Tag: Editorial

The roads are in deplorable condition. Pot holes as big as pond have appeared. Having seen these roads one can make a logical conclusion the representatives of the people, who take keen interest in the development of the roads get the opportunity to serve their people again. Those who remain aloof without doing anything uttering blah blah are rejected by the voters. If you as a candidate of the recently held state assembly election had suffered rejection of the voters blame yourself. You had not heard the voice of the people. You had acted in a manner not in conformity with the expectation of the people. You competed in wearing the latest designer wear and Cartier glasses. When you were an MLA you had not remembered the person next door was leading hellish way of life. You did not do anything for the welfare of the common masses. If you did anything to improve the deplorable condition of the roads and to better drinking water supply system why would voters reject you? Your defeat has acted as an eye opener to the first timers. Within three months of their victory these first timers have set out to look into the grievances of the people. Their plus point is that they have known the weakness of their rivals. They know they too will suffer rejection by the voters if they keep themselves aloof from the common masses. That is reflected by their dress sense and working style. In the recently held state assembly elections too many big shots lost in the hustling. Too many factors not one decide, who really should represent the people. One reason that could be attributed to the rejection of the leader by the voters is the former’s neglect in performing their duty in taking up developmental programmes. Count the number of roads that is in horrible condition and set it against the number of good roads and do the subtraction. All that remains is the number of the rival forces. Manipur style of politics demands that the leaders who can dig, who can clean drainage turn out the true representatives of the people. If you want to be representative of the people continuously for several terms focus should be made in repairing roads in taking up welfare programmes of the people. The rest will be easy to tackle.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/expectation-of-voters/

When criminals operate from across the border people have no clue about their activities. This has become a global phenomenon. Manipur seems to be affected by the cross border criminal activities. Drugs are often seized in the Manipur border areas however the trade continues unabated. At Tulihal airport drug was also seized recently but we don’t know who were involved and what actions have been taken up. It was an inter state criminal activity. When smugglers carry out such activities in the border areas the remains a mute spectator. The random arrests and seizure have not stopped the illegal drug activities. Vigil within the state has to be intensified if we want to make our future safe. There may be other things which are being exported and imported. We may be in the dark about the illegal activities that are taking place. We have to understand that turnover of cross-border organized crime is about $870 billion a year, more than six times the total of official development aid, and stopping this “threat to peace” is one of the greatest global challenges, a U.N. agency said on Monday.The most lucrative businesses for criminals are drug trafficking and counterfeiting, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said, launching an awareness-raising campaign about the size and cost of cross-border criminal networks.”Millions of victims are affected each year as a result of the activities of organized crime groups with human trafficking victims alone numbering 2.4 million at any one time,” UNODC said in a statement.The total estimated figure of $870 billion is equivalent to 1.5 percent of the world’s gross domestic product, it said, warning that crime groups can destabilize entire regions.”Stopping this transnational threat represents one of the international community’s greatest global challenges,” UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov said.A spokesman said it was the first time the agency had compiled an estimate for transnational organized crime, using internal UNODC and external sources, so there were no comparative figures to show any trend.The report drew on International Labour Organisation (ILO) data on the cost of human trafficking as well as information about counterfeit goods compiled by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The UN report may not be comprehensive but it is an eye opener. Similar research involving all agencies need to be taken up in the state as we are prone to such activities. The persecution of people involved in such activities have to be carried out in such a way that it also acts as deterrent. Deterrence is important as we need to send a message to the people involved in such acts. They should be stopped with an iron will. People should stop resorting to easy money activities.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/cross-border-criminals/

