All Manipur Church Organisation Team Meets Manipur Chief Minister

Imphal, May 29 : Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh on Thursday held a meeting with a delegation of the All Manipur Church Organisation, a day after leaders of Manipur and Nagaland PCC leaders agreed to hold talks with civil society groups for an amicable solution to economic blockade.

Headed by Prim Vaiphei, the Church delegation talks with the State CM lasted for an hour.

During the meet, the Chief Minister reportedly responded "positively" to an appeal by the church delegation that suggested dialogue with the All Naga Students Association, Manipur and United Naga Council (UNC).

The delegation urged the Chief Minister to find a solution to the ongoing economic blockade as the entire state was suffering because of it.

"The Chief Minister assured us that he would extend an invitation to the Naga groups very soon," a member of the Church delegate stated.

"We are concerned about the people's welfare. So we met the chief minister. Conflicts and problems could be solved across the table," said a member.

The Chief Minister has reportedly assured the delegation his government's readiness to hold talks with any group to redress their grievances.

The United Naga Council (UNC), All Naga Students' Association Manipur (ANSAM) and other Naga organizations are opposed to the district council election. They maintain that the powers given to the district councils are not enough.

ANSAM have imposed the blockade on Imphal-Jiribam and Imphal-Dimapur highways since April 11 to protest against the election.

However, the first phase of the election was held peacefully on Wednesday in Chandel, Sadar Hills in Senapati district and Churachandpur.

Ukhrul, Senapati and Tamenglong districts would undergo polls on June 2 for the second phase.

NSF to Intensify Blockade of Manipur Vehicles

Kohima, May 28 : The Naga Students' Federation (NSF) today said they will intensify its ongoing blockade of Manipur-bound vehicles on NH-39 due to "failure" of the Manipur government in fulfilling their demands.

This decision was taken at an emergency meeting here on Thursday, where it was resolved to continue the ban imposed on Manipur-bound vehicles on NH-39, which connects Imphal with Dimapur, since May 4, NSF sources said.

The federation also served an ultimatum to the Manipur government demanding withdrawal of section 144 of the CrPC from Naga-inhabited areas of Manipur and an unconditional apology from Chief Minister Ibobi Singh for restricting NSF leaders from entering beyond Mao inter-state gate on May 3.

Some organizations in the nearby Karbi Anglong district of Assam, led by All Assam Manipuri Students' Union, on Thursday called upon United Naga Council (UNC), Manipur and NSF to withdraw the ban immediately, warning that an economic blockade might be imposed on Nagaland.

Economic blockade on NH 53 and NH 39 since mid-April by All Naga Students' Association, Manipur (ANSAM) and others opposing the ADC elections has triggered humanitarian crisis in Manipur due to acute shortage of essentials there.

At Least 25 Dead in India Train Blast and Collision

New Delhi, May 28 : Rescue workers are trying to free survivors from the wreckage of a train in eastern India after a blast on the line killed at least 25.

The blast hurled a passenger train into the path of a goods train speeding in the opposite direction in West Midnapore, a railway spokesman said.

The number of dead was expected to rise after the incident early on Friday.

The area is known to be a Maoist stronghold but officials say it is too early to say if rebels were to blame.

The passenger train was travelling from Mumbai to the eastern city of Kolkata, in the West Midnapore district of West Bengal state.

Railway official Manoj Kumar told Reuters: "At this stage I can confirm 25 deaths. The toll will be much higher."

A doctor quoted by AFP said there had been 30 deaths.

A local government official said the toll could go up to "anywhere around 50-60" because many passengers were trapped inside mangled coaches.

"We can give a final figure only after rescue operations are complete. We have to cut open the compartments and bring out bodies."

Another railway spokesman, Soumitra Majumdar, said: "The blast derailed 13 coaches of the Gyaneswari Express. These coaches then fell on the other track where a goods train rammed into some of them."

'Super de luxe' express

Among the 13 carriages of the "super de luxe" express were 10 sleeper coaches and an unreserved coach, sources told The Times of India.

A reporter at the scene, Naresh Jana, said: "I can see at least four passenger coaches completely mangled. I am seeing many bodies crushed under the goods train.

