Arunachal Dam Protests: Jairam Plans Public Hearing on Sept 10

By Samudra Gupta Kashyap

Itanagar, Sep 7 : Protests against setting up a series of mega dams on the Siang, Subansiri and several other tributaries of the Brahmaputra in Arunachal Pradesh have become louder by the day even as Union Minister for Forest and Environment Jairam Ramesh fixed September 10 as the date for a public hearing here on the issue.

The minister will also visit Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh the next day to take stock of the situation arising out of the protests.

The protests have been particularly more surrounding the Subansiri Lower hydel project, a 2,000 MW project that is being implemented by the public sector National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), with the Assam government also joining to row.

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had in July asked the Centre to intervene and ensure that such dam projects did not lead to denial of the riparian rights of the people of Assam.

Gogoi had particularly referred to the ongoing Subansiri Lower hydro-electric project, and said flood moderation and flood cushioning should be considered critical components of the project.

“The various multipurpose projects proposed in the Master Plan prepared by Brahmaputra Board, like Tipaimukh, Pagladiya, Kameng and Siang etc should be taken up as storage projects so that the riparian rights of the state of Assam is not denied and flood moderation is taken due care,” Gogoi said.

While an umbrella body of the All Assam Students’ Union and 25 other student and youth bodies have launched a vigorous campaign against the Subansiri Lower and other projects, opposition parties of the state have also taken up the issue.

The Asom Gana Parishad last week staged a massive dharna at the NHPC project site at Gerukamukh and demanded immediate stalling of the project.

Meanwhile, an expert committee constituted by the NHPC and the Assam government has identified 968 villages in the lower reaches of the Subansiri and categorised them into three groups in the basis of their vulnerability.

The expert panel had a couple of months back recommended against construction of mega hydel dams in the region including the Subansiri Lower project, given the high seismicity of the eastern Himalayas.

Cement Giant Coming Up in Assam

Silchar, Sep 8 : Assam’s biggest cement plant will come up near the railway town of Badarpur in Karimganj district in the middle of 2013.

To cost Rs 267 crore, the Valley Strong Cement (Assam) Limited, at Debendranagar village, will be capable of producing 6.6 lakh tonnes of cement a year.

Promoted by the Chamaria-Gorodia group, which has another cement plant at Debendranagar, the plant will be the third of its kind in Barak Valley.

Chamaria-Gorodia group’s other cement plant, called Barak Valley Cement Plant, has an annual output of 3lakh tonnes a year.

Debandranagar’s second cement plant will come up on a 30-hectare plot near the group’s first cement plant.

The group’s vice-president (finance and administration), Mukesh Agarwal, today said the construction of this plant would get off the ground as soon as they get clearance from the Union ministry of the forest and environment ministry.

A mass hearing of the residents of Debendranagar village was held at the behest of the Regional Pollution Control Board of the state government recently, where villagers unanimously approved of the second plant at the village.

With a population of 6,000, Debendranagar has its advantages, especially in terms of location.

First, is its proximity to National Highway 44, which joins Barak Valley and adjoining Tripura to the rest of the country.

Hence, it will be easy to import raw materials from adjoining Meghalaya.

The entire Barak Valley has the advantage of importing limestone from Jaintia hills in adjacent Meghalaya, which is a three-hour drive from Badarpur.

Second, it is only 2km from the Barak river.

During monsoon, when the river is in full spate, cement can be sent to Bengal and other states by cargo vessels at a low cost.

Besides, the village is only 45km from Silchar airport and 4km from the metre gauge point of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR).

Agarwal said the proposed plant would provide employment to around 1,000 people.

He said their second plant would go a long way in meeting the annual demand for 4.75 million tonnes of cement in the Northeast. The output of cement, mainly Portland variety, in the Northeast is estimated at 2.21 million tonnes, which is 55 per cent of the total requirement, at present.

Meghalaya Refuses to Renew Mining Lease to Coal India

New Delhi, Sep 8 : Meghalaya has refused to renew a mining lease to the Coal India Limited, leaving the government-run mining enterprise without any work in the state, the coal ministry said Tuesday.

“In Meghalaya, the only lease held by North Eastern Coalfields Limited (NEC) NEC, a CIL subsidiary, pertained to Simsang mines. But it expired in 2008 and its renewal is yet to be received from the State of Meghalaya,” said the ministry in a statement.

“In the absence of renewal of lease, at present no more mines has been planned to be opened by NEC, CIL,” the statement added.

