Northeast Athletes Demand Better Infrastructure & Facilities

By Devesh Gupta

New Delhi, Jun 18 : Athletes of the Northeast, who were felicitated at the 60th Plennary Session of Northeast Council held here on Thursday, have requested the government to provide them with better infrastructure facilities and support so that they can make a mark at the international level.

Thirteen players that included ten from Manipur, one each from Sikkim and Assam were awarded cash prizes for their stupendous performance in the 2010 Commonwealth Games (CWG) and Asian Games.

Ace tennis player Somdev Devvarman bagged four awards for his magnificent performance at both the events and took away a sum of Rs. 33 lakh. his was in fact a great stage for the athletes from the Northeast, as they got recognition at the highest level, which they had been longing for years.

Female boxer Monica Devi, who won a bronze at the Commonwealth Games said: "I am very happy to see Northeast players being felicitated. This will not only boost the players, but also others who are trying to follow their footsteps."

The players seemed more pumped up for winning many more laurels for the nation in the upcoming events.When we get facilities and all the support, then we can win medals and I think, we still need more facilities for sports in the Northeast," said Jayanta Talukdar, the star archer, who won a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games.

"I want to tell the government that they should give more money to the players," said Yumnam Renu Bala Chanu, who earned India's first gold medals at the Commonwealth Games weightlifting competition.

Some eminent international level players like MC Marykom, Gourmangi Singh and Baichung Bhutia, who have brought laurels to the nation hail from this region.

Sports infrastructure in Northeast has been lacking because of prolonged insurgency, which has hampered overall development of the region and prevented youth from coming forward and showcasing their potential.

But with many underground groups now engaged in talks with the Centre, the socio-political situation in the region has improved, paving the way for young talent to come up.

No Compensation For Northeast Shooting Victims

By Caesar Mandal

Kolkata, Jun 17 : Nearly two years have elapsed since militants gunned down three unskilled labourers from remote villages of Patharpratima in South 24 Paraganas inside the campus of Central Agricultural University, Iroisemba in Manipur's Imphal West district.

Soon after the incident, both Manipur and Bengal governments promised to pay 4 lakh and 1 lakh respectively as compensation to each hapless family. However, despite moving from pillar to post, families of the three haven't been compensated by the Manipur government, allegedly due to red tape in the Bengal government's labour department.

State labour minister Purnendu Basu, however, promised to pursue the matter personally. "Ask the victims' familes to meet me. If we have any fault, then I promise to sort out the matter immediately," said Basu, who took down the contact numbers of the three families. Basu's promise is now the only hope for the families.

Teenager Bappa Mondal lost his elder brother Gouranga in the incident. Gouranga was the sole earning member of the family. "Since his death, we have no source of income. My elderly parents can't work. Our family is now in a debt trap. I don't even know how I will continue with my studies," said Bappa, who has passed the higher secondary examination.

Families of Jagannath Mondal and Dilip Mondal, too, face an uncertain fate. "It's true that we have received 1 lakh from the Bengal government. But the remaining amount is yet to reach us," said Sashti Mondal, wife of Jagannath.

She said their financial condition prevented them from going to Imphal with all the required documents to get the compensation.

The Manipur government then asked its Bengal counterpart to send all the documents along with an application from the families seeking compensation.

Accordingly, the families submitted the documents to assistant labour commissioner at Diamond Harbour in August, 2010. But the file remained with additional labour commissioner Subal Biswas for more than 80 days while former labour minister Anadi Sahoo sat on it for the next 50 days.

Finally, documents were sent to the Manipur government in January, 2011. But the original copies were never sent though that's what the Manipur government wanted. So, compensation from the Manipur government never reached the victims.

Days ago, the helpless families again landed at Biswas's office to pursue the matter. When nothing happened, they wrote to the chief minister on June 13, pleading immediate action. Sources said the government officials have lost the original documents despite knowing that compensation will not be released without them. They sent duplicate copies to wash their hands off the matter.

Biswas, however, rubbished the allegation. "We have sent all the documents. We have already paid compensation of 1 lakh in accordance with our announcement and further verification is not needed," argued Biswas.

