Arunachal Lonely Planet's Global Tourism Hotspot

By Pradeep Kumar

Itanagar, May 30 : After winning the coveted second runners up position in Lonely Planet magazine's Emerging Destinations In India recently, Arunachal Pradesh, nature's favourite play spot on earth, has made its foray into the world tourism scenario and earned the rare distinction of making it to the BBC's Lonely Planet Traveller magazine's 'Top 21 under-the-radar destinations of the world'.

The list which exclusively featured the less explored and unconventional tourist destinations of the world was released recently, is being compiled by Rory Goulding, editorial assistant at Lonely Planet Traveller magazine.

It is to be noted that Kiso Valley in Japan and Southeastern Anatolia in Turkey are the only two other tourist spots from Asia that has been featured in the list, Arunachal Pradesh Tourism Parliamentary Secretary PD Sona told ANI.

Sona quoted Goulding, as saying, "Arunachal Pradesh, the 'land of the dawn-lit mountains', is surely high on any list of candidates for the mythical realm of Shangri-La. It has historically been inaccessible from any, an unknown place so remote that few of its thunderous Himalayan peaks have been named, let alone climbed."

"Now, however, easing travel restrictions and improved infrastructure ensure that this extraordinary place is ripe for exploring. Here, nature reserves teem with a diversity of wildlife unmatched in India, forests host delicately tattooed tribal peoples, and mountain valleys are dotted with majestic Buddhist monasteries, such as 400-year-old Tawang Gompa, one of the world's largest."

Goulding also urged the travellers to visit the Mechuka Valley, a hitherto unexplored Buddhist realm amongst the towering, snow-draped mountains of the region's remote west.

The other destinations that had find a place in the list were Fermanagh Lakelands in Northern Ireland, Yukon in Canada, Inchcolm Island in Firth of Forth, Scotland, Sequoia and King's Canyon National Park in California, Providence in Rhode Island, USA, Northwestern Tasmania in Australia, Kosrae in Micronesia, Avila in Spain, Sylt in Germany, Meknes in Morocco, Byblos in Lebanon, Torun in Poland, Jambiani Beach in Tanzania, Arras in France, Richmond in North Yorkshire, England, Ikaria in Greece, Trieste in Italy and Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe.

With Arunachal Pradesh chosen by the union tourism ministry to host the country's second edition of International Travel Mart (ITM) at Tawang during in the third week of October next, this mystic land would get more exposed to the rest of world with foreign tour operators, government officials and hoteliers from 50 countries are expected to attend the event, said state's tourism secretary Sonam Chombey Wednesday.

26.03% Growth in Arunachal Population

Women outpace men
By PRANAB KUMAR DAS

Tezpur, May 15 : The population of Arunachal Pradesh according to Census 2011 is 13,83,727, a decadal growth of 26.03 per cent.

The highest decadal growth in population has been recorded in Kurung Kumey district.

Papum Pare occupies the first position in population density, followed by Tirap district. The lowest density of population has been recorded in Dibang Valley district.

The data was revealed in the Primary Census Abstract (PCA) Data, Census of India, 2011, for Arunachal Pradesh, released by the directorate of census operations, government of Arunachal Pradesh, at the press club in Itanagar today.

The PCA data included 16 districts, 188 circles, 26 statutory towns, one census town and 5,589 villages in the state.

The number of literate people in the state has been recorded at 7,66,005 in 2011 as against 4,84,785 in 2001.

Papum Pare recorded the highest literacy rate with 79.95 per cent followed by Lower Subansiri with 74.35 per cent, while Kurung Kumey recorded the lowest literacy rate with 48.75 per cent.

The growth rate of females (29.30 per cent) is higher than males (23.10 per cent) during the decade.

Releasing the PCA data, Bharati Chandra, joint director of census operations, gave the data highlights on PCA 2011, which showed decadal increase of total number of households by 25.51 per cent.

She said the PCA data was the first set of final data from the population enumeration exercise held in February 2011.

From Arunachal Pradesh, a Tribe Offers Lessons in Ecology

By BRIAN ORLAND

Courtesy of Brian Orland Farmers belonging to the Apa Tani tribe transplanting paddy in the Lower Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh.

ZIRO VALLEY, Arunachal Pradesh — The end of April is planting time for the women of the Apa Tani tribe. Their 50-square-kilometer valley is a meticulously groomed jewel of green conservation, compared to the flood-beset Assam plains below or the slash-and-burn plots that neighboring tribes cultivate in the shrinking forests of the surrounding hills.

Field dispatches from a climate change researcher in Northeast India.

Here in Ziro Valley, teams of rice planters have already finished the annual refurbishment of the intricate network of interlinked irrigation channels. Now women laboriously transplant rice seedlings by hand, one at a time, in the paddy fields. Sun-wrinkled grandmas, adorned with traditional face tattoos and nose plugs, bend to the task. Crouching right alongside them, their giggly granddaughters sport knock-off designer sweaters.

Courtesy of Brian Orland A farmer untying a bundle of saplings in Lower Subansiri district.

The divergent costumes of the women signal lifestyle shifts that now confront the Apa Tani just as climate change heightens the challenges facing their Himalayan paddy paradise. Can they salvage the system of cooperative leadership and reciprocal labor-sharing that has delivered them such bountiful paddy harvests for the past 500 years? Or should they seize the opportunities of higher education, political party patronage and diversification into cash crops?

Each of these development paths has its proponents among the 28,000-member tribe. But both sides agree on the need for strict environmental conservation in such a compact, densely populated and intensely cultivated tribal homeland, so traditionalists and innovators alike have joined forces to foster customary Apa Tani communitarian values.

It’s an uphill struggle, according to Tage Kanno, a 45-year-old pediatrician of Tajang village. As young people go off to college, farmers forsake rice for more remunerative crops and families move out of the tightly packed villages for spacious surroundings.

Traditional Apa Tani dwellings clustered together in cramped household units as a safeguard against factionalism. Common concerns were aired openly in the lapang, a covered platform in the village square. Ultimate authority rested with the bulyang, a council of elders.

These days, though, the lapang does not see much serious discussion, and the bulyang has been reduced to ceremonial functions. Instead of the steady hand of a collectivist leadership, political parties now vie for slots in the panchayat, or local village council, and a single seat in the state legislature.