“In Meghalaya, coal is being produced only by the local people as per the extant customary and tribal land rights,” it said.

The ministry made the revelation of Meghalaya’s refusal to renew its mining lease to CIL in a statement on total coal resources in the northeast region.

The statement said “as per Geological Survey of India’s latest inventory of the geological resources of coal in the country, 1,471 million tonnes of geological resources of coal have so far been estimated in the northeast region.”

“Of this, 388 million tonnes are in Assam and 576 milliion tonnes in Meghalaya,” the statement said, adding: “In Assam three opencast mines - Tirap, Tikak and Ledo are in operation under NEC.”

Five more new open cast mines, including those in Lekhapani, Tikak Extension, Tipong, PQ Block and Lachitkhani are proposed to be opened,” the statement added.

Mizoram Drives For World Class Wine

Aizawl, Sep 7 : The Mizoram government has taken every step to ensure that grape wine produced in the state meets international standards.

The first consignment of wine produced from two wineries at Hnahlan and Champhai in eastern Mizoram will to hit the stores in Mizoram soon. The state had been under prohibition law for 13 years, it was learnt.

''If the wine is of poor quality, it will badly affect the economy of hundreds of grape growers families in this region.

Therefore, it is the government's utmost concern to ensure that the wine meets international standards laid out by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine,'' an official statement said here today.

A meeting of concerned officials, headed by state planning board member-secretary P L Thanga during the day, agreed to subject the wine produced from these two wineries to quality tests before being sold to the market.

The meeting agreed to use laboratory of Regional Institute of Paramedical and Nursing Sciences (RIPANS) in Aizawl for the quality tests.

Since tests for all the substances could not be done at RIPANS laboratory, quality tests for the remaining 40 per cent would be conducted in national accredited laboratories outside the state.

''Thereafter quality certificates would be sought from the National Accreditation Board for Laboratory, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India,'' the source said.

The wine-making process is being monitored by experts from liquor major Shaw Wallace at the two wineries.

''To make the wine competitive and conform to international standards, experts from Shaw Wallace are already here to train and guide the winemakers,'' Vanlalruata Chenkual, Managing Director of the Grape Growers Society of Mizoram, said.

The wine made from Lubrusca variety of grape, also known as 'Bangalore Blue' with 14 per cent alcohol content and filled in specially designed 750 ml bottles, would be priced at Rs 250 under the brand name of 'Zawlaidi', meaning love potion in the Mizo language.

According to plans, an estimated 100,000 bottles would hit the market this year.

In Hnahlan village, 80 per cent of the total population of 670 families were engaged in producing grapes and about 325 families in Champhai area.

The amendment of Mizoram Liquor Total Prohibition Act has enabled the grape growers to make their produce into wine with 16 per cent alcohol content.

With Mizoram's climatic condition suitable for growing the high-quality Lubrusca variety of grapes, coupled with the relaxation of the stringent law, more and more farmers are setting up vineyards.

Though the wine from Mizoram could sell well in the international markets, it will concentrate on the local market as of now.

''We will go global later on,'' said state horticulture director Samuel Rosanglura.

14 Youths From Northeast to Climb Nepal Peak

Imphal, Sep 7 : Fourteen youths from the Northeastern region, including four girls, will scale the Nepal Peak as a precursor to the Mt Everest expedition planned next year.

The pre-Everest Nepal Peak Expedition of the Manipur Mountaineering and Trekking Association (MMTA) was flagged off by N Biren Singh, Minister, Youth Affairs and Sports, and Maj Gen DS Hooda, GOC 57 Mtn Div, Chief Patron of Manipur Mountaineering Institute, yesterday.

The expedition, led by L Surjit Singh, president MMTA, will try to summit the Nepal Peak (7168m) from the Sikkim approach on September 25.

The 14 member contingent, which includes four ladies, has been drawn from different states of the region. The expedition has been organized under the aegis of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) and sponsored by the North Eastern Council.

Surjit Singh, team leader, said the expedition is a precursor to the Everest Expedition being planned next year. He urged the state government and other adventure lovers to support the forthcoming Everest Expedition.

Minister of YAS N Biren Singh, while wishing the team great success, thanked the Indian Army for the assistance and support towards sports and youth programmes.

Rodents Destroy Over 40% Paddy Cultivation in Mokokchung

Kohima, Sep 7 : Over 40 per cent of the paddy crop has been totally damaged in various parts of Mokokchung district and many other areas of the state due to the rodent menace following bamboo flowering.

