Day: October 27, 2014

IMPHAL, October 27: The All Loktak Lake Area Fishermen’s Union, Manipur has expressed concern regarding the lowest fish production of 75 metric ton by the state fishery department for 2014.

According to a release of the union, the State requires at least 48,000 metric tons of fish annually. However, the State produced only 20,000 metric ton of fishes from lakes, rivers, wetlands, fishery ponds etc, by professional fishermen of the state this year, it said.

In order to restore the food security of the State, the Union, has appealed to the State government among others to implement restoration of the Manipur’s riverine system, to improve natural fish production of the State including lakes, rivers, wetlands, fishery ponds etc.

It also called for conservation and restoration of fish and other aquatic breeding sites in the state, to implement special mechanism to protect fish entry into any hydro power turbine with special reference to Loktak power station and effective implementation of state hatchery pools, distribution of fingerlings with special attention towards the professional fisherman (Traditional local fishers) to improve fish production at different levels in the state, it said.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/10/loktak-fishermen-worried-by-drop-in-fish-production/

R Lester Makang
UKHRUL, October 27: Is it a case of taking advantage of the growing demand of the voter`s ID card, or the gullibility of the public with intent to earn extra money? A random visit to the Ukhrul election office any day during working hours invariably confirms that among the people who throng the place many are applying for their lost or surrendered EPIC Cards on account of wrong entries.

Every Indian adult citizen needs this simple monochrome card as identity or address proof for various purposes like opening bank accounts or applying for new ration cards apart from proving their eligibility to exercise his or her franchise during every election time. And this need is growing more than ever.

Apparently, out of sheer need many people who have either lost or surrendered their voters ID Cards for correction of particulars, flock to the office to enquire /apply for new or corrected ones. It, however, turned out that certain staff of the office are allegedly indulging in fraud by charging extra money from many gullible applicants for processing issuance of new EPIC Cards.

A woman on condition of anonymity said that she came to apply for her new voters ID card on learning from others that she could get her new card within few days if she paid Rs. 200 for it.

“I don`t know whether this is right but I hear that many other people are doing the same,” she confided.

On the other hand, when this Imphal Free Press correspondent met the election officer AS Innocence on the matter, he informed that the actual fee for processing a new EPIC Card is only Rs. 30 for which there is official transaction record.

“Applicants should pay only Rs. 30 along with their passport photos to concerned officials which is the correct procedure, ” he said while conceding that certain staff are allegedly collecting Rs. 200 each from the applicants with a promise to issue new cards within few days.

He then appealed to all not to pay such extra amount to any staff just to get hold of a new card at the soonest while adding that this was misleading.

He however lamented that since last year he has despatched from his side hundreds of new EPIC applications from the district on batch wise basis on payment of Rs. 30 but so far only a small number of new cards have been issued till 13 October 2014.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/10/fraud-in-processing-new-id-cards-for-ukhrul-voters/

KANGPOKPI, Oct.27: The All Tribal Students` Union Manipur (Emboi Serto group) has today cautioned all educational institutions in the State to ensure proper care towards the tribal student in their respective schools in the process of availing pre-matric scholarship.

Emboi Serto, president of the student group, interacting with the media today, has alleged that most of the educational institutions in State show negligence and little concern for the tribal students applying for pre-matric scholarship.

He added that only few schools issue notification regarding the scholarship for the knowledge of the tribal students in their respective institutions.

He alleged that in some schools tribal student were even blatantly denied applying for the said scholarship, which is their legitimate rights, while some were told by the school authorities to avoid applying, saying that it will be of no use.

Further, he alleged that some school principals or headmasters also refuse to sign or give recommendation on the application form, adding that such indifferent attitude meted out to tribal students only solicit differentiation and sow seeds of communalism among the students community in particular and the public as a whole.

In view of such unwelcome treatment of tribal student in some educational institutions of the State, the ATSUM president has cautioned all concerned authorities of the schools not to repeat such treatments towards the tribal students, and ensure effective measures to address the grievances of the students.