Even the bogo, the collective institution that oversees the privately owned paddy fields, is losing strength, Mr. Kanno said. Granted, this is largely due to government efforts to pave over the irrigation channels, which reduces the need for yearly maintenance, thereby conserving labor. But even this boon can undermine Apa Tani cohesion, he warned. (Earlier bogo members would collectively repair the main channels of the irrigation system, but with paved channels that community work is no longer necessary.)

To guard against such dangers, Mr. Kanno — although educated and worldly (he’s been as far as Washington, D.C., and Machu Picchu in Peru) — chooses to live in a modest house in his ancestral village.

His fellow tribesman, Hibu Tatu, 45, has made the opposite choice. He lives in a large house, by Apa Tani standards, on a consolidated hectare of land some four kilometers away from the cramped village of Hong.
There, he earns handsome profits from crops like broccoli, okra, apples and, most recently, a 30-meter greenhouse full of roses. To plant, weed and harvest his cash crops, he employs seasonal migrant workers from the tea tribes of Assam. His wife is now a member of the gram panchayat, or local government, having run uncontested for the female quota seat.
Mr. Tatu’s shift to cash crops was simply making a virtue of a necessity. He consolidated his holdings in the outskirts of Hong when neighbors there started abandoning fields in favor of paddy closer to the main village. But, as the outlying farmers dwindled, the local irrigation networks fell into disuse, forcing a switch to rain-fed farming, which better suited vegetables and flowers.
Such adaptability is the distinguishing feature of the Apa Tani, according to Sarit Chaudhuri, an anthropology professor at Rajiv Gandhi University, just outside the state capital of Itanagar. Of the 25 Arunachal tribes he studies, he said he finds the Apa Tani “one of the most progressive.”
But with climatologists predicting accelerated hydrological stress due to climate change, Arunachal will face growing challenges in precisely the area that has been the tribe’s forte: water management.
So core Apa Tani ecological values will matter more than ever: never leave fertile land fallow, fertilize only with waste, harvest trees only for firewood and house construction and then plant a new one for each tree harvested. How will these values be passed on, even as the bulyang’s influence wanes?
To this end, Mr. Tatu and Mr. Kanno have joined forces under an organization called Ngunu Ziro, or “Our Ziro.” It supports women’s self-help groups for income generation and organizes eco-camps to teach Apa Tani children about their natural environment. Its current campaign, dubbed “Zero Waste,” encourages ecologically friendly waste management practices like segregating trash into its recyclable components.

Courtesy of Brian Orland Beds of paddy seedlings in Lower Subansiri district.

Such efforts seem to help bridge the generation gap, at least for now, as attested by the mixed groups of women transplanting paddy. Ankle-deep in mud and water, they looked up from their work one recent April afternoon to observe a political rally pass by on the nearby road — dozens of motorcycles and 10 white S.U.V.’s, horns blaring and party flags streaming. The women gave it barely five seconds of consideration before they returned to their tedious, vital task of planting the paddy.

Brian Orland, a Fulbright-Nehru Fellow, is studying climate change adaptation along the Brahmaputra River, where the environment challenges the region faces are likely to be repeated in other parts of developing Asia. His dispatches will appear regularly in India Ink. Last month, he wrote about the search for new crops and farming methods in Assam.

Lisu Hunting Expertise Put To Use in Namdapha Reserve

By Naresh Mitra

Guwahati, May 8 : For long, the traditional hunting practiced by the Lisu tribe of Arunachal Pradesh in the 1985-sq km Namdapha tiger reserve of the state has been considered a potential threat to wildlife by the authorities. However, the attitude towards the community is changing with the tribe now coming forward to protect wildlife in Namdapha. The Lisus are now being engaged in protection squads in the tiger reserve, Arunchal Pradesh chief conservator of forest (southern circle) SJ Johnsam said.

"Following dialogues with the Lisu community, there has been perceptible change among the community members living in and around Namdapha. They are now cooperating in conservation activities. We are paying Rs 2,500 per month to Lisu volunteers for helping the forest department in conservation," Johnsam said.

Arunachal Pradesh deputy conservator of forest P Ringu said that there have been no reports of major poaching activities in Namdapha in the last 14 months due to the cooperation of the Lisus. "Lisus are also coming forward to help the forest department as informers and guides. This is a positive change indeed," Ringu said.

Aaranyak wildlife biologist Udayan Borthakur, who is currently engaged in tiger estimation work in Namdapha, said it would be impossible to protect the tiger reserve without the support of the local community.

Some conservationists are of the opinion that more efforts are needed to bridge the gap between the Lisus tribe and the forest department. "As of now, the relation between the two sides is not very strong, but there has been considerable improvement. A lot more has to be done to narrow the gap," a conservationist said.

Officials said the Namdapha tiger conservation and management plan will be submitted to the National Tiger Conservation Authority this month. "Once the plan is approved, we will get funds for eco-developmental activities. This will further encourage participation of the Lisus tribe in conservation work," an official said.

Namdapha in Changlang district is located in the eastern most of part of the state. The vast part of the reserve is virtually inaccessible because of its location in a difficult terrain.

The Lisus tribe is known for their excellent hunting skills. However in earlier years, they resorted to retaliatory hunting due to their poor relation with the forest department. They were even hostile to conservationists in the past.

In 2005, the Union ministry of environment and forest's tiger task force ( TTF) suggested that the Lisu community's hunting expertise be used for protection of Namdapha by making them stakeholders in conservation of the reserve as they know the terrain better than the regular forest guards.

Arunachal Keeps Hunting

By Nandini Velho

The nature of tribal hunting has changed over the years in Arunachal Pradesh. Earlier it was done for cultural reasons, meat, recreation and retaliation. Nandini Velho now finds the market deciding the fate of wild animals in the State

While Wangta Sagrisow (name changed) talked wistfully about how he had missed a tiger, he had a whole repertoire of stories about the forests and their animals that kept me gripped. So we continued to chat, although my questionnaire interview that aimed to understand the hunting patterns of different tribes in Arunachal Pradesh was long done. Now, as a 68-year-old man, he spends a substantial amount of time looking out of the balcony and into the happenings of his town.

