NZ Apologises Over Racist Remarks on Shiela Dikshit

New Delhi, Oct 7 : New Zealand has officially apologised for the racial remarks on Shiela Dikshit by a popular television host.

In a statement, High Commissioner Rupert Holborow said: "As New Zealand's high commissioner to India, I would like to convey my deep regret for the hurt these comments have caused.

"They reflect the views of only one media commentator (who has already been censored for other racist and unacceptable comments), and certainly not the New Zealand government or people.

"As high commissioner, I always look forward to celebrating the warm and positive links between our two countries and there is never a case for making remarks of this nature which are hurtful," he said.

"New Zealand highly values its relationship with India and we pride ourselves on being a welcoming, tolerant and inclusive society."

Earlier, reacting to the remarks sharply, the Ministry of External Affairs had summoned the High Commissioner of New Zealand Rupert Holborow to register the incident.

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna had termed the slur as ‘completely unacceptable’. He had directed the ministry to ask the High Commissioner to look into the matter.

Television anchor Paul Henry, who hosts a popular morning show, had mispronounced Shiela’s name. He deliberately twisted her name in the show.

He also made offensive remarks on Indians.

Meanwhile, Henry had earlier made a racial remark against against Indian-origin Governor-General of New Zealand Sir Anand Satyanand for which he was already suspended

A Home Away From Home For Northeast Students

By B.V.S. Bhaskar

Students of engineering from the Northeast love the scenic setting of Vodalarevu in Konaseema

Students from Northeast posing for a photograph in Vodalarevu on Tuesday.

Amalapuram, Oct 7 : “No curfew or any regulations on us. We are like free birds here. The nature, climatic conditions, environment, people are entirely different from our region,” said Sumandra Nighthamjam Nicee Devi of Manipur who joined Engineering first year in BVC Engineering College, Vodalarevu in Konaseema. She is delighted to join in Andhra Pradesh as her seniors are telling stories about how lovely the place (College in particular and Konaseema in general) is.

Eight to ten students joined this year taking the number of North-Eastern states-Mizoram, Manipur, Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh-students strength to 28.

Gnaneswari Mitai, another student, shared her experience by saying that their states were not only backward in education, their states are backward in employability, population, geographical conditions and in many respects.

According to Surabhi Narayana, engineering is dream for his family and he opted for electronics in BVC as their seniors advised him to do so. He said that coaching centres in this State helped him develop an attitude to pursue professional courses.

Nighthown Shalini is very interested in academics from her childhood. She said that her parents were particular about her education and they did not matter about sending her to a very long distance from her state. She is sure about adjusting to local conditions within six to nine months of time.

A. Shambu Singh and M. Pradeep Singh were in good mood to share their views, but at the same time they wanted to understand the environment first.

Bonam Kanakaiah, Ramesh and others from the management welcomed the students and said that hostel facility, classrooms, labs and other basic amenities along with faculty, were good in their college and conducive to every student from North-Eastern states and locals.

Talented Weightlifter Renu Bala Achieves Her Gold

By Wajiha Shah

Yumnam Renu Bala Chanu, the young weightlifter, who did the nation proud by once again winning a gold in the 58 kg class in the Commonwealth Games, has matured from a shy girl into a confident weightlifter. While in the last edition of the Games held at Melbourne, when she was just 20, Renu had had aimed only for a silver or a bronze and was quite surprised with herself when she ended up winning a gold, this time she had aimed for a gold and she got it.

Indeed, a four-year effort has borne fruit for Renu Bala who has been a trainee of SAI (Sports Authority of India) centre of excellence for weightlifting at Sports College, Lucknow.

She had set this target four years back itself. Talking to The Indian Express after winning the gold at Commonwealth Games at Melbourne in 2006, the shy and simple weightlifter had confided, “Actually I was just aiming for a silver or a bronze at Melbourne. I kept my cool and continued to follow the advice of my coach Hansa Sharma. I was quite surprised when I won the gold. I now aim at repeating my performance in the 2010 Commonwealth Games.”

At Lucknow, the Manipur girl had undergone coaching under Hansa Sharma and GP Sharma. Belonging to Koiamgei Mayai Leikoi village located near Imphal, Renu Bala was selected for training during a ‘talent hunt’ camp of SAI at Imphal in the year 2000 when she was just 14. It was in 1999, when she won a silver in the state championship, when people started realising her talent and recommended her name to the SAI selectors. Her dedication towards the sport could be gauged by the fact that she used to do up down daily to the Khuman Lampak stadium at Imphal for practice.