According to official sources over 40 per cent of Jhum paddy cultivation in the terrace fields on the hill slopes were fully eaten up by swarms of rats and mice.

The pests seem to have developed resistance to the rat killer poison provided by the Nagaland Government Agriculture Department.

Five major ranges in the Mokokchung district namely Tzurangkong, Japukong, Changikong, Ongpangkong and Asetkong are the ones severely affected by the rodents. Maximum losses have been reported from almost all the villages under Mangkolemba sub-division.

In Mopungchuket village in the district, with the bamboo flowering clumps in its area, the increasing number of rats have started targeting all types of cultivated crops and the State Agriculture Department is battling to kill the rodents by various means.

The Department is deputing officials and teams throughout the district to study the rodent menace and the areas highly infested by the rodents.

The bamboo flowering and rodent menace was last seen in the district in the year 1961-1962, sources said.

Tripura Gets Tough Against Chemical Contamination of Food

Agartala, Sep 7 : To prevent rampant use of chemicals in food items for preservation, the Tripura Health Department has initiated a move to impart training to food inspectors to implement the Food Safety Standards Act 2006.

Director, Health Service (Preventive Medicine) Dr R K Dhar said here today that Calcium Carbide was being used for preservation and early ripening of fruits while Melamine and Formalin were being used in sweet foods and beverage processing outlets in the state.

He said following latest communiqu of the Union Health Ministry, the state government appointed a safety officer and after extensive and rigorous training on the Act as well all related issues of food safety, food inspectors would be enforcing the law.

''Since Tripura does not have enough production of seasonal fruits, the traders were importing premature fruits from various parts of the country and the consignment is transported to the state almost after a fortnight. After reaching here local fruit dealers use Calcium Carbide for ripening that triggers serious health complications and pollutes the environment,'' Dr Dhar underlined.

Similarly, the sweet foods and beverage processing units here used Melamine in high concentration in milk and mixed Formalin to preserve perishable food items, Dr Dhar pointed out, adding that though Formalin directly affected the human body after consumption, Carbide generates harmful Acetylene gas when exposed to the atmosphere.

These kinds of chemicals not only reduce the food value but also cause diseases like Cancer, heart syndrome, liver and kidney related diseases and also affect the eye-sight of human beings, which had compelled the state government to think seriously on the issue.

Under Food Safety Standards Act 2006 all the food processing units and sellers and vendors need to have voluntary disclosure regarding non-use of harmful chemicals and at the same time, every seller, including hawkers and small vendors, would require to take license, Dr Dhar added.

Act on Manorama Probe Report: HC to Manipur

By Samudra Gupta Kashyap


As the debate over the ‘draconian’ Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act of 1958 continues, the Gauhati High Court has asked the Manipur government to act on an inquiry report on the alleged rape and killing of Manorama Devi.

Manorama, a militant, was allegedly raped and killed by Assam Rifles personnel in July 2004. The killing had triggered large-scale protests in Manipur.

The protests reached a peak when a group of elderly women stripped outside Kangla Fort, then headquarters of Assam Rifles in the trouble-torn state.

The judgment, passed by Justices Amitava Roy and B D Agarwal last Tuesday, said the state government did have the competence to institute a Commission of Inquiry into such acts committed by security forces even if they enjoyed protection and immunity under the Armed Forces Act.

The 17 Assam Rifles had challenged the Manipur government’s authority to appoint a probe panel under the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952, against security forces enjoying immunity under the Armed Forces Act.

The judgment came after family members of Manorama filed three writ appeals, requesting that the state government be directed to open and act upon the probe report. A single-judge bench of the Gauhati High Court had on June 22, 2005 said the state government did not have administrative control over armed forces entitled to protection, among others, under Section 6 of the Act.

But Justices Roy and Agarwal said that the deployment of Assam Rifles in Manipur did not spell excision of the civil power of the state government.

“As a corollary, the state government not only retained its dominion and authority to attend to the immediate demands of public order emerging within its territorial limits, but was essentially obliged to respond thereto under the scheme of Constitutional governance,” Justice Roy and Justice Agarwal said.

According to the Assam Rifles, Manorama Devi was a long-serving member of the outlawed People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and a dreaded terrorist engaged to eliminate high-profile targets and inflict large casualties.

Manorama Devi was picked up by Assam Rifles personnel from her house at Bamon Kampu Mayai Leikei village in Imphal East district around midnight of July 11, 2004. Her bullet-ridden body was found at Laipharok Maring village hours later.