Wangta was once a hunter, who only stopped hunting because of the vagaries of age. We lost no time as he excitedly flipped through my field guides and animal photographs, rehashing memories and contexts about hunting. His gripping narrative was complemented by quick dashes into the kitchen, from where he emerged with a new artefact or two to illustrate his stories in the flesh. He showed me a piece of porcupine stomach which is believed to cure stomach ailments. On another such dash he couldn’t find a piece of bear gall bladder, believed to treat dysentery and tuberculosis. In this case it was given away to a sick family member — usually it would have made its way to the market for the wildlife trade.

Wangta and older hunters grew up to a different kind of relationship with animals, especially with respect to trade. He doesn’t remember such a rampant bear gall bladder trade as exists today, but he once traded a sambar stag horn for a piece of prized Assam silk. However, another middle-aged hunter described in detail his observations of the rarely seen but highly traded scaly anteater, also known as the pangolin. Based on his detailed descriptions, the forests around Pakke Tiger Reserve are likely to be home to the Chinese pangolin as well as the Indian pangolin. Although the Indian pangolin would be a new mammal species recorded in the list of the tiger reserve, we know as little about its life as the threats it faces. After he found out that the trader from Assam sold each pangolin scale for Rs20 (on an average an adult pangolin has 900-1,000 scales), he ruefully told me that he sold the entire skin for just Rs400.

It seemed spending time doing interviews was far too trivial compared with the prospect of indulging in wildlife trade. Hunters and people in the village would often approach us with business propositions related to medicinal plant trade or placing orders for the most wanted species. After being interviewed, or even halfway through a few interviews, a few left mildly annoyed and disappointed.

Some things have remained constant — in part. Across time and space, there has been a marked dietary preference for barking deer meat. Then, they were killed and shared with relatives, but are now sold in the market for a modest amount of Rs150 per kg. While Wangta had killed only 25 barking deer in his lifetime, data from my study shows that other hunters were far more prolific. For example, the barking deer toll per hunter went up to as much as 100.

When the war with China broke out in 1962, Wangta was only 18 years old. He remembers that then one kg of potatoes was just Rs1.30. The potatoes he grew were supplied to all government officers around. This helped him raise money for a shop he planned to open — the first in the village. Today, government officers stationed in these areas are one of the major consumers of the wild meat from ever-dwindling forests, while potatoes and other groceries come from many places.

From these same forests, some species such as marbled cats, clouded leopards and leopard cats were not hunted before. They were considered to be closely related to the revered tiger, as tigers and humans are believed to have shared ancestry in the folklore of Wangta’s tribe. The religious ceremony to atone for killing a tiger is elaborate — hunters who have killed a tiger have to live on the roof of their house till the shaman allows them to re-enter. In death, this is still remembered. The approach to a tomb-stone has more steps built if a person has murdered a human being or killed a tiger, to make it difficult for the victims’ spirits to climb to the tomb when they seek retribution. Although Wangta had missed killing a tiger, others were willing to endure these rituals, especially if the animal had targeted their livestock. He had killed six marbled cats, some of which came for his chickens, but others just for sport — he had not consumed the meat.

The subtlety of hunting for cultural reasons, meat, recreation, retaliation and not hunting is less apparent now. As one hunter observed: “You kill and eat whatever you get unless there is a market for it.” But the future stills holds many uncertainties.

Before leaving, I decided to spend some time and look out from the balcony with Wangta. He pointed to a man working in the field — his son was the only child who had survived from three marriages and 14 kids. In retrospect, he believed that he lost so many children as retribution for hunting too much. His son, he explained, was now a Christian and did not know much about taboos or hunting. He will probably not be able to hunt a tiger in his lifetime as well; but for more than one reason — there might be none left.

The writer is a PhD student from James Cook University, Australia and a research associate with National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore. She thanks Bikram Aditya Roy and Vineeta Rao for assistance in the field

The Poppy Fields Of Arunachal

Guwahati, Feb 15 : A survey by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has identified six districts in Arunachal Pradesh most affected by illicit poppy cultivation.

The survey, which was conducted between the last week of January and February 10, found widespread cultivation of opium in Longding, Tirap, Upper Siang, Changlang, Lohit and Anjaw districts.

NCB’s zonal director Madho Singh today said the survey was carried out with the help of satellite images and ground survey. “We are also conducting a similar survey in Manipur. Three districts in the state, Senapati, Ukhrul and Churachandpur, have already been covered.”

“During the survey, illicit cultivation of poppy was found in small and isolated patches in the remote areas of the affected districts,” he said.

But there has been a marginal reduction in opium cultivation in Arunachal Pradesh this year because of co-ordinated operations carried out by government enforcement agencies, Singh said, adding that those involved in illegal cannabis cultivation would be dealt with firmly.

He said the NCB would launch an awareness drive next month to motivate farmers engaged in opium cultivation in Tirap district of Arunachal Pradesh to switch over to alternative crops like cardamom, oranges, apples besides other cash and staple crops.

“The NCB in co-ordination with police, CRPF and district administration destroyed 85 acres of illicit poppy cultivation in Wakka, Longding and Pongchau circles in Longding district of Arunachal Pradesh on February 8 and 9,” Singh said.

He said it becomes very difficult to arrest the cultivators since most of the illegal cultivation is on forestland.

In many parts of Arunachal Pradesh, villagers cultivate opium on a commercial scale since it involves huge money in a short period of time.

Cannabis is grown on a largescale in the interior and inaccessible areas of Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. Since most of these plantations are tucked away in hills and forests, government agencies have a tough time destroying these.

Some of these plantations are in areas infested by rebel outfits. As such, they are not deemed safe by the bureau for carrying out operations without adequate security, which is not always readily available.

The NCB zonal director said they have also sensitised ground-level officials of the police, forest and revenue departments and asked them to collect intelligence about opium cultivation in the remote and interior areas of the state.

Another cause of serious concern is the rampant opiate addiction among the people in these areas.

In September last year, the NCB destroyed cannabis (ganja) crops spread across 109 hectares in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh.

Destroying cannabis and poppy farms in Manipur and Arunachal Pardesh is also difficult because of stiff public resistance, mostly from the women, for whom it is a source of livelihood.

100 Year Old Rubber Tree Attracts Tourists in Arunachal

A new tourist attraction has emerged in Arunachal in the form of a giant 100 year old rubber tree.