But labour commissioner Amal Roychowdhury has asked his officers to forward the application once again to the Manipur government. But no one knows when it will be sent.

Church Opposes Govt Hotel Plan in Imphal

Hotel Imphal

Imphal, Jun 17 : An ambitious project by the Okram Ibobi Singh government to develop the state-run Hotel Imphal into a luxurious five-star hotel has hit a strong wall of opposition with a church body stepping in to prevent the government from acquiring land where three churches and a temple exist.

As part of its efforts to promote tourism, the tourism department has undertaken an initiative to convert Hotel Imphal, located at Kabo Leikai in Imphal city, into a five star hotel.

The government decided to acquire the entire 1.5-acre Kabo Leikai, also known as the Naga River Colony, where all communities have resided for over 100 years. The colony, with 50 houses with a population of 500, exists next to the hotel complex.

Angered by the move, the residents prevented officials of the state PWD that came to the colony on June 6 from assessing properties for compensation. The government offered compensation and rehabilitation of the landowners at Khabeisoi, near Sajiwa Jail in Imphal East. However, the landowners are not ready to hand over their land, maintaining that the government offices located next to the hotel should be used.

Residents are on vigil since June 6 by staging a sit-in at the gate of the locality to prevent any government authority from taking away their land.

The issue may snowball into a major controversy with the All Manipur Christian Organisation, the apex body of churches in Manipur, protesting against the move.

“We will not and cannot accept construction of a luxury hotel by removing churches and temples and at the expense of poor lives,” Rev. Prim Vaiphei, president of the organisation, said.

Chairman of the Naga River Colony village authority, K. Golmei, said the government move was “biased”. He said the present 4-acre hotel complex was more than enough. If more land was required, the tourism office and the government oil depot next to the hotel, should be shifted.

“They did not touch the government offices and are only targeting poor residents, thinking that we cannot do anything,” the chairman said.

Official sources said a high-level committee headed by chief secretary D.S. Poonia was constituted recently to put the plan into action and the committee was actively working on the project.

“There is a certain land criteria for a five-star hotel, construction of which is in the interest of all the people and not against any group or community. Hence, the acquisition is a must,” a senior official said.

Sources said the Church organisation was prepared to first meet Governor Gurbachan Jagat seeking his intervention and then move court if the land acquisition process continued.

“The Constitution guarantees protection of religious places,” Vaiphei said.

Residents of the colony are seeking help from citizens’ groups to thwart acquisition of land.

Mizo Police Rescue Hostages

Aizawl, Jun 17 : Two executives of an Assam-based construction firm who were abducted by Hailakandi-based outfit recently were rescued around 9am today from Banglabasha village in the Hailakandi district bordering Mizoram.

On June 6, the project manager of the Anupam Bricks and Concrete Industries Ltd, Premlal Dhiman, 48, and its commercial manager, Bajranglal Lalbhurgi, were abducted by members of the United Democratic Liberation Army (UDLA), who wore black masks, and carried AK-47 rifles.

The rescue today followed heavy exchange of fire between Mizoram Armed Police and cadres of the UDLA in the dense forests of Hailakandi district.

The police forces from Mizoram entered Hailakandi after receiving an intelligence input about the movement of UDLA cadres along with the abducted duo.

Superintendent of police, Aizwal, Ladiakthanga Khingte, said over phone from Mizoram that Dhiman was shot in his abdomen by a militant. No other person was injured during the 30-minute encounter. Khingte said a Mizoram police doctor was attending Dhiman. The SP said the rebels had left behind an SLR gun and AK-47 assault rifle.

Mizoram police had stepped up their search in the Bhairabhi-Kolosib area of north Mizoram to track down the two executives.

Khiangte had earlier maintained that the militants were the cadres of the UDLA which is led by Dhaynaram Reang, 42, who runs a training camp in the interiors of Kolosib district, nearly 100km from here.

