Manipur News

IMPHAL, Nov 8 MNS/NNN: Rendering a yeomen service, Phunjathang Tonsing the Health and Family Welfare minister, Government of Manipur today distributed mobile phones along with sim cards to the activists and other staffs of Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) of National Rural Health Mission Manipur (NRHM) during a felicitation programme organized by State Health Society, Manipur which was held at the banquet hall of Imphal Hotel.
The distribution programme was attended by Ram Muivah, Principal Secrretary (Health and Family Welfare), Government of Manipur; Devesh Devan, State Mission Director of State Health Society, Manipur; Dr. Pradeep Haldar, Deputy Commisioner (Child Health), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India and Padam Khanna, Senior Consultant of Private Health Practitioner (PHP), National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC) as president and guests of honour respectively.
Speaking as chief gueset on the occasion, Punjathang Tonsing stated that ASHA’s workers being the most important part of NRHM have been playing pivotal role in health sector. While lauding the workers of ASHA in helping ther State to bagged Best Performance Award in Health Sector among the small State of the country, the minister added that the government is trying to provide assistance to the workers in its best form.
The minister further stressed on the need to publish various journals of NRHM being published in the State in local dialects since most of the journals are published in English language.
Highlighting services being rendered under NRHM, Ram Muivah informed that the Central government had set up NRHM, which is a mission mode in order to cope problems like food-deficiency and child education adding that young workers and other knowledgeble staffs of NRHM are working hard to implement the mission in the State successfully.
Altogether 36 mobile phones along with sim cards were distributed to the activists and other staffs of ASHA at the programme. Under the flagship programme, 3878 workers of ASHA, 198 felicitators of ASHA, 470 ANM and 124 staff nurses working at different districts of the State would be getting mobile phones along with sim cards to enhance the mission’s services.
Prior to today’s distribution programme, the government had already distributed raincoats, umbrellas, radios, cycles, torchlights,the rmometers etc. earlier to the activists.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/cell-phone-given-to-staff-of-asha/

IMPHAL Nov 8 UNA: The judicial proceedings at Gauhati High Court, Imphal Bench was paralysed today as lawyers abstained from work decrying the process of deputation of judges for the proposed Manipur High Court, alleging that it tantamounts to deprivation of rights of the deserving advocates and judicial officers in the state.
Lawyers abstained from court works following a decision of the High Court Bar Association (HCBA), Manipur to abstain from attending court works at the Guahati High Court, Imphal Bench form November 8 onwards.
A court source said that proceedings of the Imphal Bench of the Gauhati High Court were totally paralysed today owing the cease work strike of the lawyers. HCBA has around 250 members and over 100 cases were taken up per day in the bench.
No case was taken up for the day and the same situation was likely to continue for days, the source added.
According to senior members of the HCBA, authority of the Central government did not heed to the appeal of HCBA regarding reservation of posts of judges for the proposed Manipur High Court which was being under process after the Parliament passed an Act for establishing separate High Courts for three northeast states inclusive of Manipur, Tripura and Meghalaya.
HCBA president Kumarjit said that they have been demanding the deputation of seven judges for the High Court of Manipur and that they should be residents from the state. The matter was urged to the Union law minister Salman Khurshid in August 2012 through a representation.
Later, a delegation of HCBA met with the Union law minister who gave an assurance to look into the matter. However, without considering the demands of the HCBA, a decision has been reportedly taken for deputation of four judges for the High Court of Manipur including chief justice.
The judges would also be transferred from Gauhati High Court, Assam as per the recent decision of the Union law ministry, he said. The action is against the interest of the state and it was termed as step-motherly’ treatment.
The decision of the law ministry has hurt the sentiment of lawyers of the state deserving judgeship as it deprives their rights, and that there are no chances for eligible lawyers of elevating their status for decades more, he lamented.
“We strongly objected the arrangement. The agitation of abstaining from court work from today will go on until the pertinent authority consider our demands, Kumarjit said, adding HCBA will once again put up the matter to the notice of the Prime Minister, Union law minister and Manipur chief minister.
Senor advocate Khaidem Mani observed that it would not be practicable to depute four judges only for the High Court. It would give a great difficulty to litigants as the Supreme Court would be the only legally viable institution left to approach and not feasible for the state litigants.
He further said that there were about 6000 pending cases in the Gauhati High Court, Imphal Bench and this was the highest number of cases pending next to Assam in the northeast.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/lawyers-suspend-court-works/