The Forest department declared the tree as the largest tree in the state. Locally known as "Atang Ane", the rubber tree with a girth of 59.3 metres was located near the remote Kallek Village in East Siang district's Kebang circle under Yingkiong Forest Division.

The tree is situated in the sub-tropical forest range at 28 degrees north latitude and 95 degrees east longitude. Its elevation is measured up to 648 metres. To add to the tourism potential of the state a plan was mooted by Governor JJ Singh under which the largest tree in the state was identified.

According to State Forest Research Institute scientist R K Taj, "Such trees are traditionally important for religious purpose also. The plant is also important in decorating avenues and lawns." One can visit the tree after a three-hour trek from the nearest motorable road.

"The tree was planted in the early part of the 20th century, much before the Anglo-Abor War of 1911, by villager Sibeng Tamuk," Kallek head Tamang Tamuk said.

The tree was planted to obtain rubber from it during the time of practicing jhum cultivation in the area and it is believed that the sapling of the tree might have been brought from nearby Myanmar by him.

The tree may grow still larger in the coming days as it grows vertically, Tagom Darang, a villager, said. "If proper care is taken and the state government constructs a porter track from Kallek to the spot where the tree is located, the site will become one of the hotspots for tourists in the state," said Tajir Tamuk of Kallek village. Tamuk also stated that an ancient bat cave is situated just nearby the giant tree and if it is explored, it too would become a favourite tourist destination.

The Governor had last month awarded Rs 15,000 to Takom Tamuk, a resident of the village, and Rs 10,000 to Rai Yayer, another villager, for locating the second largest tree a banyan tree with a girth of 17 metres at Kankar Nallah near Nirjuli under Banderdewa forest division in Papum Pare district.

A Damned Race For Power

How we threw away the green rulebook in our obsession to keep up with China

By Jay Mazoomdaar

With more than 80 percent forest cover, Arunachal Pradesh is one of the last repositories of virgin wilderness where new species are still discovered every few months. The state also faces a 15 percent power shortfall. So, a section of Arunachal’s political leadership is desperate to harness the vast potential of its numerous fast-flowing rivers. More than 140 MoUs have been inked to set up hydro-electricity projects (HEPS) in the state.

In Tawang district, this power rush reached an absurd high. Seven rivers flow through the Tawang basin, where as many as 13 HEPS have been proposed across just 2,085 sq km. There is hardly any agricultural land left in this hilly district where the armed forces and civic infrastructural facilities occupy more than half the area. Once the HEPS come up, even the remaining cropland by the rivers will be lost. Besides, 13 HEPS will require a peak workforce of more than 1 lakh people, double the population of the district. One can imagine what the influx will mean to the Monpa residents, whose indigenous rights are protected by the Constitution.

A part of the Eastern Himalayan Biodiversity hotspot, Tawang is also one of the 200 globally important eco-regions and the only place on earth that hosts all varieties of Rhododendron. It is also home to the red panda, snow leopard, mountain goat and 150 species of birds. The impact of intensive blasting, tunnelling and submergence required for building 13 HEPS in this pristine landscape will be an environmental disaster.

Only nine years ago, then chief minister Gegong Apang announced a plan to set up a 2,000 sq km bio-reserve. As political priorities changed rapidly in Itanagar and New Delhi, Buddhist monks from the Monpa community made the Tawang monastery the centre of resistance. Since April last year, Save Mon Region Federation has repeatedly defied Section 144 and clashed with the police to demand that all 13 proposed HEPS, including the 600 MW Tawang-I and 800 MW Tawang-II, be scrapped. As recently as Christmas Eve last year, a violent showdown led to several arrests and injured protesters.

While both Tawang-I and II already had the required green clearances from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), the pressure from the local communities and the obvious irrationality of setting up so many HEPS in such a tiny basin made the Forest Advisory Committee recommend a cumulative impact study instead of evaluating each project on its own. That was last September. In just four months, the table was turned.

Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan came under strong pressure from various infrastructure ministries and the PMO. Her high-profile face-off with Finance Minister P Chidambaram on the proposed National Investment Board (NIB) forced the PMO to dilute the NIB’s overriding powers and rechristen it a Cabinet committee. But soon enough, it was time for quid pro quo.

The NHAI claimed the first pound of flesh by making the MoEF allow work along the non-forest parts of the projects, pending forest clearance. With the coal ministry already breathing down her neck, Power Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia paid Natarajan a visit. Then, China announced three new dams on the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) along the border.

While construction of a 510 MW plant at Zangmu in the Tibet Autonomous Region is going on since 2010, the three new projects — at Dagu (640 MW), Jiacha (320 MW) and Jiexu (unspecified) — took the cumulative yield to beyond 1,470 MW. The Indian answer, insisted the power ministry, had to be fast-tracking Tawang-I and II and generate 1,400 MW.

So, the MoEF promptly wrote to Arunachal CM Nabam Tuki to proceed with the basin study and the Tawang HEPS were granted stage-I clearance without bothering for any cumulative or specific impact study. There is a rider of a consolation though: the other 11 HEPS will have to wait till their cumulative impact is assessed. That is until China decides to come up with a few more dams.

Arunachal Tribe Helps in TB Research Breakthrough

Students take part of the "World TB Day" rally.

A small Arunachal sub-tribe has helped U.S. scientists made a major breakthrough in tuberculosis research, giving them new insight on how TB remains a global epidemic causing 1.9 million deaths every year.

Studies carried on the people of Arunachal’s Idu-Mishmis tribe, suffering from this dreaded disease, have discovered a possible reason for the resistance of tuberculosis, said the scientists from the Stanford University and Forsyth Institute.

According to results of the study published in the prestigious “Science Translational Medicine” journal, this is because of the ability of the tuberculosis bacteria to infiltrate and settle down in a particular class of stem cell in the bone marrow.

By doing so, the bacteria take advantage of the body’s own mechanisms of self-renewal.

“Cancer scientists have noted that self-renewing stem cells like these in the bone marrow have properties -- such as natural drug resistance, infrequent division and a privileged immune status -- that make them resistant to many types of treatment,” said Dean Felsher, MD, PhD, professor of oncology and of pathology.

Not only did the scientists find genetic material from the bacteria inside the stem cells, they were also able to isolate active bacteria from the cells of human patients with tuberculosis who had undergone extensive treatment for the disease.