"People are crying. Rescuers are struggling to save the survivors and get the bodies out."

Among the emergency teams sent to the scene were 12 doctors and 20 paramedics from Kharagpur and two doctors from the Kalaikunda airbase in the district, the newspaper reported.

Maoist rebels have in recent months stepped up attacks in response to a government security push to flush them out of their jungle bases.

They have attacked police, government buildings and infrastructure such as railway stations. Earlier this month they blew up a bus in the state of Chhattisgarh, killing 35 people.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described the insurgency as India's biggest internal security challenge.

Friday's crash comes days after a passenger airliner plunged to earth in southern India, killing 158 people.

Manipur Blockade Makes Life Miserable For Local Residents

Imphal, May 28 : People in Manipur are suffering immensely due to the continuing economic blockade that started over a month ago even though it was temporarily lifted.

Shortages of essential commodities and subsequent rise in prices of indispensable commodities have adversely affected every household in the State.

There has been a price rise of all the essential commodities since the enforcement of economic blockade by certain Naga groups, along the National Highway 53 and National Highway 39.

Both the highways act as lifeline for Manipur. It is hard to even get cooking gas whose prices have gone beyond Rs. 1,000. People are compelled to use wood for cooking purposes.
"Nowadays, we are using bicycles to commute, as we can't afford petrol since the prices are quite high and also some of the petrol pumps have no stock," said Nongmaithem Kerani, a local resident.

"Due to steep rise in petrol prices, the public transport operators have also hiked the fares. Our children rely on this mode of conveyance and now it is a problem. Indeed, expenses have shot up beyond our means," said Nongmaithem Enoubi, a local resident, Nourem Leikai, Imphal

Rose's family is another such example. It stays in another locality and is affected by the brunt of ongoing economic blockade.

"Prices of all the essential commodities like rice, dal and others that we depend on, are increasing. We are worried. We won't be able to endure all these trends for long," said Rose, a local resident of Kakwa, Manipur Emergency services like hospitals have also been severely hit, as life saving drugs are exhausting fast.

"My staff is having a difficult time to come to hospital for duty. Passenger buses had stopped plying for one week or so due to unavailability of petrol and diesel. Oxygen is being filled in cylinders under high pressure," said Dr.Y.Mohen, Superintendent at RIMS Hospital.

Even though, the government has initiated the task of airlifting essential commodities from outside the State, the stock won't last long.

Meanwhile, some goods-laden trucks and passenger buses, which were earlier stranded along the NH-53, have been escorted upto Imphal by security forces.

Blockade supporters attacked and damaged some trucks in one of these convoys.

"Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution took the decision to transfer all the PDS items through NH 53. Accordingly, we have contacted the Food Corporation India authority, they agreed and we decided to start lifting these items," said Yumkham Erabot, Manipur's Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution."When we were just about to reach Noneh, suddenly, around four to five youngsters emerged on the scene and began pelting stones, damaging the NRL oil tanker. Leaving behind the vehicles, we ran about one and half kilometre to call the CRPF personnel for help," said Prem Singh, an oil tanker driver.

Meanwhile, the Centre is making efforts to normalize situation in the State.On their part, the local residents across Manipur are looking forward with hope that peace, harmony and prosperity will return to the region soon.

Mizoram Highest Tobacco Consumer in India

Aizawl, May 27 : More than 20% Mizo smokers have kicked out the habit in the past one decade, raising hopes that Mizoram will shake off the ignominy of being the topper among states in tobacco consumption.

A survey conducted by the Mizoram State Tobacco Control Society has revealed that more and more smokers are of late kicking the butt.

Jane Ralte, programme officer of MSTC, said that the survey, conducted among 2,500 people above 18 years of age in the eight districts of Mizoram, found that as much as 73.1 per cent of the smokers wanted to quit smoking.

The survey reveals that while 55 per cent still smoked, 45 per cent are non-smokers or who had quit the habit.

As many as 50.8 per cent of the smokers said they did not find any enjoyment in smoking, while 37.5 per cent still do and 84.2 per cent admitted that their expenditure on cigarettes was a financial burden.

At least 10.6 per cent said no to it and 5.2 per cent could not give an answer.

