The Arunachal Times - Archives

Govt to deal firmly with bandh calls

ITANAGAR May 15: In the wake of 24 hours bandh call given by All Nyishi Youth Association (ANYA) on May 17 to 18 next, Home Minister Tako Dabi in a strong statement today made it clear that no bandh calls will be encouraged.

Quoting the recent judgment of the apex Court against bandh calls, Dabi pointed out that any kind of agitation or bandh hampering the interest of the common people which curtails their fundamental rights will be dealt firmly as per the prevailing law.

Meanwhile the Home Minister after taking stock of the situation has instructed the Home department and the district administration to gear up its machinery to take preventive measures during the bandh call. He has issued clear cut directives to Home Commissioner, DGP and the district administration to deal such unwarranted Bandh calls with strong arms.

Dabi made it amply clear that the state government will not tolerate any form of agitation or bandh call that hampers the government policy, programmes and development of the state.

There is a Massive security blanket in the Capital region in the wake of 24 hours bandh call called by (ANYA) on their demand.

The Capital district magistrate has also declared the proposed 24 hour bandh call given by All Nyishi Youth Association (ANYA) as unlawful and illegal.

In an order the district magistrate, Capital Complex Padmini Singla directed the ANYA to abstain from any act that may affect the right, liberty, safety or security of common citizens or that may cause disturbance of the public tranquility.

‘Nobody can be allowed to violate fundamental rights of the citizens apart from causing so much of economic loss of the state’, the order said.

The magistrate also directed the Itanagar SP to take all preventive steps under Cr P C against bandh. All strictest preventive actions must be ensured by the police leaving no scope for agitators to disturb normal activities of the residents, the magistrate said in her order.

ANYA defers bandh

Meanwhile, All Nyishi Youth Association (ANYA) has deferred its proposed 24 hour bandh call on May 17 after government assured to look into their demands.

In a press release issued today, ANYA said that state government will hold special cabinet meeting on 17th of this month to discuss various demands raised by ANYA. This message was communicated to ANYA through PWD and UD Minister Nabam Tuki, the Association said.

ANYA further warned that if government does not respond to their demands positively, it will continue its democratic movement.

ANYA also stated that they had taken serious note of appeal made by various student organizations requesting them to defer bandh in the interest of student writing exams.

Chakma refugees re-surface in M-pen

Correspondent

ITANAGAR, May 15: The Chakma refugees have resurfaced once again in M-Pen, a few kilometers away from Miao in Changlang distict and made their presence felt more vocally and adamantly. Their presence is conspicuous with mushrooming of tin-roofed houses in the same land where they were evicted by the district administration twice in span of 10 days.

“The resurfacing of the Chakma refugees on the land rightfully owned by the Singpho community at M-Pen, divulges their temerity of challenging the Court’s verdict,” says Wangpa Tinki, president, All Tai Khampti Singpho Students Union. “The illegal act mars the peace of the region”, he added.

Lamenting that the four culprits involved in the M-Pen violence have not been arrested by the administration so far, Tinki expressed doubt in the virtue of the local administration in dealing and solving the M-Pen incident.

ATKSSU general secretary Chow Kunseng Namchoom said, “Though we have extended our sympathetic hand for them to live and earn in our region on humanitarian ground but they have taken us for a ride and instead projected the whole of Arunachal society as the villain in the international arena with the help of certain external agencies.”

The agencies who are bend upon to curtail the legitimate rights of indigenous people ought to go through the facts before jumping into any conclusion, it has come to a certain point where the demography of the indigenous population are at the point of alteration with unabated influx of refugees from outside, it laments.

APFA announces list of 25 probables

ITANAGAR, May 15: Arunachal Football Association (APFA) has announced a list of 25 State probables (U-19) for 47th Junior Boys National Football Championships for Dr. BC Roy Trophy to be held in Kolkata from June five to 28 next.

The provisional squad:

Goalkeeper: Tapi Apa, Gyamar Omi, Heyden Mara. Defender: Gangte Chapi, Yomken Sora, Tai Kunia, Tatum Garam, Janu Soki, Budung Arun, Thomas Ering, Nguri Tedi, Tadar Tanio, Bamang Puwak Midfield: Vicky Tamang, Toko Poliom, Mohan Sangbia, Adam Rimo, Passang Tamang, Lukmin Yomgam, Anne Linggi, Bamang Kanam, Forward: Tero Dodum, Taba Rakesh, Ligang Bungu, Loi Kena.

Tirap in dire need of development

By a Correspondent

ITANAGAR, May 15: “Tirap district in general and Khonsa in particular attract the public, government and media attention more for insurgency than anything else, whereas the focus should have been on the virtual marginalization of the place from the development, better say non-development, point of view”, observed the former MLA Niyato Rigia in a communication to this correspondent.