Orchid is extremely beautiful, it is considered as one of the best gifts of God to mankind. Its medicinal purpose is extraordinary and the north eastern region of the country is blessed with over a thousand variety and if proper research is carried out it is estimated that about 500 varities will be available in Manipur alone. Conserving gene fo the orchids will really help the future generation about the beautiful plants that flowered in this corner of the planet, most of which will perish in the massive conversion of earth to concrete structure. Gene conservation work has been taken up by an NGO led by Haokholet Kipgen at Hengbung, Senapati district. It is a wonder why the Horticulture department can not take up any work to make the state economy strong. Horticulture, agriculture and allied industries are really neglected and leaders are concerned about contract works only with least concern about developing economically viable industries, small and large scale.
Orchid is the backbone of economy in many countries like Thailand, Singapore. Everyone was shocked when it was reported that a kg of orchid valud around Rs 300 per kg from Manipur is purchased at China border around 15000 US dollar. It is in huge demand in most countries specially for medicinal purposes. India and Manipur governments need to wake up now from the deep slumber. Ignorance is not bliss for the people of the region who need to be guided. We are not pursuing the works we are intended for and we are assigned tasks we were not intended to do. Genome research is a must. The region has poor mineral resources but it is perishable and the mineral wealth of the rest of the country will be squandered away with time. Human need specially greed has no limits. Another aspect is the time factor, nature acts in its own pace and the resources given have to be used properly. We can do research works at work sites to discover new species only during the period it blooms specially during rainy season and the growth of the plants can not work with the pace we want. It has to take its own time and we have to find out ways in which the plants are not destroyed in the name of earning money. Researchers have sequenced the genome of bananas, the humble yellow staple food facing pests and diseases that threaten to wipe it out across the globe, in an effort to save them from imminent demise.The accomplishment opens the way for developing better banana crops that are naturally resilient against parasites and other stresses.“The banana is very important, especially for tropical and subtropical countries .“Because the future of the banana is in danger, the sequence will help to produce resistant bananas and avoid the utilization of pesticides. It will be much easier now to identify genes which are important,” D’Hont said.Bananas were first domesticated 7,000 years ago in Southeast Asia. As people migrated, and crossed their own plants with other species along the way, bananas gradually became seedless, delicious and totally sterile.Instead of multiplying through sexual reproduction, which mixes up the gene pool, bananas are cultivated through vegetative propagation, which involves simply cutting off a section of one plant to grow on its own. We should take cue from such experient.It will benefit the people and such works can be done by the government alone.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/orchid/

Good or bad any new enterprise need some time to settle down with the people. The masses need time to understand, learn and use the new technologies or concepts. It can be understood the way 3D films were heralded as the future of cinema, but their tickets are overpriced and often fail to live up to the hype, a new study has revealed.According to the research undertaken by Mintel, only a fifth of cinemagoers feel that 3D films are worth the inflated ticket prices.Films shown in 3D offer viewers deeper, three-dimensional images but tickets can cost up to 40 percent more than tickets to traditional 2D films.However only three in ten cinema-goers admitted that 3D films really improve the viewing experience.Meanwhile, three-quarters of people believe that the price of the 3D glasses – which are necessary to view the films and can add an extra 1.50 pounds to the cost of the ticket – should be included in the price.
People’s generally negative perception of 3D films has coincided with a dramatic drop in the number of people going out to watch them.According to Mintel, 22 percent of all box office tickets sold in 2011 were for 3D films. This was down from 28 percent in 2010.Although the steep decline was partly due to the huge success of Oscar-winning Avatar in 2010, there are other factors at play.“People who have been to 3D movies say that they like them technically but they don’t think they are particularly good value for money,” the Telegraph quoted Michael Oliver, leisure analyst at Mintel and the author of the report, as saying.He said that poor-quality 3D titles have dented people’s enjoyment of the films.
“The problem is that some films work very well in 3D and others don’t. And it’s the ones that don’t that really damage the industry because everyone has jumped on the bandwagon and thought this is a really good way to get an extra 40 per cent in ticket revenues, and it doesn’t really work that well,” Oliver said.He also attributed the strained economic condition of the people to making them think twice before going for 3D movie.
“People look at 3D and think ‘another 40 per cent’. If you are a family with three children and you are going to buy loads of popcorn and drinks then an extra 40pc on 4 tickets makes quite a big difference, so a lot of people have traded down to 2D,” he said.The number of 3D digital screens in the UK has increased 30-fold in the last five years.There were just 47 3D screens in 2007 – equivalent to 8 per cent of all screens in the UK. This figure increased to 1,475 last year – equivalent to 71 per cent of all screens. “It has got its place and when used correctly and properly it adds tremendously to the experience. But it is not suited to every single film that comes out,” he said.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/new-steps-take-some-time-to-be-understood/

