Day: August 2, 2012

Guwahati, Aug 2 NNN: A new Muslim militant outfit has been floated in Assam with its agenda to have a separate administrative area for the Muslims in Assam consisting of 13 districts with four in Bodo Territorial Council (BTC), a well placed source informed in Guwahati on Wednesday.
This outfit is suspected by the intelligence officials of involving in the present ethnic clashes between the Bodos and the Muslims.However, it is still a blame game now among the organisations and political parties in Assam in connection with the communal clashes in Assam’s Kokrajhar district.
But the police intelligence suspected that a newly floated Muslim militant outfit could be behind the ethnic escalation.
Over 60 people have been killed and nearly 5 lakh people are affected by the clashes in western Assam’s Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC).
Reports have it that intelligence officials suspected the United Muslim National Army (UMNA) for inciting the clash.
A Bodo organisation formed by former militants too claimed that the UMNA had planned the violence.
Police in Bodo Territorial Council (BTC) said the United Muslim National Army UMNA was formed on June 15 in an aim to push for a separate administrative area for Muslims comprising 13 districts of Assam that includes four under BTC.
Janomohan Muchahary who is the secretary of All Ex-Bodo Territorial Liberation Tigers Welfare Society said that the violent incidents began on July 19 when miscreants fired at two persons at Magurmari in Kokrajhar district. One of the injured was Mohibur Islam, the chairman of UMNA.
The former BLT leader said Mohibur Islam was a known anti-social element who was discharged from the local police force. Muchahary then alleged Mohibur led 25 motorcycle-borne UMLA members who attacked Bodos on the following day to incite the communal clashes.However, the All Assam Minority Students’ Union blamed the BTC chief executive member Hagrama Mohilary instead for the clashes.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/new-muslim-outfit-formed/

Mail News Service
New Delhi, Aug 2 :The Special Judge for CBI cases, Chennai has convicted. T. L. Vedachalam, the then Assistant Manager of United India Insurance Company Ltd. and three private persons i.e. M. Malyadri, Lella V. Nehru & P.V. Subbaiah and sentenced them to undergo one year Rigorous Imprisonment with total fine of Rs.12,000/- for causing loss of Rs.1.52 lakhs(Approx.) to United Insurance Company Ltd.
A case was registered on 30.04.2002 against Sh. T. L. Vedachalam, Assistant Manager, United India Insurance Company Ltd, Division XI, Chennai; . M. Malyadri, Lorry Operator; Lella V Nehru, Insurance Surveyor; . P. V. Subbaiah & others alleging that during the year 2000, the said accused persons entered into a criminal conspiracy at Chennai, Vijayawada and other places to cheat United Insurance Company. In pursuance of the said conspiracy, M. Malyadri; Lella V Nehru; & P. V. Subbaiah & others fraudulently prepared a false motor accident claim with false particulars for two vehicles which had not met with any accident. Further, they also prepared bogus survey reports, cash & credit bills for Rs.91,500/- & Rs.61,000/- respectively and submitted the same to the United India Insurance Company Ltd. In pursuance of the conspiracy, Sh. T. L. Vedachalam, the then Assistant Manager knowing fully well about the false nature of claims processed & recommended the false claims without verifying the genuineness of the claims, as a result of which, the claims were passed.
Thus, the accused persons caused a wrongful loss of Rs.1,52,500/- (approx) to United India Insurance Company Ltd. and a corresponding wrongful gain for themselves.
After completion of investigation, two chargsheets were filed before the Special Judge for CBI Cases, Chennai U/s 120-B r/w 420, 468, 468, r/w 471 & Section 13(2) r/w 13(1) (d) of PC Act, 1988.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/assistant-manager-uicl-arrested/