Rigia had recently visited Khonsa which he described as “a nightmare through and through”.

“Take for example the road from Naharkatia to Khonsa. It is the main and only road linking Khonsa with the rest of the country. The road is maintained by the State PWD. And you know what kind of maintenance it could be! You use the road only to blow your top! Then, curiously enough, the road from Khonsa up to Longding is with BRTF. As a result and as expected the road is simply excellent. I really wonder why Naharkatia-Khonsa road is not given to BRTF. Money for this is no problem. There is enough fund with the State department of Tirap Changlang (DoTC) and SPA, ACA etc. The only thing absent is perhaps the will to do any worthwhile job!”

According to Rigia, “the roads in the Khonsa township is horrible beyond description. When it rains, the town wears such a pathetic look that it is difficult to describe in words. This is primarily due to the total absence of any drainage system in Khonsa. And when there is no rain, there is the gross cry of distress all over. Safe potable water is a luxury item in Khonsa. Now juxtapose all these with the fact that Khonsa is one of the oldest few towns in Arunachal Pradesh. With this also consider the fact that some of the townships built much later have almost every thing a district head quarter is expected to have. Why this double standard? Why ‘insurgency’ is the identity tag of Khonsa. Will any body deny that insurgency is bred mainly by the non-development of the place? Is it not strange to accept that one of the highly esteemed educational institutions of India, Ramkrishna-Sarada Mission School has been made to coexist in Khonsa with all adversities and oddities?”

Rigia further added, “I stayed in the Khonsa circuit house and now I am scared to recollect the memory of my stay over there. The circuit house is a palpable ‘bhoot bungalow’ with its structure built in early seventies and practically unattended since then. The few staff there are in bad shape and spirit. What else could you expect from those poor fellows who may have to spend nights there in that haunted place with their heart in their mouth?”

ALA organizes blood donation camp

ITANAGAR, May 15: Educational institutions should take the lead and active role in sensitizing people of the value of donating blood, Vidyuth K.S., Principal, Arunachal Law Academy (ALA) has said today.

A blood donation camp was organized by ALA in collaboration with Arunachal Pradesh State AIDS Control Society (APSACS) and General Hospital, Naharlagun through its National Service Scheme (NSS) and Red Ribbon Club (RRB) at ALA campus today.

ALA is also planning to organize more such camps with larger public participation, the principal added in his brief speech.

Earlier, the camp began with counselling of the students by Dr. B Apum, Deputy Director, APSACS, who clarified doubts and misconception relating to blood donation.

All the faculty members and students of the Academy participated in the programme.

Time to decide our own path

Kaling Jerang

The assembly of sociologists, anthropologists, tribal leaders and administrators in a conference in New Delhi in 1952 chalked out a programme of Tribal development which ultimately became the basis for Verrier Elwin's ‘A Philosophy for NEFA’.

He gave five principles based on which the subject of tribal development could be taken up:

1)Tribal people should develop along the lines of their own genius and government should avoid imposing anything on them.

2) Tribal rights in land and forest should be respected.

3) Government should try to train and build up a team of their own people to do the work of administration and development. Some technical personnel from outside will no doubt be needed, especially at the beginning. But attempt should be to avoid introducing too many outsiders into tribal territory.

4) Nor should there be any attempt to over-administer these areas or overwhelm them with a multiplicity of schemes; and

5) Government should measure the results of the progress not by statistics or the amount of money spent but the quality of human character that is evolved.

Unfortunately, what is developing in the North-East region of India is just contrary to what Jawaharlal Nehru had dreamt of about the tribal people; the development of the tribal people should be so planned as to raise them without destroying their culture and modeling their development on the basis of their past heritage.

The state of Arunachal Pradesh today with its just seven lakh tribal population is imposed with series of micro and mega dam projects in the name of development for the nation. These projects surprisingly, have not been technically and environmentally planned and democratically discussed and debated involving the indigenous people of our state. Rather these economic programmes are clandestinely planned from New Delhi involving the so called high command political elites and corporate giants.

These reckless signing of MoAs over our rivers is bound to give rise to demographic disturbances, the intensity of which is beyond our popular imagination. Within a short period of 20-30 years the indigenous tribal population of Arunachal Pradesh will be listed in the group of endangered species. The Chakma and Hajongs once, like us now, too had their- own homeland and beautiful culture. Today they are refugees after their displacement by dam-building projects.

Citizens of our state should give a serious thought to the act of reckless signing of MoAs over our pristine riverine wealth in a clandestine manner by a few politically, socially and economically myopic leaders of our state. Why cannot these projects be taken up in a phased manner-? Why do not we first study the merits and demerits of already commissioned projects? Today we have a bigger threat of aggression from within our own country in the form of dam developers backed by national political parties and corporate houses rather than an act of military aggression from China. The time has surely come when we the indigenous people of this state should start getting prepared to run this state in a way that was envisaged in Nehru's model, and which is enshrined in the Constitution of India.