Agricultural and forest areas are decreasing day by day. Forest products are also decreasing .We do not want to see women staff stitiching clothes and male staff busy in close door meetings in such department or any other offices. Officials need to wake up and start acting as we are not aware of National Afforestation Programme, Integrated Forest Protection Scheme, Eco-Development Force (EDF) Scheme, Grants-in- Aid for Greening India Scheme, Gram Van Yojana (GVY) for afforestation on non forest lands, Assistance for Development of National Parks and Sanctuaries for afforestation, Regeneration of degraded forests etc being taken up in full swing. The forest area in Manipur is around by 173 square kilometer. We have to understand that 728 square kilometer of forest area in the country decreased from the year 2003 to 2005 . The forest area of the country was 677,816 sq km in 2003 and 677,088 sq km in 2005. Manipur’s forest area was 17,259 sq km in 2003 and 17,086 sq km in 2005. The loss of forest area in Manipur was due to shifting cultivation. Manipur has been receiving funds. It should be utilised properly. Globally the destruction of parts of the Brazilian Amazon has threatened scores of rare species doomed to disappear even if deforestation is halted, a new study has found.The study, done by the scientists at Imperial College, London, has revealed that deforestation in Brazil
has already claimed casualties, but the animals lost to date in the rainforest region are just a fifth of those that will slowly die out due to loss of habitat.The researchers reached the bleak conclusion after creating a statistical model to calculate the Brazilian Amazon’s “extinction debt”, or the number of species headed for extinction as a result of past deforestation. The model draws on historical deforestation rates and animal populations in 50 by 50 kilometers squares of land.According to The Guardian, scientists have found that in parts of the eastern and southern Amazon, 30 years of concerted deforestation have shrunk viable living and breeding territories, which are enough to condemn 38 species to regional extinction in coming years, including 10 mammal, 20 bird and eight amphibian species.The systematic clearance of trees from the Amazon forces wildlife into ever-smaller patches of ground, the report said.
Though few species are killed off directly in forest clearances, many face a slower death sentence as their breeding rates fall and competition for food becomes more intense.”For now, the problem is along the arc of deforestation in the south and east where there is a long history of forest loss. But that is going to move in the future. We expect most of the species there to go extinct, and we’ll pick up more extinction debt along the big, paved highways which are now cutting into the heart
of the Amazon.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/afforestation/

Medicines meant for better life style and cure diseases are misused by people. It has resulted in non availability of life saving drugs. It is unfortunate that llife has been made meaningless by such lifestyle. We have to make them understand that lifestyle behaviour in adolescents may adversely affect blood pressure and cardiovascular risk in adulthood . The substantial differences in blood pressure found in a study between those with a healthier or less favourable lifestyle “are likely to significantly affect their risk of both ischemic heart disease and stroke in adulthood”, the investigators warn.
The researchers added that adolescence is a time of life when behaviours “tend to become entrenched”, and that “significant public health benefits may be achieved from implementation of a range of gender-appropriate lifestyle modifications within this age group of adolescents”. At that time study subjects were asked about alcohol consumption, smoking, physical activity, prescription medications (including the use of oral contraceptives), and dietary patterns, and the association between each of these factors and systolic and diastolic blood pressure was calculated.Boys had an overall systolic blood pressure 9 mmHg higher than girls not taking the Pill.Among the boys, systolic blood pressure was significantly associated with BMI, urinary sodium (as a marker of salt intake) and alcohol consumption. And even when adjusted for BMI, the link with alcohol and salt remained.The study also found that habitual physical activity was associated with lower diastolic blood pressure.Using adult blood pressure definition criteria, approximately 24 percent of the adolescents were pre-hypertensive or hypertensive; remarkably, 34 percent of the overweight and 38 percent of the obese adolescents were in these high blood pressure categories. Furthermore, use of the Pill was significantly associated with raised blood pressure in the girls; for example, the systolic blood pressure of girls taking the Pill (30 percent of the group) was 3.3 mmHg higher than non-Pill users, and grew higher with increasing BMI. This finding, said the authors, extended previous findings on the Pill in adolescence.Blood pressure in the girls was not affected by alcohol consumption. Hence we have to make the new generations the harmful effects of using drugs.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/using-medicine-for-the-wrong-purpose/