GP Sharma who was in Delhi to see his former trainee perform today, was full of praise for Renu, “I was confident of a gold from her. Renu too is very happy with her feat and now intends to share her joy with her family.

She was always very hard-working. Sweating it out for over six hours daily, she started yielding results for the country quite early. Her early achievements included a silver in the Sub-Junior Asian Championship-2002.

The same year she was placed fourth in the Junior Asian Championship as well as the Junior World Championship. In 2003, she won a silver in the Junior Asian Championship and in 2004 she won a gold in the Commonwealth Championship besides medals at the national and state level.”

“Renu left SAI centre in 2008 at Lucknow as she got a job in NFR, Guwahati. The fact that she created a record in the Commonwealth Games today in the snatch event speaks volumes of her talent. She has a bright future,” Sharma further added.

ULFA's Burmese Faction Hampering Peace Efforts

By K Anurag

Guwahati, Oct 7 : Though the United Liberation Front of Asom has lost almost all its key shelters in Bangladesh with the incumbent Bangladesh regime extending overwhelming cooperation to the Indian government, the outfit's base in Myanmar has remained a cause for concern and major hurdle in facilitating an all encompassing peace talks with the group.

After several key leaders of the ULFA in Bangladesh surrendered to Indian security forces, Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday indicated similar attempt to bring in ULFA cadres based in Myanmar to Assam 'could take some time'.

"The Myanmar faction (of ULFA) has not yet come. They will have to come through a difficult terrain controlled by different insurgent groups," he said even as he reiterated that talks could be held in the absence of ULFA' commander-in-chief' Paresh Barua.

It is the 28th battalion of ULFA that has taken refuge at Sagaing in Myanmar in areas adjacent to Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. In 2008, the 'A' and 'C' companies of the battalion led by senior leader Mrinal Hazarika declared a truce and came overground.

They are currently being lodged at 'truce-time 'designated camps in Assam. However,the cadres in the 'B' company of the 28th battalion under leaders Jibon Moran and Bijoy "Chinese" Das continued to remain in Myanmar at a location close to the council headquarters of the Naga rebel group Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalim (Khaplang) led by S S Khaplang, a Naga of Burmese origin.

Meanwhile, adding to worries of security forces, the hawkish faction of the ULFA based in Myanmar has recruited a number of new cadres from upper Assam disricts ignoring government's efforts to bring the outfit to the negotiating table through its top leaders in jail including chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa.

Security fsources informed that the outfit has even set up a new camp with fresh recruits in northern Sagaing close to Kachin and revived is old ties with Myanmar based Kachin Independence Army ( KIA) for training and logistics support.

CNG Buses to Make Agartala a Green City

Agartala, Oct 7 : After 22 years, the Tripura government will bring back town bus services in capital Agartala by introducing 75 buses that run on compressed natural gas (CNG) to make it a "green city", an official said here Wednesday.

The Tripura government has recently constituted the Tripura Urban Transport Company (TUTC) to run the public buses, provided by the central government under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). The new fleet of buses would start plying from Friday.

"Over 60 percent of autorickshaws, a large number of small cars and buses are now using CNG in Agartala, the fourth city in India after New Delhi, Mumbai and Lucknow running CNG vehicles on a large scale," state Transport Minister Manik Dey said.

"With the gradual conversion of all public, private and government vehicles into CNG mode, the Tripura government wants to make the capital city Agartala Indias first green city, Dey told reporters adding that several other measures are on the cards to achieve the purpose.

The town bus services in Agartala had been withdrawn in 1988, inconveniencing commuters of the city that has a population of half a million.

The introduction of 75 passenger buses, some of them air-conditioned, would be a special bonanza for the city dwellers and puja revellers before the ensuing Durga Puja festival, Dey added.

The Supreme Court had forced the authority to make the national capital (New Delhi) a pollution free city by introducing CNG-run vehicles, but in Tripura we are on our own initiative doing this significant task, the minister said.

Indian Troops Arrange For Public Viewing of CWG in Manipur

Imphal, Oct 7 : With two Manipur women weightlifters bagging the first two medals for the country, the frenzy for the Commonwealth Games is at its peak in this state.

However, the people of Manipur are not being able to enjoy the Games due to the frequent power cuts.