MNS:- India is the second-largest mobile phone user with over 900 million users in the world. It accounted for over 10% of the world’s online population in 2011. This was stated by Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare in London today.
Addressing the seminar on “The Role of Health Informatics – How Health is making difference to ordinary people in India” at Healthcare & Life Sciences Global Business Summit, Shri Azad said that mobile telecommunications have seen tremendous growth in India. This growth has been inclusive with benefits accruing to the poorest households in the remotest regions of the country. In 2011 alone, 142 million mobile-cellular subscriptions were added in India, twice as many as in the whole of Africa, and more than in the Arab States, CIS and Europe put together. The mobile tariffs in India have become among the lowest in the world. A new mobile connection can be activated with a monthly commitment of 15 cents only.
Recognizing the potential to reach out to people, especially those living in remote areas and adolescents he said that Government of India has recently taken steps to integrate and enhance existing Health related – IT enabled Systems. A name, address and telephone based Mother and Child Tracking System (MCTS) is a new initiative of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and is one of the excellent examples of leveraging Information Technology for ensuring delivery of full spectrum of healthcare and immunization services to pregnant women and children up to 5 years of age. This system is aimed at generating a data bank to validate delivery of services, ensuring ante-natal, intra-natal and post-natal checkups, nursing universal immunization, ensuring quality service delivery, micro planning. These initiatives will have a positive impact on important health indicators like Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR).
Shri Azad said that that Mother & Child Tracking System employs mobile-based SMS technology to communicate with grass roots level health care services providers, health and family welfare policy makers, health managers and health administrators at different tiers of the health care delivery system. This tracking system has ‘pull’ features making it very user friendly.
A pregnant woman registered in MCTS can use the MCTS interface to know which of the scheduled services she has received and which of the maternal care services she still requires. Similarly, parents of a child can get information about vaccines the child has already received and details of the vaccinations due. 25.2 million pregnant women and 18.3 million children have been registered in MCTS since its inception in 2010. In the current year (2012-13) alone, 3.8 million pregnant women and 2.2 million children have been registered.
One example of effective use of mobile technology is using SMS to communicate with the 3.2 million Central Government Health Services (CGHS) beneficiaries spread across India. These beneficiaries are patients who come to the CGHS Wellness Centres for consultation and getting medicines for treatment. Under the aegis of the National Rural Health Mission, mobile telephone based systems are being increasingly used for managing health information systems.
Besides the above initiatives, the Government of India is planning a mobile based information dissemination programme. Through this initiative, health promotion messages could be sent out as and when required for maternal & child health, nutrition for children, adolescent health and population stabilisation, tobacco control, information on non-communicable diseases & healthy lifestyle and HIV/AIDS.
Shri Azad said that through these efforts, our major policy objective is to reposition the mobile phone from a mere communication device to an instrument of empowerment and use it to help take health care services at the doorstep of ordinary people. He hoped that these meetings will highlight the importance of the health sector and enable global health leaders to benefit from opportunities for collaboration and develop meaningful partnerships to improve upon health care delivery.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/india-is-the-second-largest-mobile-phone-user-in-world/

Manipur Information Centre
NEW DELHI Aug 2
Thoubal District was among six districts which received the 5th JRD Tata Memorial Award at a solemn function held at Indian Habitat Centre here recently for outstanding performance in improving the health of their people in recent past. The Deputy Commissioner of Thoubal District K. Radhakumar received the award instituted by the Population Foundation of India, New Delhi from the Nobel Laureate and renowned economist Prof. Amartya Sen.
Two states – Mizoram and Goa also received the 5th JRD Tata Memorial Award in the State category. While Mizoram was selected from among 18 high-focus states, defined under the National Rural Health Mission as states with poor health indicators and weak infrastructure, Goa lead from among the non high-focus states.
The districts – Varanasi from Uttar Pradesh, Jajpur from Odisha and Thoubal from Manipur, were selected among high-focus states in the large, medium and small population categories respectively; and Ahmadnagar in Maharashtra, Firozpur in Punjab and North Goa in Goa from the non high-focus states in the large, medium and small population categories. The award, instituted by the Population Foundation of India (PFI), in memory of its Founder Chairman JRD Tata, recognizes the pace of progress by states and districts on population and reproductive health programmes.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/thoubal-district-receives-the-j-r-d-tata-memorial-award/

Aizawl, Aug 2 NNN: Mizoram will have helicopter service very soon.
In connection with this, Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla along with the concerned officials today discussed on and prepared the programme of inauguration of helicopter service in Mizoram.
The maiden service of the helicopter will be set off from Thuampui helipad in Aizawl to Lunglei in southern Mizoram on August 14 whereas passenger service will start from August 16.
The helicopter service will function under the supervision of Pawan Hans Helicopter Ltd.; and the helicopter which will be in service is ‘Dauphin Helicopter’, capable of carrying 6 passengers.
One ticket will cost Rs.50 per minute. As of now, 9 routes is arranged for the service, with Aizawl Thuampui Helipad being the “Main Operational Hub’, from where it will render service to Saiha (50 minutes), Lawngtlai (50), Champhai (25), Khawzawl (20), Lunglei (30), Kamlanagar (45), Hnahthial (30), Serchhip (17) and Kolasib (15).
It has been proposed to service 6 days in a week, is scheduled to start it service from mid August. Ticket will be available at DC office, which will be checked again at the helipad. Since safety is the main concern, security duty and fire service will be given at each helipad. The concerned Deputy Commissioners are also directed to construct ‘temporary waiting sheds’ for use at any needful time.
The helicopters can be even hired or chartered personally, for which the rate will be Rs.70,000 per hour, waiting charge free upto 45 minutes; but if it crosses the limit the waiting charge will be Rs. 10,000 per 30 minutes.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/helicopter-service-in-mizoram/