ATSUM will also take up initiatives such as taking out inquiries at the educational institutions whenever there are complaints from the students, he added.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/10/atsum-cautions-educational-institutions-on-prematric-scholarship/

IMPHAL, October 27: Anti-ASFPA crusader Irom Chanu Sharmila will leave Imphal for the national capital on October 29 to physically appear before the Patiala House Court on October 30 and 31.

In this connection, the Judicial magistrate first class Imphal east has officially granted permission to Sharmila to appear before the court besides the health directorate and civil aviation, has given approval to travel to New Delhi.

Meanwhile, jail authorities have reconsidered and dropped its plan to cut down medical staffs who will accompany Sharmila during her trip to Delhi. Earlier following a fund constraint jail authorities had decided to reduce the number of medical staffs.

Sharmila is to make physical appearances on October 30 and 31 before the court of Metropolitan Magistrate, Patiala House regarding a case FIR No 222/06 under IPC section 309 (attempt to suicide) filed by the Parliament Street Police Station against her.

The case was registered against her holding a hunger strike demanding repeal of AFSPA at Jantar Mantar, in 2006.

During her earlier trips to the national capital, Sharmila was attended to by a three-member medical team led by a doctor of the State Health Services.

As in the past, the current medical team has been briefed to look after the condition of the hunger striker.

Her team also includes two policemen including an officer and two jail staff other than the three medical staff.

The entire expenses for the eight-member team including for their stay at Delhi and flight tickets amount to around Rs 1,38,700, informed the source.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/10/sharmila-to-appear-in-patiala-house-court-on-oct-30-and-31/

IMPHAL, October 27: Reiterating an earlier resolution of the North East Students’ Organisation, a consultation on human rights today resolved to demand the repeal of AFSPA and to call upon all the people of the North East to be united in this call.

The resolution is one among many taken during the North East Students’ Organisation, NESO’s organized ‘North East Consultation on Human Rights: Soliciting People’s Opinion on Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958’ at Banquet Hall, Hotel Benjamin, Papu-Nallah, Arunachal Pradesh, today.

NESO was supported by the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) in the consultation.

The consultation was attended by Arunachal Pradesh Member of Legislative Assembly Pasang Dorjee Sona, NESO secretary Sinam Prakash and former president AAPSU Tadar Dominic as chief guest, president and guest of honour respectively.

According to a statement signed by NESO secretary general Sinam Prakash Singh and AAPSU, former president and chairperson of the concluding session, Tage Lapung, other resolutions include to sensitize the student community of the North East on the human rights consequences of the prolonged imposition of AFSPA in the region; to pressure the Members of Parliament from the North East region to raise the issue to repeal AFSPA in the Parliament during the forthcoming winter session and to ensure that the issue of repeal of AFSPA in the list of priorities of NESO.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/10/neso-consultation-reiterates-demand-to-repeal-afspa/

IMPHAL, October 27: The State government has put in place several measures for scanning Ebola at every entry points to Manipur, stated Chief Minister Okram Ibobi on the sidelines of the swearing in ceremony of the newly elected Hiyanglam MLA, Elangbam Dwijamani.

As a part of the upcoming Sangai festival, the concerned authorities have taken up precautionary measures to detect the deadly Ebola virus in various entry points of the State such as the Tulihal Airport, and entry gates at Jiribam and Moreh etc, Ibobi said.

He pointed out that the case of the Japanese tourist who was initially feared to be showing symptoms of Ebola and was admitted at the JNIMS hospital, entered the State through Moreh.

Even Hajj pilgrims from the State were screened through small equipments which can detect the fatal disease at the Airport as they have come in contact with people from Africa at their holy place and have high risk of being infected with the virus, the Chief Minister said.

The Chief Minister also said the State government will soon be providing visa-on-arrival facility to foreign tourists entering the State at Moreh as the equipments needed for enabling the facility has reached Imphal, stated Chief Minister Okram Ibobi.