Mizo Cops Hunt For Hostages Taken By Bru Militants

Aizawl, Jun 16 : Mizoram police have stepped up their search in the Bhairabhi-Kolosib area of north Mizoram to track down the two executives of an Assam-based road infrastructure projects company, who were allegedly kidnapped by a militant outfit.

On June 6, the project manager of the Anupam Bricks and Concrete Industry Ltd, Premlal Dhiman, 48, and its commercial manager, Bajranglal Lalbhurgi, were abducted by 10 members of United Democratic Liberation Army (UDLA), who wore black masks, and carried AK-47 rifles. A junior executive of the company here today added that the six poorly armed security men hired by the firm were simply no match for the UDLAcadres.

Aizawl district superintendent of police Lalbiakthanga Khiangte today told The Telegraph that sleuths have zeroed in on the gang which had kidnapped the duo.

Khiangte said these were the cadres of the United Democratic Liberation Army (UDLA), which is led by Dhaynaram Reang, 42, who runs a training camp in the interiors of Kolosib district, nearly 100km from here.

The claim is a departure from the police’s earlier claim that the abduction was the handiwork of a new rebel outfit in Mizoram, the Bru Liberation Army (BLA).

The UDLA chief was arrested last year by Mizoram police from Kolosib district and later handed over to Hailakandi police. He managed to secure his bail after his detention in jail and later escaped into the jungles in Mizoram.

Civil society groups in Mizoram have urged the kidnappers to release the executives, otherwise, they would face the wrath of the Mizo people.

The Circus Comes To Town

Director Mark Flowers taps into his inner-entertainer while on location.

CIRCUS RINGLEADER: Mark Flowers, Producer/Director Rivers/Urban team (Photos: BBC Earth)

Travelling to the farthest corners of the world, it is not just the remarkable environments that can prove a little hard to capture.

When Rivers Producer/Director Mark Flowers met the children from the North-East Indian root tree villages, he hadn’t bargained on having to make himself the centre of attention. But sometimes it’s the little extras that make an experience unforgettable.

Singing in the Rain

by Mark Flowers, Producer/Director Rivers/Urban team

The most heart-stealing and downright soul-enhancing benefit of working on a Human Planet shoot is the children we encounter while we are filming. It’s unbelievably refreshing to step outside of a regulated, fast-paced and impersonal modern, urban society and meet people who live in a more open, communal and for me personally, a far more “Human” way.

The children we met during our trip to film living root bridges in one of the most remote areas of North-East India were fantastic – cheeky, smart and funny.

To the young people who live in isolated hill villages in the rainforests of Meghalaya, the arrival of a gangly bunch of giant, pale-skinned strangers, brandishing weird black boxes, screens and cables, was the most surprising thing to happen in a long while. The circus had come to town!

Within minutes of us stepping out of the cars, there were bright eyes at the windows and small hands waving from the homes we passed. High pitched “hellos” echoed all around while tiny toddlers stood dumb struck for a few seconds in doorways and then exploded into howls. Dogs barked and sulky, caged cuckoos crooned from dark corners.

Whenever we set up to film very quickly we were surrounded in a small lava flow of children, far to shy to talk to us individually, but en masse, well that’s different, isn’t it? Whenever we got the camera out we were mobbed!

Smiling to camera

The funny thing was that we were hoping to shoot short stories for our sister production, working title “Little Human Planet”, showing how children live in different parts of the world. This depended on the little people we were hoping to film behaving as if the camera wasn’t there: Fat-chance!

We soon realised that if we were to get any shots that looked even vaguely natural, the crowd of children needed to be distracted, and that meant entertaining them. Guess who had to do the entertaining: Me. Yikes!

Just so you know I am a greying man in early middle age. I am not a totally serious person but as a director on location I have a role to play out, a reputation to maintain. I have to be seen to be in charge! Usually you’d find me in earnest conversation with the team, or looking sternly down my monitor checking that each shot is right.

Singing in the rain

I didn’t have a white rabbit, I don’t know any tricks, so the only thing I could think of to do instantly was to sing! It was raining too, I had an umbrella – so I started with “I’m singing in the rain” but soon moved on to nursery rhymes to keep the “show” on the road.