People get electric supply for just two hours during day time and two more during night time. Consequently, many clubs have organised public viewings by arranging generators.

Troops are also organising public viewing of the events of the Games at Tengnoupal subdivision. Screenings are being organised at seven locations of Shaibol, Ril Ram Centre, Sita, Tengnoupal, Khongkhang, Lokchao and Kwatha, covering 20 villages in the subdivision.

Hundreds of people can now watch the Games in the villages and the clubs where public viewing sessions are being organised.

Manipur Meira Paibis' Link With Militants Exposed

Imphal, Oct 7 : 'Meira Paibis' or, the women torch bearers in Manipur are supposed to be the leading civil society organization in the State. But their links with militant outfits were recently exposed.

The 'Meira Paibi' came into existence in April 1980, when womenfolk in Imphal West district carried out a huge protest rally. Over a period of time, Meira Paibis have raised human rights issues and held protests against militant activities in the State.

Imphal West police, however, exposed the nexus between Meira Paibis and the proscribed Revolutionary People's Front (RPF).

On September 19, 43-year-old R K Rina alias Ningol, a RPF cadre and member of a Meira Paibi, was arrested for planning the 32nd Raising Day of the outfit on September 25.

A pistol was recovered from her possession.

Police have also identified the Meira Paibis who had contacted the arrested woman cadre.

"The woman cadre is the General Secretary of the Meira Paibi and taking advantage of it. She has coordinated many women social organizations with RPF/PLA. The incident indicates that other Meira Paibis are also having links with insurgent outfits in the State," said L Ibomcha Singh, PS, ASI Imphal West.

Revolutionary People's Front, the political wing of People's Liberation Army is expanding its reach and is recruiting new cadres.

In an attempt to make inroads into Meira Paibis and other social organizations, it is funding them. It has paid rupees 135,000 to SLUCO (Singjamei Lilong Area) and Rs.104,000 to AFCO of Sagolband.

It was planning to spend some 300,000 rupees on its 32nd Raising Day.

People in Manipur have been shocked by these revelations.

"It is true that some members in Meira Paibis are corrupt. And, the incident has tarnished the image of Meira Paibis in Manipur. People are now raising questions about these organizations," said Babumacha Singh, a local resident.

"Meira Paibi is a unique and respected organization. They should maintain the faith and should not engage in any activity that destroys people's trust in them," said another local resident Lokendra Singh.

Meira Paibis has occupied a prominent placed in the society in Manipur - socially, economically and politically. This reputation, however, has come under the scanner following exposure of their linkages with militant outfits.

‘Easy Money’ Lures Youths To Kidnapping

The arrested youths in Guwahati on Wednesday.

Guwahati, Oct. 6: The anti-talks faction of the NDFB is luring youths with easy money to carry out abductions for them.

Such an instance came to light when police rescued Rohan Dutta — a 20-year-old BBA student who was abducted from the city on Monday night — from Dhekiajuli in Sonitpur district in the wee hours today.

Nine youths, including two students of a city college, who had allegedly abducted him to hand him over to the NDFB rebels, have been arrested.

A laptop, two mobile pho-nes and the hired vehicle, a Mahindra Bolero bearing registration number AS 12 D/9488 used in the abduction, has been seized by the police.

The accused are Parashar Das, 19, Pranjit Lahkar, 20 — both second semester students of biochemistry at the Regional College of Higher Education at Hatigaon — Rafiqul Islam, 21, Chandan Daimary, 22, Debo Basumatary, 21, Khaju Sing Daimary, 19, Nitul Barman, 23, Sansu Ram Daimary, 19, and driver of the Bolero, Mizing Daimary, 19.

The police said the abductors had taken Rohan to Borsola in the Dhekiajuli police station area, where he was kept in a house, to hand him over to the NDFB militants.

“They had struck a deal with the NDFB that they will carry out the abduction and hand over the victim in return of a share of the ransom money,” a police officer of Dispur police station said.

He said Pranjit Lahkar has links with NDFB rebels, who offered him the deal.

“Pranjit discussed it with his classmate Parashar, who suggested that they can abduct Rohan since he is from a well-to-do family and both his parents are doctors. The duo along with their friends carried out the abduction,” the officer said.

Parashar stays at a rented house near the victim’s residence in Janakpur.

Rohan, who is pursuing his BBA in Delhi, had come home about a week ago on Puja vacation.