has touched a few, the larger section still remains undeterred.

If the anti-social activities are not nipped in the bud, it may take a bigger shape. The drug menace, which was once not viewed as a threat to the society, has given rise to unimaginable crimes.

Theft of all kinds is a daily routine. Valuable items like televisions, mobile phones, music systems, computers, etc, are being stolen every other day from homes and private offices. Ironically, even gas cylinders are not safe anymore! The most astonishing part of these thefts is that motor bikes are being stolen day in and day out. Bike lifting is the biggest nuisance in town today. Every other day there is a news of someone's bike or scooty being stolen. And such is the modus operandi that these items are lifted from right under the owner's noses. You park your bike outside the bank, minutes later you come out of the bank, lo and behold! your bike is gone! The victim goes to the police station to report. What happens? Nothing, an FIR is filed - case closed! Such is the help provided by the police department for looking for lost bikes, that victims have started thinking it a waste of time to go to them. They would rather put that time to look for their bikes on their own. There are quite a few victims who, after getting information about their precious stolen bikes, have had to 'buy back' i.e. pay some amount in return of their own bikes from the neighbouring Shantipur/Chapakuwa in Assam.

According to the research done by victims of bike lifting during their search for their stolen bikes, there is a whole racket of bike lifting existing in the district and the neighbouring Assam. The local thieves are mere pawns lured by the big pins. Their job is to steal bikes and smuggle the stolen bikes across the check gate, for just 2-3 thousand rupees, just what is needed for meeting their drug requirement. Once the bike is out of Arunachal, it is modified and sold, and if the real owner is lucky to find his bike in Assam, he has no other choice but to 'pay' to get back his own bike. Many of the angered victims have gone to the extent of doubting the involvement of the police in the successful functioning of the racket. The truth behind this theory will surely be tough to prove!

Just as the town was grieving about bike lifting, another blow came in the form of extortions! There are umpteen unreported cases of extortions doing the rounds the town. The victims are the non-locals of every field --businessmen, servicemen and even poor daily wage earners. The reason these cases go unreported is the mere fact that the victims, who are non-local, are threatened against reporting and are threatened with dire consequences if disobeyed. The victims are basically extorted at 'daw point' (local matchet). Extortions too are taking place in a daily basis. Shops are being visited, government quarters are being visited, pedestrians are being stopped and their pockets being ransacked, all of these at 'daw points'. Nothing at all is being done about these extortions. Today they are targeting the non-locals, tomorrow they will start extorting the locals as well. [Although these cases are not being reported officially because of fear of life, it is common occurrence and talk of the town... so why is the police department giving a deaf ear to this problem, is the biggest question here].

The reason drug abuse is believed to be the root cause of all these crimes is, because all these crimes are reportedly being committed by young boys, and all of the suspects are reportedly drug addicts. The local view point says that these addicts, belonging to not so well to do families, are not willing to earn a decent living. But they need money regularly to buy their daily dose of drug. With no other options left, they choose the easy way to make money.

With no action being taken by the district administration and the police department, there is no fear of being caught and so, their guts are over the moon right now. It would be unfair to not mention here that the local MLA Mutchu Mithi, after taking note of the situation, has given strict instruction to the concerned department to take necessary action and check the growing crime rate as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the residents of the district are in total confusion about what the district administration and the police department is waiting for? Why has not a single stolen good ever been recovered till date? Why is nothing being done to stop these thefts? What next after extortion - rape, murder? Well, hope the administration wakes up out of its deep slumber and take some necessary action against this situation. Use of the phrase 'before it's too late' would not be suitable here in this case, but 'better late than never', is all one can say!

CM’s Trophy tournament results

ITANAGAR, Feb 15: The day 7 results of the on going state level football and volleyball tournament for CM’s Trophy played at SLSA sports complex, Chimpu near here on Sunday are as follows.

Men’s Football:

Lower Subansiri beat Longding 6-0; East Siang beat Anjaw 3-0, Tawang beat West Kameng 2-0.

Women’s Football:

Kurung Kumey beat Tirap 10-0; West Siang beat Capital Complex 1-0;

Lower Dibang Valley got walkover against West Kameng; Anjaw beat Changlang 2-0.

Men’s Volleyball:

West Siang beat Tirap (25-8. 25-9), Upper Subansiri beat Longding (25-18, 25-22), Anjaw beat Changlang (25-16, 25-16), Lower Subansiri beat Lohit (25-10, 26-24); Lower Dibang Valley beat Tawang (25-16, 25-19); Dibang Valley beat Namsai (25-16, 20-25, 18-15);East Kameng beat Upper Siang (25-20, 25-12)’

Women’s Volleyball:

Lohit beat East Siang (25-15, 20-25, 15-10); Anjaw beat Upper Subansiri (15-25, 25-19, 15-13); Changlang beat Dibang Valley (25-10, 25-10); Kurung Kumey beat Capital Complex (25-13, 27-25); Lower Dibang Valley beat Tirap (25-0, 25-0); West Siang beat Upper Siang (25-2, 25-0); Papum Pare beat Longding (25-14, 25-8); Lower Subansiri beat East Kameng (25-7, 25-13).

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