The survey also revealed that a whopping 89.60 per cent agreed that smoking was harmful for health, but 6.80 per cent did not think so and 3.60 per cent did not offer opinion.

In all 85.3 per cent are also aware that passive smoking is equally harmful to others, while as many as 10.3 per cent of them did not believe in it.

First Among Equals

By Piyali Dasgupta

Mary Kom

For 27-year-old Mangte Chuneijang Mary Kom, a mother of two from Manipur, setting records is routine.

For starters, she’s a four-time world champion, an Arjuna awardee and a Padma Shri awardee.

And now, she’s headed to Kazakhstan to take part in the Asian Championship. But, before she left, Mary met us in Delhi to offer us a ringside view of her life.

Sitting comfortably in Lodhi Gardens and admiring the monument behind her with childish glee, Mary told us, “Trust me, I haven’t seen a monument so closely. I feel like a kid again. I must have visited Delhi so many times, but have never been in and around the city so much. This once, I’ve taken out time especially to do touristy things.”

But even then, Mary had little time on her hands, as she was heading to Kazakhstan. Talking about her preparation, she said, “I’ve been with the game for 10 years. Even after winning four times, I still feel that I have to learn a lot.”

She also feels that the Indian women’s boxing team needs a coach now. She explains, “We’ve been asking for a foreign coach from the Indian Boxing Federation, but no one has been appointed so far. It’ll be great to train under a foreign coach because it’ll help us improve our game and perform better in future.”

Mary is also excited about being selected, along with 24 athletes globally, for BBC’s forthcoming project titled World Olympic Dreams. She adds, “It feels great that I’ve been chosen for this.

The BBC team had approached my husband last month. They’ll be visiting Manipur in June for the documentary’s shoot. I’m very excited. This will be a great milestone in my career as they will profile me along with great athletes like Sir Matthew Pinsent, four-time Olympic gold medallist, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, Afghani Taekwondo fighter Rohullah Nikpai, British NBA star Luol Deng and many more.

It’s a specially being made for the 2012 London Olympics. It’s been my dream to win an Olympic medal and I’m working hard. Aur koshish karungi ki is bar main Olympic mein medal jeetkar wapas aaon.”

But, she also knows fame is fickle. She says, “When I pay in the boxing ring people recognise me and shout my name. But, the moment I’m out of the ring, logon ko pata nahi main kaun hoon. Whenever I travel abroad, people don’t recognize me as an Indian. A sportsman once told me, ‘Mary, you don’t look like an Indian’. And I promptly replied, ‘But, my heart us full of India’.”

At this point, it’s the Commonwealth Games that is important for every Indian sportsperson. But Mary is disappointed because Indian women boxers will not be able to compete in the sporting extravaganza.

She says, “I feel very sad that the CWG will not give a chance to Indian women boxers to compete. The CWG claims that the event will include a lot of woman sports person. So, where do we stand?” she questions, as she signs off.

Assam to Initiate Talks Process With ULFA

By Sushanta Talukdar

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi addresses a press conference in Guwahati on Wednesday.

Guwahati, May 27 : The Assam Cabinet on Wednesday decided to initiate the process of talks with the insurgent United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), even without Paresh Barua, the self-styled commander-in-chief of the outfit.

The decision came a day after Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram gave Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi a free hand to decide on the talks with ULFA and the National Democratic Front of Boroland (Ranjan Daimary faction).

Mr. Chidambaram had said that the Centre would support the State in carrying forward the political process with the insurgent outfits.

Mr. Gogoi told journalists said that the government would wait for the ULFA's response and proceed accordingly.

“If Mr. Barua comes forward, it is well and good. We waited for him. We wanted to talk with the ULFA, including Paresh Barua. However, we had also maintained that we could not wait for him indefinitely. So, the Cabinet decided to initiate the process of talks with ULFA even without Mr. Barua,” he said.

Asked if jailed ULFA leaders would be released to facilitate the process, the Chief Minister said the government would first wait for the ULFA leaders' response before taking the next step. He, however, said his government would make all efforts to bring ULFA to the negotiation table.

The jailed ULFA leaders have been insisting that they have to be freed first to be able to take a decision on holding talks.