A permanent passport office is yet to be opened in Imphal although passports have been issued from Imphal from temporary offices set up periodically at Imphal, he said.

He said the State government has urged the concerned authorities to establish a regular passport office in Manipur.

Emphasising that the Moreh route is favoured by Myanmar nationals entering Manipur for medical and other purposes, he said the Visa office in Moreh is yet to become fully operational as it lacks the visa on arrival facility.

Ibobi said he discovered that the equipments needed for visa on arrival facility at Moreh has already been delivered in Imphal.

The Custom office at Moreh where visas will be issued on arrival has been renovated, he added.

The equipments are provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs but the visa-on-arrival office will worked under the Ministry of External Affairs, the Chief Minister said adding that the equipments will be installed soon.

Talking about the Sanjenthong Bridge, he said 80 percent of the construction materials, mostly steel items, are already in hand but a technical problem related with the hanger persists as it is made in France and Germany only.

It is yet to be delivered even after the State government has placed an order, he added.

Assembling the bridge and hence its inauguration will not take long if the hanger reaches Imphal, he said.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/10/state-scanning-ebola-at-every-entry-point-visa-on-arrival-at-moreh-soon-chief-minister/

IMPHAL, October 27: A five-day long ‘Contact Programme for Talented Boys School Students of Manipur’ organised by the Manipur Science and Technology Council, Imphal was inaugurated today at the training hall of the Directorate of Art and Culture building, Palace Compound, Imphal.

The programme is being supported by the National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC), DST, Govt. of India.

Altogether 36 students (from classes XI and XII) from 12 schools are participating in the programme nominated by their respective principals/head masters/head mistresses.

Speaking as the chief guest, G Tomba Sharma, former principal, DM College of Science, Imphal stated that there is no definite definition of the word ‘genius.’

He also asserted that students should be confident, hardworking and possess the spirit of enquiry to be successful.

Further stressing on the importance of being healthy, he said both the mind and body should be equally sound to become successful in life.

He appealed to the students to participate in the programme with keen interest and enthusiasm and be inspired.

MASTEC, Imphal director Th Surendranath Singh said the five-day long programme aims to expose the students to the exciting world of science and help them get motivated to take up Science as a career.

Using some fun facts of mathematics, he drew the interest of the students towards the subject.

During the five-day long programme, the participating students will be taken to various laboratories and other academic institutions including universities giving the students an opportunity to meet with real-life scientists working in laboratories.

The students will also have face-to-face interaction with distinguished invited scientists and attend lectures on mathematical and medical sciences, demonstration of yoga for health, etc.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/10/mastec-organises-programme-to-motivate-students-towards-science/

IMPHAL, October 27: The Asian Highway-1, along the stretch of Kakwa area under Singjamei Police Station was temporarily blocked today by members of Kakwa Apunba Marup along with the locals, demanding booking of the culprit responsible for firing at a crowd on October 25 Ningol Chakkouba night.

An agitator during the demonstration said that it is unfortunate that the State government is issuing licensed gun to anyone, alleging that gun license can be easily bought with bribes.

Mention may be made that two persons sustained bullet injuries in a fight that broke out over a dice game at Kakwa Bazar at around 8 pm.

Two persons, identified as Huidrom Trilokchand and Huidrom Kanta, received bullet injuries, and are still undergoing treatment at RIMS Imphal.

According to sources, the suspected culprit Laisharm Haridas is also under medical attention at the Shija Hospital, as he too sustained injuries after a crowd stormed the area where the scuffle took place.

Another suspect, identified as Laishram Gopen is said to be absconding.

On the other hand, Haridas’ family has clarified that he was not involved in the shooting.

Laishram Somokanta identified as nephew of Haridas said today at a press conference held at the Manipur Press Club that Haridas was not involved in the gun firing. If he had the gun with him, why would he be in the ICU of Shija Hospital, he asked.

Recalling the incident, Somokanta said that the argument at the dice game originated when one Shanti and his group lost money to Somokanta, the organisers of the gambling game.