“We now need to learn how the bacteria find and infect this tiny population of stem cells, and what triggers it to reactivate years or decades after successful treatment of the disease,” said postdoctoral scholar Bikul Das, from the Stanford University, and lead author of the study.

The researchers and doctors conducted free general medical camps in five villages of Arunachal Pradesh in India and gave free medicines to all patients belonging to the Idu-Mishmis sub tribe.

This effort led to identification of individuals who had TB, and successfully completed drug treatment.

From these individuals, the team isolated the CD271+ stem cells, and found evidence of dormant TB bacteria in those stem cells.

These results supported Das’s laboratory and Campos-Neto’s animal study evidence that dormant TB hide in the CD271+ stem cells, the press statement said.

The findings raise the possibility that other infectious agents may employ similar “wolf-in-stem-cell-clothing” tactics.

And, although any new human treatments are likely to still be years away, they suggest a new possible target in the fight against tuberculosis, which infects nearly 2.2 billion people worldwide.

The study was carried in collaboration with scientists from the Forsyth Institute in Cambridge; Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto; and RIWATCH (Research Institute of World’s Ancient Traditions Cultures and Heritage).

Ista Pulu, a Doctor belonging to Idu Mishimi community, and Vijay Swami, Director of RIWATCH are the co-authors of the paper.

Deepjyoti Kalita, a Doctor from Guwahati Medical College who participated in research study and Lab work at Roing is also a co-author from north east India.

The study as to “why TB treated patients remain sensitive to TB tests for life” made a breakthrough, “the results now will have direct implications in anti-TB drug development and explain why it is so difficult to treat active and latent TB” said the RIWATCH release.

This medical research has brought the Idu-Mishmi people and Arunachal on the world map.

PM Acknowledges Mizo CM's Case

Aizawl, Jan 30 : Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh has acknowledged Mizoram chief minister Lal Thanhawla's letter sent to him regarding interstate boundary issues in the Northeast region, official sources here said.

Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla had in November last year sent a letter to Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh, requesting him to take necessary steps to settle the boundary disputes among Northeastern states.

Lal Thanhawla in his letter mentioned that when any new state was born from Assam, its boundary was not settled instantly, resulting to a dispute over the interstate boundary till today.

He asked the Prime Minister that in order to bring progress and development that may reache each and everyone North Eastern state, the Central government may take steps boldly, and to settle the boundary disputes immediately without any partiality.

It can be mentioned here that the border disputes among the North Eastern states have been, to some extent, responsible for creating differences between two groups of people across the borders or misunderstanding between two neighbouring governments or even to the degree of exchanging of fire between security forces of the two neighbouring states.

Border disputes between Assam and Nagaland, Meghalaya and Assam, Manipur and Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, and Mizoram and Assam.

Manipur and Nagaland border dispute at Jessami in Ukhrul district is yet to be solved.

Clashes of villagers from both the sides have been happening from time to time.

The latest of violent incident in the Nagaland-Manipur border occurred as recent as a month ago.

The Nagaland-Assam border dispute at Merapani area has been a cause for worry.

Burning of houses and even killings have been occurring occasionally with no solution in sight.

Meghalaya-Assam border dispute at Langpih is the subject of a long-running dispute between the Meghalaya and Assam state governments.

Arunachal To Simplify ILP Procedure

Guwahati, Jan 19 : With a view to raising tourist inflow and making the State more tourist-friendly, the Arunachal Pradesh Government is working to simplify the procedure for application and issuance of the Inner Line Permit.

“The ILP has so far not been relaxed. However, the effort of the Government of Arunachal is that it is going to simplify the procedure and lot of Information Technology (IT) intervention is taking place,” Arunachal Pradesh Tourism Secretary Sonam Chombay told reporters here on Friday.

He added, “Within a very short time, online ILP facility would be in place. That will solve a lot of problems of the domestic tourists.”

The ILP is an official travel document issued to Indian citizens who want to visit “protected/restricted areas or States” such as Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram.

It is obligatory for Indian citizens from outside these States to obtain a permit before entering the protected State.

Half of Arunachal Population Still Make Living Out Of Forest

A bird’s eye view of Tawang city of Arunachal Pradesh

Itanagar, Jan 8 :  Even though the Arunachal Pradesh government has launched a ‘Green Arunachal’ campaign to protect its greenery, a recent Census report has found that half of the state’s population is still dependent on forest for their livelihood.

Over 68 per cent of the total population in the state use firewood for cooking as well as a source of income by selling it in the market, according to the census conducted in 2011.

The report, which was released here recently at a seminar organized by the Directorate of Census Operations, found that only about 29.2 per cent people in the state have LPG connections, compelling them to search alternative fuel sources.

About 65.7 per cent households in the state enjoy electricity connections.

The report found that 38 per cent of the population still had no latrine, though the number had reduced by 5.7 per cent from the 2001 Census.

However, 18.8 per cent use pit latrine facility which was 25.8 per cent earlier.

On the drinking water front, 65.5 per cent of households are having tap water connections, while 13.1 per cent depend on hand pumps and 5.7 per cent are having well water provisions for their daily use.

The report said that 14 per cent people in the state have two-wheelers and 7.9 per cent four-wheelers, which has increased from 6.8 per cent and 2.4 per cent respectively recorded in 2001.

Another interesting data was that 68.3 per cent households have their own houses, and 22.6 per cent of people live in rented houses.

While access to telephones has increased dramatically from a lowly 9.2 per cent to 48.3 per cent, the number of television set owners has increased by above 14 per cent.

However, the number of radio set owners has decreased by 17 per cent as compared to previous data recorded in 2001.

The overall crime graph in Arunachal Pradesh has also seen a decrease by six per cent this year in comparison to the previous year’s crime record in the state.

In 2011, around 2,355 crimes were recorded, which was five per cent less than the 2,539 cases in 2010.

Crimes like murder, crime against women and extortion have marginally increased across the state, rape and kidnapping cases being an exception.

US on Arunachal

As territorial disputes between China and its neighbours acquire a sharper edge, how America talks about them becomes an important part of the unfolding geopolitical dynamic in Asia.

In the East and South China Seas, which have become the new theatres of regional rivalry, Washington has carefully avoided backing the territorial claims of any of the parties — neither those of China nor of its allies. On the India-China border dispute, in contrast, we have been just reminded that Washington recognises India’s sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh.