To another question, Mr. Gogoi said same principles would apply in the case of the NDFB( Ranjan Daimary faction), and the government would start the talks process with outfit if it came forward to talk.

Describing the Cabinet decision as “a very big decision,” the Chief Minister said it had been taken as there were indications that most ULFA central committee members were in favour of talks. The State would inform the Centre about the Cabinet decision, he added.

Of the 15 central committee members of ULFA, six are currently in jails. These include ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, self-styled foreign secretary Sasha Choudhury, finance secretary Chitraban Hazarika, cultural secretary Pranati Deka, ideologue Bhimkanta Buragohain.

Vice-chairman Pradip Gogoi and central publicity secretary Mithinga Daimary are on bail, while general-secretary Anup Chetia is lodged in a Bangladesh jail.

Three ULFA central committee members have remained untraceable since the crackdown against the insurgent outfit by the Royal Bhutan Army in 2003, while another member, Robin Handique, passed away. Only two members of the central committee, Mr. Barua and Jibon Moran, are at large, the Chief Minister added.

The government will seek the help of intellectuals and leading citizens, who recently organised a National Convention, which urged both the State and ULFA to sit for unconditional talks. Mr. Gogoi also thanked Gnanpith Award winner and popular writer Indira Goswami for her sustained efforts to facilitate talks between ULFA and the government.

Addicted to Fairness Creams? Not Fair

By Arunima Srivastava

Addicted to fairness creams? Not fair

With fairness market booming with men too now wanting to become ‘fair and lovely’, wonder if anyone stopped to think of its side-effects!

First it was Shah Rukh Khan who created a buzz with his Lux soap commercial and now it’s Shahid Kapoor who’s hit the headlines for promoting Vaseline men’s face whitening lotion. While fariness creams had remained the domain of women, we have men who have taken them up rather seriously.

Resultantly, the 'fairness' market is booming what with men too getting in the line to become ‘fair and lovely’. But in the bid to look good, has anyone thought of its side-effects?

Dermatologist Dr Amit Vij, says, “Face whitening creams are harmful for all – be it man or woman. They might be in great demand for the fair look they promise but the only ones who’ve been regular in using it would know the harm that the creams have caused to their skin. That’s not to say that the person didn’t achieve his goal – of looking fair, but at what cost?”

But going by the texture of men’s skin and presuming that their fairness creams have higher quantity of bleach, are men at a higher risk of skin damage? “Like I said, these fairness creams are bad for men and women alike. And as for men, their skin is only slightly rough on the beard area, rest is as sensitive and prone to reactions.”

He continues, “The main ingredient of these fairness lotions is bleach, so you can understand how people turn fair. And it is just that, that causes all the harm.”

Warning of the use of these fairness creams in the long run, Dr Vij says, “The obvious side-effect is thinning of the skin. Daily use of these creams leads to the skin losing its tightness and becoming thinner in return. Growth of acne is another harm that these creams cause to the skin.”

Elaborating further, he says, “Also, most fairness cream consumers are unaware of the photosensitive reaction which these creams cause. Due to this the more exposed one is to the sun, worse one’s skin condition becomes. This would mean anything from getting pink and red rashes – the degree of which would vary from person to person to sun burns, blisters, itchiness to burning sensation, each time the person steps out in the sun.

“Such a skin, that has become photosensitive, could also lead to one having problems if he went in for any kind of packs or massage treatments, for those oils or packs could further react on the skin.”

So how much time do these reactions take to show up? “It varies. For someone, it could react immediately, for another it could take months to show signs of a deteriorating skin,” he says.
In that case, the best way to acquire a fair skin is “by doing away with the pigmentation,” advises Dr Vij. “Fairness creams only hide them, but that’s definitely not a permanent treatment and that’s the reason why people are tempted to use them regularly. It’s important that people realise that bleach can never avoid photosensitivity, which is a big problem once one is struck with it.”

So as a piece of another advice, Dr Vij adds, “All fairness creams are bad, period. Therefore, it’s advisable to keep away from them completely. However, to avoid tanning and dry skin, go for sunscreens, moisturisers and homemade packs as they are more effective and come with no side-effects whatsoever."

arunima.srivastava@indiatimes.co.in