He continued that Shanti and his group threatened Somokanta to return what they had lost in the game. After sometime, Shanti and his group asked Laishram Somokanta and his cousin Laishram Apuroa to stop the game but Somokanta and his cousin shifted to another side and continue playing.

He further narrated that later, Somokanta was badly beaten up by Shanti and some locals of Kakwa.

Laishram Farid, also a second nephew of the accused, Haridas, who was also present during the press conference, said that he was passing by after getting medicine for his father and saw that his cousin (L Somokanta) was being thrashed by the locals of Kakwa.

Farid said he pleaded with the locals who were present during the incident to help his cousin but all refused, so he had to rush home to find a means to help his cousin. He further said that he brought his uncle Haridas along with him to rescue his cousin.

Somokanta appealed to the concerned authority to look into the matter and pleaded for justice according to the law.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/10/kakwa-locals-block-road-over-dice-game-gunfire-incident/

IMPHAL, October 27: Newly elected MLA from Hiyanglam Assembly constituency, Elangbam Dwijamani was sworn-in today as member of the State Legislative Assembly.

Dwijamani won the Hiyanglam bye-poll held on October 17, on a Congress ticket.

In today’s swearing-in ceremony, Speaker of the Assembly, Th Lokeshwar, administered the oath of office and secrecy at the conference hall of the State Legislative Assembly secretariat, Chingmeirong Imphal.

Chief Minister Okram Ibobi, speaking to the media, on the sidelines of the ceremony, said that the State is closely monitoring the 1000 hours blockade imposed at Karbi Anglong since October 26, along the highways, which may affect the lifeline of Manipur.

He continued that in this regard, the State government had already communicated with the Central government. He added that hopefully the central government will intervene positively. The State also suffers whenever there are problems along the highway, whether it is at Nagaland or Assam, he said.

The swearing-in ceremony was also attended by the deputy Speaker, Preshow Shimray, cabinet ministers: Govinda Konthoujam, Francis Ngajokpa, Md Nasir and M Okendro; MLAs RK Anand, Y Irabot and Md Fajur Rahim etc.

It may be mentioned that the bye-poll of the Hiyanglam Assembly constituency was necessitated following the demise of the then sitting MLA Maibam Kunjo of AITC, on August 11 this year.

In the bye-poll, E Dwijamani defeated his nearest rival candidate Dr Yumnan Radheshyam of the AITC by a margin of 1820 votes.

It may also be recalled that in 2007 Assembly election, Dwijamani defeated M Kunjo by a margin of 385 votes. While in 2012 elections, Dwijamani had lost to the late MLA.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/10/elangbam-dwijamani-of-congress-swornin-as-hiyanglam-mla/

IMPHAL, October 27: The all political party committee on the implementation of Inner Line Permit system called upon the State Chief Minister Okram Ibobi, this morning, to further expedite consultations on the issue.

According to a source, the committee after briefing the CM on the experts’ views and observation collected so far has decided to seek opinion of a constitutional expert of the Supreme Court of India.

Later, the CM on the sidelines of the swearing-in ceremony of E Dwijamani, told the media that the State is treating the issue of ILP very seriously. He said the government understands the sentiment of the people regarding the influx of illegal migrants into the State.

Further, the CM also pointed out that the State cannot bypass the Constitution for enacting a law, and for that the committee specifically formed has consulted so many experts in order to take a concrete decision on implementation of ILP or a similar law in the State.

He continued that before enacting a law in the State, assent from the Governor is mandatory. Highlighting the procedural possibilities that could arise while enacting a law, the CM maintained that the Governor may also refer the proposed Act to the Central government or the President of India, who could order for a review of the Act by the Union Home ministry or the Law Ministry.

The State has to be very careful and cannot afford to take a hasty decision in this regard, which might jeopardise the hard work of the all political party committee; even though, we like to implement a law soon in the interest of the people, he added.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/10/opinions-of-constitutional-experts-will-be-sought-on-enacting-ilps/