During her visit to Guwahati last week, the US ambassador to India, Nancy Powell, reportedly said that the US acknowledges the McMahon Line as the legitimate border between India and China. Powell’s comments apparently came in response to questions from local reporters. The US envoy added that this is not a new American position and has been in place since 1962, when New Delhi and Beijing clashed with each other.

While that is a separate story in itself, Powell’s decision to reaffirm the US approach to Arunachal and the McMahon Line might be of some political significance. It has been years since the US formally articulated this long-standing position on the India-China border dispute. It is one thing for a country to have a position and entirely another for it to state it, or restate it, in public. What matters is the context.

At a moment when US-China relations have entered an uncertain phase, and the India-China boundary dispute remains unresolved, American support to India’s sovereignty over Arunachal adds one more layer to the complex triangular relationship between Delhi, Beijing and Washington.

Legacy of 1962

An American scholar, Jeff M. Smith, has recently published a brief account of how the Kennedy administration decided to back India against China on the McMahon Line.

As India-China tensions on the border began to boil over in 1959, Smith writes, then US Secretary of State, Christian Archibald Herter, made it clear that Washington did not take sides in the territorial dispute between India and China.

As push came to shove in 1962, US Ambassador to India, John Kenneth Galbraith, pressed Washington to endorse Delhi’s territorial claims on the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA), since renamed as Arunachal Pradesh. The US State Department was reluctant and instead proposed a “study” of the issue, a classic bureaucratic device to delay and deny change! Galbraith would not give up and got President John F. Kennedy to overrule the State Department.

A week into the war, Galbraith announced the following in Delhi on October 27, 1962: “The McMahon Line is the accepted international border and is sanctioned by modern usage. Accordingly we regard it as the northern border of the [North East Frontier Agency] region.”

Note that Galbraith’s statement 50 years ago, and that of Powell last week, are silent on the disputed western sector in Kashmir. Smith tells us that Galbraith was not convinced of India’s claims of sovereignty over Aksai Chin. Washington’s current position is that Aksai Chin is a disputed area that is claimed by India but administered by China.

Smith, a fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, concluded that American support to India’s sovereignty over Arunachal has been an enduring legacy from the Kennedy administration that has been forgotten in Washington, Delhi and Beijing. “Not really,” Powell is saying. The State Department, like any good foreign office, can always remember when it wants to.

Asian dilemmas

While the India-China border is relatively tranquil at the moment, the real challenge for US policy comes in East Asia, where China’s growing power is testing American alliances. America’s allies that feel bullied by China have no option but to rely on US power. But many in Washington, despite the recently proclaimed pivot to Asia, are concerned about giving a blank cheque to allies.

An American commitment that is too strong and open-ended, they worry, might encourage the allies to provoke China and drag Washington into a fight against Beijing over small islands that America has no real reason to bother about.

An ambiguous American commitment, on the other hand, would leave China free to take one small bite at a time, none big enough to provoke an American reaction. If America must carefully navigate between the dangers of “entrapment” and “abandonment”, China is unlikely to make it easy for the US.

The writer is a distinguished fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, Delhi and a contributing editor for ‘The Indian Express’

Tirap Farmers Say No To Opium

By Pullock Dutta
























Jorhat, Nov 29 : Naglo and Lonliam, two nondescript villages in the Lazo area of Tirap district in Arunachal Pradesh, have taken a path-breaking decision that could stir others like them out of their opium-induced stupor.

The two villages have agreed to give up opium cultivation and will sign an understanding with the district administration to that effect when five frontier districts, including Tirap, of the state, bordering Myanmar and China, join hands to launch a massive awareness campaign on December 11 in the remote villages adjoining the Golden Triangle to make people aware of the ill effects of opium.

The campaign has been prompted by the largescale deforestation undertaken by the villagers of Longding, Tirap, Changlang, Lohit and Anjaw districts to clear land for opium cultivation. The opium grown in these districts makes its way not only into the domestic market in a raw form but also enters the international drug trade after being taken to Myanmar where there are factories to refine these products into heroin.

Tirap deputy commissioner Sachin Shinde said over phone today that this would be the biggest such campaign launched in the five districts. “It’s a sort of custom for many villagers to take to opium cultivation. Many of them are unaware of its ill effects and the awareness campaign will be the best way to check opium cultivation in these parts.”

The six-day campaign will begin with a motorcycle-cum-jeep rally at Khonsa, the district headquarters of Tirap, and will pass through the opium-growing areas before ending at Kibithoo, the easternmost point of roadhead in India, in Anjaw district.

Said Shinde, “Naglo and Lonliam have agreed to give up opium cultivation completely and will sign an understanding with the district administration as the rally passes through these villages. We will distribute chicks among the villagers so that they can start poultry farming instead.”

As part of the initiative, a documentary film has also been prepared with messages from political and religious leaders denouncing the practice of cultivation and consumption of opium.

“The legal implications of growing, selling, possessing opium have also been explained in the documentary. Interviews of farmers who have given up opium cultivation and taken to cultivation of cash crops such as cardamom, ginger and kiwi fruit have also been taken. The documentary is proposed to be screened at all the places through which the rally will pass during interaction with the public from these opium-growing districts,” Shindhe said.

An official at the Narcotics Control Bureau, Northeast, said opium cultivation was a major problem in these five districts of Arunachal Pradesh.

“We have been carrying out operations regularly to destroy poppy crop in these districts. But our efforts generally go in vain given the constraints of terrain and time. We are only able to destroy the crop growing in the immediate vicinity of easily accessible roads. It is impossible to cover the entire area before the crop is harvested,” he added.

Last year, the Narcotics Control Bureau, with the help of local administration, had destroyed 1,300 acres of poppy cultivation in these districts. But these efforts are generally opposed by the villagers for whom opium cultivation is a source of livelihood.

“We are also carrying out awareness campaigns to educate the people about the ill-effects of opium,” the NCB official said.

Indian, Chinese Aircraft Come Face To Face Near Arunachal

 

New Delhi, Nov 29: Chinese nuclear-capable SU-27 fighter aircraft came close to a confrontation with Indian Air Force jets on October 30 afternoon  in the Tawang region of Arunachal Pradesh, says a report in the Delhi tabloid Mail Today.