Career guidance prog

ITANAGAR, May 15: All Maharashtra Students Union of Arunachal Pradesh (AMSUAP) is organizing a four-day career guidance and counseling programme for the benefit of students, youths and parents of Karsingsa and Banderdewa area at Saint Francis D Ashis School, Karsingsa from May 14 last.

The chief guest of the programme and Doimukh ZPM Tana Bado formally declared the programme open today. Kansingsa ASM Kipa Chapo was the guest of honour.

Both the ZPM and the ASM explained in details about the need of such counseling programme and encouraged the youths to pursue higher education.

Education counselor Jahang Ajang spoke on the topics “ Know your child’s potential and abilities” and “how to deal with adolescent’, while AMSUAP chairman Tania Kipa highlighted on various professional courses for students.

Dr Ashan Ridi is expected to deliver lecturer on the topic “Goal setting and time management,’ while education counselor will speak on the topic “Study, Skill and memory and concentration enhancement’ on May 16.

Coordination meet stress on team spirit

KOLORIANG, May 15: All heads of the departments and four MLAs of Kurung Kumey district stressed on maintaining team spirit, transparency and coordinated approach in a coordination meeting held here on May 13 last.

Koloriang MLA Lokam Tassar in his address underlined the need of having regular such interaction in the district between the elected representatives and officers. He also put specific suggestions to the HoDs on implementation of development schemes.

Nyapin MLA Bamang Felix opined that due to lack of coordination, system of implementation of development schemes has almost collapsed in the district in last few years. He stressed the need of developing a healthy team spirit among the leaders and officers for implementation of development projects properly.

Palin MLA Takam Tagar emphasized the need of maintaining transparency in the departmental works so that the elected representatives extend their support in effective implementation of the schemes.

Tali MLA Er Markio Tado called for improved work culture and appealed the officers to work hard for development of remote Tali and Pipsorang area.

After a threadbare discussion, the coordination meeting outlined a detail action points and the MLAs assured the HoDs to support and take up all the departmental matters with higher authorities, according to an official release.

Death condoled

ITANAGAR, May 15: The Sammanoy Gut Cooperative Society Ltd condemned the untimely demise of young and talented photographer Bibhuti Bhusan Bharali who breathed his last at a Guwahati hospital on May 13 last.

While remembering his selfless and dedicated service with humane touch, the members and staff of the Society prayed to Almighty for eternal peace of the departed soul and bestow enough strength to the bereaved family.

IMNMC executives

ITANAGAR, May 15: A new team of Itanagar Meder Nello Management Committee has been formed with Padi Ato Apii as chairperson, Bamin Hinda Chunya as vice chairperson and Gyati Anda Abii as secretary.

Relief sought for landslide victims

ITANAGAR, May 15: All Leel Youths Association (ALYA), on behalf of the people of Leel-1 and II, appealed to the state government to grant compensatory aid to the family of the April 24 landslide victim at Leel camp and provide relief to others who were rendered homeless. The victim was a casual labourer of Power Department, Sangram division, said ALYA.

Classical dance workshop

ITANAGAR, May 15: Doimukh ZPM Tana Bado would attend the concluding function of the 10 days long classical dance workshop at Doimukh Auditorium on May 16.

Football competition

ITANAGAR, May 15: A football tournament is being organized by Sangram Area Youths Football Club from May 20, according to All Leel Youths Association.

Intl. Museum day

ITANAGAR: The Directorate of Research will celebrated World Museum Day on May 18 at JN State Museum here by organizing seminar on theme the "Museums for social harmony."

Workshop in energy conservation

ITANAGAR: Indian Chamber of Commerce and Arunachal Pradesh Energy Development Agency is going to organize a day-long Workshop on “Energy Conservation for Sustainable Development” at Banquet hall here on May 21. The workshop will have components like - Conference, Exhibition, film/documentary show and publishing of souvenir.

Home Minister Tako Dabi has consented to grace the occasion as Chief Guest. Senior Government officials, senior representatives from both public and private sector organizations will also attend.

ATSU demand action

ITANAGAR: All Tagin Student’s Union (ATSU) demanded action against R Narayan, ASP, Daporijo for allegedly beating up three bike riders without proper reason on May 3 last.

An FIR was lodged against the ASP for misuse of official power and a memorandum was also submitted to DC urging him for constitution of an magisterial enquiry on the incident, but no action has been taken yet, the union said in a memorandum to Home Minister. The union requested the HM to issue necessary directive to district authorities take action against the police officer.

Appointment

ITANAGAR, May 15: Techi Rayu has been appointed as new general secretary of Papum Pare unit, Nationalist Congress Party.