I am not sure if the footage of the crowd and the children will end up being used as everyone looks very surprised or is laughing, but the most magical thing is that the little children joined in with me. Incredibly in such a remote part of the world they knew “Baa Baa black sheep” and “Twinkle Twinkle little star”! The memory of singing in the rain with little children holding technicolour parasols is a memory I will always cherish.

This originally appeared on BBC Earth and was reprinted here with permission.

Mizoram Celebrates YMA Day

Aizawl, Jun 15 : Hundreds of youths donated blood voluntarily today to mark YMA Day, the 76th anniversary of the formation of the Young Mizo Association, the apex body of the Mizos.

Association for Voluntary Blood Donation (AVBD) and the YMA organised mass voluntary blood donations as part of the YMA Day celebrations where many young people volunteered.

According to AVBD president Lalbiakthanga Pachuau, 160 people including a sizeable number of girls donated blood in Aizawl and 87 people at the nearby Reiek village.

Sources said that 52 YMA members and 15 members of the Salvation Army Youth donated blood in Serchhip district's Thenzawl village, while two YMA branches in south Mizoram's Lunglei town also donated 143 units of blood.

Many YMA branches cleaned their respective localities, while other branches helped poor families by construction and repair of houses as part of the celebrations.

YMA was formed in 1935 by English missionaries and some Mizo leaders to help the needy and take up community works voluntarily.

The members are spread all over Mizoram and also in neighbouring states like Manipur, Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya.

Skirts Are No Excuse For Rape

Will you do the 'Slut Walk'?

Slut Walk to Arrive in Delhi to Change Mindsets

Originated in Toronto, Canada in 2011, Slut Walk is a protest against the rigid mindset of people who believe that the women become victims of sexual harassments because of what they wear and do.

It is scheduled to take place on the 25th June 2011 at 01:00 pm IST in Delhi.

A police officer in Toronto made a comment at the York University that 'women should avoid dressing up like sluts in order not to be victimised'.

And two months later on April 3, 2011, the city witnessed a thousand people on the streets protesting against this derogatory remark in the form of Slut walks. The women got down on the streets wearing revealing outfits and T-shirts with the word 'slut' written on them. Soon, people in North America, Australia and Britain began organizing slut walks on their own raising their voices against the men who blamed women for being raped.

Slut Walk, Delhi 2011 (to take place on June 25th, 2011 at 1:00 pm IST) aims to alter the definition of the word 'Slut', to eliminate the shame attached to it and restore it with dignity. Words like 'slut' insult a woman, makes her feel ashamed of her act and disgraces her. One does not become a slut if she has more than one sexual partner or wears whatever she wants or has dated a number of men in the past.

Every day we come across a number of news stories about the rape and molestation cases in the country. 'Delhi is unsafe for girls and women' is a statement that has become too common to the ears. Not just Delhi, things are pretty bad in other metros and several other parts of the country. Girls have to deal with harassment in buses/metros, on the roads, in the clubs, in daytime, and at times in full public view. Girls from a very early age are taught how to behave in public, how to dress up, not to laugh out loud, avoid men who stare them, learn 'karate', act in a sophisticated manner and hundreds of other things. Why? To prevent them from getting raped?

The female is blamed for the rape just because she was walking alone on a street, was wearing a dress in the night or wasn't accompanied by her father or brother? What kind of a place do we live in? One where all the girls and women are unsafe and prone to sexual assaults?

The whole idea of the walk revolves around the fact that no woman 'likes' to be raped and hence, would NEVER call for it in any manner. The problem lies in the minds of the rapists and not in what women wear and how they dress up or walk. There is nothing wrong in wearing short skirts or low cut tops and walking in high heels wearing make up. The people who experience such sexual assaults are not to blame. The thought process of this male-dominated society needs to be changed. Not women, but men should be taught not to indulge into the act of sexual harassment and look upon women as independent people and not as mere objects of desire.

This is definitely a bold and strong movement in a nation like India where female victim of rape is often excluded from the society. (MensXP.com)