The news report, said to be based on reports filed by the IAF and external intelligence agency RAW, says,  on October 30, some IAF jets were on a routine sortie mission in Arunachal Pradesh, when the Chinese People's Liberation Army  Air Force's Lhasa-based radar picked them up, setting off a chain reaction.

At 3:04 pm, two chinese nuclear-armed Sukhoi-27 jets took off from Gonggar air base in Tibet to confront the IAF jets.  The Chinese aircraft, according to the Mail Today report, flew southeast towards the Indian side, and were picked up on the radar at 3:29 pm near Cuona.

The drama lasted for nearly 50 minutes, just 30 km short of the Line of Actual Control, but the Chinese fighter aircraft realizing that the IAF jets had no intention of any offensive move, turned back, says the report.

The Research and Analysis Wing sent to the government a report on the incident on November 9.

The newspaper report says the radars twice lost track of the Chinese Sukhoi-27 aircraft, giving anxious moments to the top IAF brass. The Indian jet fighters too disappeared from the radar once, says the report.

The Chinese Sukhoi-27 aircraft was provided tactical radar support by the 42 Radar Regiment of the PLAAF, which is deployed all over Tibet.

The PLAAF is Asia's largest air force with nearly 1,600 aircraft. China has already five operational airfields in Gonggar, Pangta Linchi, Hoping and Gar Gunsa.  

US Rejects New China Map That Includes Arunachal Pradesh

The United States said it does not endorse the new "controversial" Chinese map on its passport, which depicts certain disputes territories as its own, causing a major diplomatic row in the region including with India.

"No, it is not an endorsement. Our position, as you know on the South China Sea continues to be that these issues need to be negotiated among the stakeholders, among ASEAN and China, and you know a picture on a passport doesn't change that," US State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland, told reporters at her daily news conference.

The new Chinese passport maps show Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin in Jammu and Kashmir -- the regions of Indo-China border dispute as a part of China. Also, the maps stake claim to several disputed border areas with Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia. The Diaoyu or Senkaku islands, which have been the reason of dispute between Japan and China were also marked as Chinese territory in the maps.

Responding to questions on this issue, Nuland said her understanding is that there are certain basic international standards that have to be met in a passport. "You know stray maps that they include aren't part of it," she said.

"As a technical legal matter, that map doesn't have any bearing on whether the passport is valid for US visa issuance or for entry into the United States...," she said.

"I'm not sure whether we've had a chance to have that discussion with the Chinese, frankly, the first time this issue came to the attention of some of us was over the weekend when the passports started being rejected in various countries," she said.

"So presumably from the perspective that it is considered provocative by some of those countries, we'll have a conversation about it, but in terms of the technical issue of whether the passport is...," she said.

"I would expect that we'll probably have a conversation about the fact that this is considered difficult by some of the countries," Nuland said.

Over 100 UFOs Seen Along Indo-China Border

The Army troops deployed along the China border from Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh in northeast have reported more than 100 sightings of "Unidentified Flying Objects" (UFOs) in the last three months.

New Delhi, Nov 6 : The Army troops deployed along the China border from Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh in northeast have reported more than 100 sightings of "Unidentified Flying Objects" (UFOs) in the last three months.

Agencies including the Army, DRDO, NTRO and the ITBP have not yet been able to identify these luminous flying objects.

The 14 Corps, which looks after military deployment along Kargil-Leh and looks after the frontiers with China, has sent reports to the Army Headquarters about the sightings of UFOs by an ITBP unit in Thakung near the Pangong Tso Lake, Army officials said here.

Reports suggested that these yellowish spheres appear to lift off from the horizon on the Chinese side and slowly traverse the sky for three to five hours before disappearing.

The officials confirmed that these UFOs were not Chinese drones or satellites.

They said Army had also moved a mobile ground-based radar unit and a spectrum analyser to verify the identity of the object but could not detect the object that was being tracked visually, indicating it was non-metallic.

Army officials expressed concern over the inability of agencies to identify the object which some believed could be a Chinese surveillance equipment.

Sources said similar reports had emerged about five-six years ago about sighting of such objects but the matter was not taken up at higher levels.

Reports suggested that a group of mountaineers had seen a UFO in 2004 in Lahaul and Spiti valley in Himachal Pradesh and investigations were launched into the incident by various agencies.

The curious case of MS Chohan

 Did missing Arunachal IPS officer fake his own kidnapping?



M.S. Chohan and his locked Mehram Nagar home.

The case of "missing" IPS officer M.S. Chohan is getting murkier.

On Monday, it was revealed that Chohan, who disappeared on October 16 while on his way to Tawang from Itanagar, had faked his kidnapping.

He was traced on Sunday morning to his residence - C-39, police colony, Mehram Nagar - in the Capital, which he reached by road, taking lifts from trucks and buses, his neighbours said. They added that Chohan hadn't spoken to his family for the last 10-15 days and wasn't aware that they had shifted from Mehram Nagar, where they lived for a decade.

"He came to his house around 8.30 am on Sunday and found the door locked. Then he came to our house and asked where his family was. We called up his mother, Shakuntala, who had shifted to Dwarka some 10 days ago with her daughter. Till the time his mother came, he sat and chatted with us," said a neighbour who knows Chohan's family for the last 20 years.

"He told us he took the road route to Delhi and that's why he took so long to come," the neighbour added.

Chohan and his family refused to talk about his whereabouts.

Shakuntala said: "My son got home on Sunday and is physically and mentally unwell and is resting. We're worried about his health. We can't let him talk to anybody."

According to his relatives, Chohan is depressed. He is separated from his wife, who was named in the fake pilot scam. His son, too, lives separately.

Chohan, superintendent of police of the special investigation cell in Arunachal Pradesh, was appointed by the Gauhati High Court to probe the multi-crore PDS scam in the state in 2008.

The Arunachal Pradesh Police were also inquiring into his disappearance. They have now issued a statement saying that Chohan - who was with constable Virendra Kumar and inspector Mohan Kaye before he disappeared - wasn't abducted but was dropped at Tezpur on his own orders.

Arvind Deep, inspector general of police, said: "An operation was launched to trace Chohan." On sustained questioning, Kumar revealed that Chohan had been dropped at Tezpur. Kaye also admitted the same later.