If the units run by the government is an indicator about the performance of the government then can we conclude that almost everything run by the government have failed to deliver. The problem is fixing of responsibilities and rotation of chief executives who come from IAS cadres. Specialised cadres should monitor the work and the basic problem is the one who is in the top has to take all the decisions and they themselves are in want of advice and guidance in every step. State run transport agency, pharmaceutical unit, cycle unit , spinning mills and others have turned to dust. We do not want to see the end of companies. Sense of responsibility and taking the failures to task are something the government needs to do. The problem with the bureaucracy is there is no one to take them to task. They themselves conduct the enquiries, writer their own performances and approves their own conducts. If we analyse what the people think about 97 percent of investors against bailing out sick companies, an independent research initiative has revealed.In the wake of the recent controversy surrounding Air India’s Rs 30,000 crore bailout package and the subsequent losses incurred by the Airlines due to various factors; Equitymaster, India’s leading Independent research initiative recently conducted a poll – ‘Ban Bailouts’ – in March 2012 to gauge investor opinion on this issue.The objective of this poll was to find out if the investors were in favour of the government bailing out sick companies with taxpayer’s money.About 10,325 investors participated in the poll that ran for over three months on www.equitymaster.com.The result of the poll should send out a strong message to the government – a significant 97 percent of participants voted against bailing out sick and inefficient entities like Air India.Majority of the respondents said that the root cause of this problem was inefficiency and mismanagement of the Airlines.A respondent said, “Most of the companies falls in bad situation due to their mismanagement and corrupt practices, so why people’s money should be used to bail out such bad companies!”.Citing examples of other efficient airlines, another respondent said, “Look what Emirates, Air Arabia and Itihad are doing. When all of them can make real good profit from their Indian operation, there are only three reasons why Air India cannot do. Mismanagement, Mismanagement and Mismanagement.”While a majority of investors expressed their displeasure towards bailing out sick companies, some investors also gave interesting solutions to solve this issue. If sick units are an indicator to the way the system is running it is time to wake up.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/sick-companies-an-indicator/

Archaelogy is the only means of resolving past difference and knowing the truth. Literary sources are strongly influenced by the opinions of the writers and his benefactors. Archaelogical sources have little room for manipulations. We lost sizeable chunk of our history when we dug up the Kangla using JCBs when we should have used brush and expert hands and eyes. It should be handled by archaelogists. Our historical sites are losing importance, the medieval seat of power at Bishenpur has gone to oblivion, the palace of King Gambhir Singh inside Manipur University campus is occupied by military, the battle field at Khongjom is also not properly protected. Likewise there are so many places and literary sources which need to be protected rather than be consumed by greed and petty politics. Wake up and act this is all we can say. Interestingly a rare cache of buried gold coins was recently uncovered in an Israeli coastal city, in what appears to be one of the largest-ever such finds.The stash, valued at over 100,000 U.S. dollars and weighing 400 grams, was unearthed at the 13th century fortress at Apollonia Park, about 25 km north of Tel Aviv, by a joint Tel Aviv University (TAU) and Nature and Parks Authority team, the Ha’aretz daily reported on Sunday.The hoard consists of 108 gold coins, 93 of them comprised of 4 grams of gold and 15 coins comprised of one gram of gold each. The coins were minted in Egypt some 250 years before being buried in the fortress’ floor.The excavation began three years ago to prevent the collapse of a slowly disintegrating seaside cliff.Since then, the diggers have discovered numerous findings shedding light on the Crusader Period and of the fortress’s last days.
Other findings include hundreds of arrow heads and catapult stones from the battle in which the Mamlukes (members of a military castle who controlled Egypt from the 12th to the 16th century) conquered the castle from the Crusaders, and remains of glass utensils from Italy.
Researchers assume one of the fortress’ leaders hid the treasure in a bid to prevent the Muslim conquerors from finding it, and maybe hoping to retrieve it again someday.”I believe that the stash was deliberately buried in a partly broken vessel, which was then filled with sand and laid under the floor,” said the head of the Apollonia digging team, TAU Professor Oren Tal said in an statement published Sunday.”So if anyone found it, he would think it’s a broken pot and pay no attention.” However, “The findings indicate a prolonged siege and a harsh battle that took place at the site,” Oren added.The fortress on the coastline and the city beside it were ruled by the Christian Order of the Knights Hospitaller. It was one of the most important Crusader strongholds in the center of the country during the 13th and 14th century.In March 1265, Mamluke Sultan Baybars stormed the city and captured it after 40 days of siege. The site, abandoned in ruins, has not been inhabited since. Likewise there are lots of places where we can dig and discover lots of things. It is time we do it.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/gold-digging/