Dimapur, August 2 NNN: The Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) has admitted that as in any peoples’ history, Naga history has its own share of pitfalls. However, more ominous are the subsurface tensions among the Nagas, said the FNR.
Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) is responsible for reducing the factional clashes among the Naga underground organisations in the last few days. Founded in the year 2008, the FNR has been convening several meetings involving various Naga underground groups.
On Tuesday, the FNR said, “One is pitted against the other. Our history is filled with accounts of sectional interests clashing with those of another group, of pressure groups with special favor, and of emotional propagandists who temporarily sweep reason and sense by the wayside”.
It said the current Naga situation, as a result of its totalitarian posture, has caused antagonism among its people. The fallacy of the totalitarian saturation of people through a single cultural, political and religious agenda results in the exclusion of not only the other but the self, it added.
“Experts have discouraged groups from developing whole and realistic goals for the common good. Such an approach has boomeranged, resulting in isolated hearts and divided minds. This sensibility will continue to breed a bleak future for the Nagas. Nagas have doubts about our sense of purpose, instigated by parochial interests. We have poured increasing amounts of our mental energy to justify all our wrongs, believing that Nagas, young and old, will remain pacified and unperturbed. We are restrained from pursuing our legitimate rights, and we abjectly rationalize our own personal interests,” the FNR stated today.
“Since May 2008, the Naga political groups have taken the courageous leap towards a common humanity by transcending the fences that have divided us. The fact of the matter is we have attained a measure of relative calm and regard for our common humanity and a common political identity based on the unique “political and historical rights of the Nagas.”
34 years after the 1964 Ceasefire with the NNC, the GOI acknowledged that the case of “The Indo-Naga political problem cannot be solved militarily . . . It is not a law and order problem as it is a political issue.” Still, despite the declarations of the GOI in 1997, it took another five years for an acknowledgement, through the collective leadership of Mr. Isak Chishi Swu and Mr. Th. Muivah of the NSCN/GPRN, that the political and historical rights of the Naga people “is unique.” Similar to how Nagas recognized the 1964 achievement of the NNC, the events and actions that led to the July 2002 assertion of “The Uniqueness of Naga History” deserve its due recognition as a historical event for the Nagas.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/fnr-on-naga-history/

Manipur Information Centre New Delhi, Aug 1 :Works and Transport Minister Dr. Kh. Ratankumar yesterday urged the Centre for providing adequate funding by way of Central Assistance to develop infrastructure for road safety measures in Manipur, keeping in view the resource constraints in Manipur as well as Manipur being a special category state. The Minister elaborated that installation of state of the art equipments such as breadth analysers, interceptors and speed radar guns, ambulance, cranes, development of web base data management system, emergency relief service system, strengthening of traffic police and enforcement staff were highly required in Manipur.
Dr. Ratankumar was speaking at the meeting of State Transport Ministers which was held under the chairmanship of Dr. C.P. Joshi, .
He stated that the number of on-road vehicles of all categories of Manipur as on 31st March this year was 2,01,261. During the year 2011, a total of 692 road accidents occurred in Manipur, of which 83 accidents took place on National Highways and 28 on State Highways. A total of 63 persons were grievously injured. He reported that the Department of Transport, Manipur organised mass sensitisation programmes on transport system in coordination with Manipur Bar Council, Traffic Police, Transport associations and Driver associations. To regulate a systematic traffic flow in respect of urban transport, a multi disciplinary body called Traffic Regulation and Parking Committee with members drawn from various government departments was formed. State Transport Authority was actively working on a viable State Transport Policy for Manipur.
Ratankumar also drew the attention of the apex National Road Safety Council for giving special attention towards the safety aspects of both passengers and vehicles against robbery and looting on National Highways and other State Highways, inter district roads and other district roads by way of providing more way-side amenities.
He also pointed out the conditions of the National Highways in Manipur which were lack of many safety features. The portion of National Highways in the hilly region was not having proper geometrics like proper super elevation and extra widening at the curves. In some portions, the gradient of the Highway was exceeded the permissible limit. Almost the entire length of the Highways in the hilly regions of Manipur was without Protective Crash Barrier. The end point of the medians was having high potential of being hit by running vehicles and it should be provided with modern means of crash absorber. Almost the entire length of the Highways was without proper safty sign and reflective delineator. Reflective delineators were required along the central line of the double lane road.Lack of proper maintenance by mending potholes in time was also one of the causes of road accidents on the National Highways.
He also mentioned that the State level Road Safety Council was developing a co-ordinated road safety measures. Frequent mass awareness programmes, targeted sensitisation programme, mobile sensitisation programme,, inclusion of road safety measures in school curriculum, strengthening of enforment agencies, formation of emergency response service mechanism, trauma care centre were some of the co-ordinated Road Safety measures in Manipur.
Dr. Kh. Ratankumar called on the Union Minister of Road Transports and Highways Dr. C.P.Joshi and requested him to provide all kinds of assistance from the Centre towards the development of Manipur.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/ratankumar-demands-safe-road/