Kaye and Kumar also disclosed that Chohan had instructed them to fabricate the story that he had gone missing. "After knowing the truth, we sent an investigating officer to Delhi to question him," Deep said.

Chohan confessed to faking his kidnapping to the officer and his statement was recorded. The matter has now gone to the home ministry and the appellate authorities will decide on suitable action.

Chohan had recently been transferred to Delhi - he was relieved this month - after having served in Arunachal for eight years.

Policemen who know him well said he didn't want to go to the Capital. According to sources, Chohan was facing a vigilance inquiry in Arunachal Pradesh and feared the same might haunt him in Delhi too. He had delayed filing the chargesheet in the PDS scam by two-and-a-half years.

On Monday, Chohan was taken to RML hospital's psychiatric ward, an Arunachal officer said.

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/ips-officer-ms-chohan-kidnapping-drama-arunachal-pradesh-delhi/1/225976.html

Biodiversity Boon For Arunachal Tribes

By G. Ananthakrishnan

Villagers from Arunachal Pradesh sport Hor4nbill beak headgear during a side event at the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Hyderabad on Thursday. Photo: Mohammed Yousuf

At a presentation on the sidelines of COP 11 they reveal the result of their efforts

Arunachal Pradesh is helping tribal residents use ‘globally significant medicinal plants’ for livelihood security through community management of forests. The State has a staggering 500 medicinal plant species, and more than half the forests come under the control of the indigenous people.

At a presentation on indigenous and new approaches to natural resource management in the State, held on the sidelines of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity here on Thursday, tribal practitioners said they had set up seven Medicinal Plant Conservation Areas (MPCAs).

According to tribal beliefs in Arunachal Pradesh, dense forests and big trees are looked upon as ancestral souls, and hornbill hunting is banned during the breeding season. The tiger is sacred as it is the ‘brother of Tani, the first humans on earth’.

However, as a presentation by the INSPIRE Network for Environment made clear, large tracts of forest had been lost in Arunachal due to development of pastoral lands, agriculture expansion, shifting cultivation and demand for firewood and timber. INSPIRE is helping residents in Western Arunachal’s Tawang-Kameng area form a large arboretum for Rhododendron arboreum, an evergreen tree with bright red or pink flowers that holds the soil against landslips. Its flowers are used to produce squash under a plan partnered by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust.

Medicinal plants have come to the rescue of communities, and hence they vigorously guard against the removal of plant and animal species by outsiders. Hake-Tari, Salari, Laa and Wannu are examples of community forests, said Tapu Gapak, member-secretary of the Medicinal Plants Board of Arunachal Pradesh.

Arunachal Pradesh is attempting to show that community ownership can help produce incomes from biodiversity sustainably. There is strong support for conservation of fauna, too.

The Nature Conservation Foundation has been working in the area around the Pakke Tiger Reserve with the Nyishi tribal people, successfully persuading them against hunting hornbills for casques, which form part of headgear. Fibreglass substitutes are accepted. Tribal residents have participated in nest protection schemes, and local councils have seized guns from villages.

An adoption scheme launched by NCF for the hornbills has attracted 49 urban patrons, who paid between Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 1-lakh to protect the birds in nesting sites. A dozen birds have fledged through this scheme. NCF researcher Amruta Rane said that in the next phase an assessment of abundance of nesting sites and availability of some 45 fruit tree species favoured by hornbills would be carried out.

A pictorial guide to significant medicinal plants of Arunachal Pradesh authored by D. Yonggam, with information about their use, was released here by MLA Bamang Felix.

Several tribal participants were present at the discussion wearing wood casque headgear, demonstrating how hornbills could be spared.

China-India 1962 War: Arunachal Pradesh Will Benefit By Developing Trade & Friendship Links

New Delhi needs to move closer to Beijing. And Arunachal Pradesh will benefit a lot if we develop trading links by land

By Mukut Mithi

Let me make the first statement: Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India. But over the years it has remained isolated from mainland India, mainly because it is located in the eastern-most corner of India. It is incidentally the largest North-Eastern state in terms of area, and it shares a 1,680 km-long border with three foreign nations: China, Bhutan and Mynamar.

With China alone, Arunachal shares a 1,080 km-long border. To stretch the introduction a little further, it is India's land of the rising sun and home to 26 major tribes and over 100 sub-tribes who speak different dialects. Apart from abundant forest resources and huge hydro-power potential, the state has mineral resources like oil and gas, dolomite, graphite, coal, quartzite, limestone, marble etc.

When students from the north east were targeted in Bangalore in August via hate SMSes, the population from Arunachal Pradesh was mostly unaffected. Yes, there were anxieties, but they did not leave the city in fear. Maybe they are too small a number to be noticed by those who were spreading rumour.

We need to devise institutionalised ways to make the integration of the north-east with the rest of India more meaningfully. Currently, central government employees are given a little more incentives in their LTA if they choose to visit the north-east.

The government also sponsors youths from various parts of India to visit the north-east to get first-hand experience. I suggest, both the Centre and state governments must devise more schemes whereby people from the rest of India are encouraged to visit the north-east and understand the region better.

On China, my views are straight and simple. China is an economic giant and we need to enhance trade ties further. But Arunachal Pradesh will benefit if we develop trading links by land. So far the only border trading point between India and China is located near Nathu La in Sikkim.

I suggest we must work towards converting the 1962 war routes as trade and friendship routes. In October 1962, Chinese soldiers occupied Tawang located in the western part of Arunachal, then called North East Frontier Agency, or Nefa. On east Arunachal, Indian and Chinese soldiers fought at Walong. We all grew up with stories around those battles.

I strongly believe that after 50 years, both New Delhi and Beijing must enter into a serious dialogue to make Tawang-Bum-La and Walong-Rima trading routes a reality. Let those be named as friendship routes. Once those land routes are opened for legal trade, entrepreneurs from Arunachal will be able to export products such as rice, oranges, orchids and handicraft items to China.

In recent years, the connectivity to those border towns has improved, making it easier for them to handle goods coming from Assam plains too. The Rupai-Walong and road to Tawang are being widened. Tawang has always been a popular tourist spot. Let it also be known for serious business with China.

(The writer is member of Parliament & ex-CM, Arunachal Pradesh)