Let’s Hear it For The Nagas

A little bit of progressive, clean vocals, sometimes contemporary, a lot of funk, and of course, bring in the turntables as well — that’s Alobo Naga and the Band for you! This band from Nagaland was formed by Alobo Naga, the popular pop artiste from Nagaland.

“He had invited a few of his musician friends to come to his concert. That’s when we all met up. We realised that we had a lot in common and shared the same views.

We decided to form a band. Since most of us in the band are playing with other bands, we settled for the name, Alobo Naga and the Band,” explains, DJ Sumika Yepthomi, who brings in the ‘scratch’ effect to the funk.

What’s unique about its members are most are trained professional musicians. The vocalist Alobo Naga is a Grade 8 certificate holder in concert performance in contemporary vocals from Rock School and so is the drummer, Theja Khate, who has passed out of London School of Music. Akum Jams, the guitarist used to play for Melodrama and the bassist, Fung Walling is a music teacher.

The band has been performing at various venues since last year, and enjoys listening to fellow artistes, “Street Stories and Melodrama among others. We are highly influenced by bands like Linkin Park and Kings of Leon,” he adds.

The band will be releasing its first EP, Painted Dreams next month. They will be visiting namma city to promote the same. “We’re launching the EP in the first week of October, and will be touring many cities,” adds Sumika.

10 Yrs After Ban, Bandhs Keep Plaguing Northeast

By Samudra Gupta Kashyap

On January 6, 2010, when the Gauhati High Court declared bandhs in Assam and Meghalaya illegal and unconstitutional and asked the state governments to take “appropriate action” against those who called bandhs, people in the two states wondered if they would finally be delivered of this menace that had disrupted millions of mandays in the region in decades.

Ten years on, it is clear that nothing has changed. With the state governments yet to enforce the High Court order, life continues to be disrupted not just in Assam and Meghalaya but across most of the states in the Northeast.

An economic blockade in Senapati district in Manipur, which began on July 31, for instance has been converted into an indefinite bandh. In western Meghalaya, a three-day bandh called by the outlawed Garo National Liberation Army crippled life. In Arunachal Pradesh, a 48-hour bandh called by the All Nyishi Students’ Union brought life to a standstill in Itanagar on August 6 and 7. And Assam has seen at least one statewide bandh and as many as half-a-dozen local and district-level bandhs in the past one month.

Other agitational programmes too have continued, with some like highway blockades and rail roko programmes impacting normal life as severely as bandhs do. Bringing railway movement to a halt, too, has become frequent in Assam in recent months, with police firing on demonstrators in at least one occasion.

There is no end to the reasons for calling a bandh or a blockade. If the Manipur blockade-cum-bandh is for creation of a new district, then the one in Itanagar was against alleged inaction by the state government over a derogatory remark a New Delhi newspaper made against a particular community of the state in May.

“Some people resort to agitations for any simple reason. The latest protests in Assam have been against unloading some turbines from a barge for onward dispatch to a dam construction site,” said Assam minister and official spokesman Himanta Biswa Sharma. He was ridiculing the protests against mega dams by the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and other groups.

A recent study says Assam alone has suffered over 120 bandhs — statewide, regional, district-level and some even confined to one town — since the High Court declared these illegal. In 2002, when a group of citizens filed a PIL seeking relief against bandhs, it had cited 59 bandhs between April 2001 and March 2002, with the Northeast Development Finance Corporation putting the loss to the state due to these at Rs 41.14 crore.

Last month, popular singer Zubeen Garg invited the wrath of some groups after he and three others filed an FIR against them for calling a bandh. A week later, the quartet filed an FIR against the Bharatiya Yuva Morcha, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and BJP for calling another bandh.

“Though the police registered cases on the basis of our FIRs, nothing has happened. The High Court has clearly said that the state government should ensure that bandhs do not curtail the fundamental rights of the common man. But no action has been taken against anybody,” said Zubeen Garg.

Northeast India Panics With Massive Earthquake

BIJOY GURUNG IN GANGTOK

Sept 19 : A 6.9-magnitude earthquake epicentred 68km northwest of Gangtok struck at 6.11pm today, killing 14 people in India and four in Nepal and sending people rushing out of buildings from Calcutta to Delhi.

Nine died in worst-hit Sikkim, one each in Siliguri, Kalimpong and Jalpaiguri, and two minor children in Bihar, including a boy crushed in a stampede. Several houses collapsed and walls developed cracks in Gangtok, where many tall buildings have come up recently.

In Calcutta, the tremors that lasted nearly a minute were felt most strongly in high-rises, largely sparing the peak-hour crowd of Puja shoppers in stores and malls from the sort of panic that gripped some hospitals and apartment blocks.

“It was visiting hour. I saw patients being dragged out of the wards by their relatives,” said Deepak Balmiki, pantry manager on CMRI Hospital’s sixth floor. Calm returned soon, though.

Dr Tapan Ghosh suddenly felt his head “spinning” as he and his wife sipped tea on a 28th-floor flat in Tower 4 of South City. “My teacup was shaking. We heard the South City public address system announce an earthquake and ask all to evacuate immediately. We rushed to the elevator with my bed-ridden 74-year-old mother and stayed out in the open for 40 minutes,” he said.

A neighbour, though, got trapped in a lift that “swung like a pendulum” several floors above the ground.

People grappled with bigger tragedies elsewhere. The lone victim identified in Sikkim, where the shaking mountains shook a minor girl off a slope to her death, is Cipla employee Sandeepan Banerjee. He was buried under a wall in Rango, 41km from Gangtok, but it’s not clear if he was from Bengal.

Bengal’s dead were Binod Agarwal, 48, crushed by a wall that caved in on seven people in Siliguri’s Khalpara; Pushpa Agarwal, 37, killed by a shower of bricks while cooking in Kalimpong’s Thakurbari; and an 18-year-old boy in Jalpaiguri district’s Malbazar.

Power and mobile links were knocked out across Sikkim and parts of north Bengal as the quake, followed by two milder ones, snapped overhead lines and damaged cellphone towers. Houses were damaged in Siliguri, Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong.

More than 100 people arrived at Siliguri district hospital and 30 were admitted. “Falling bricks caused most of the injuries but some got hurt jumping off balconies and rooftops,” a doctor said.

Tremors were felt also in Meghalaya, Assam, Tripura, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan but apparently had no effect on the nuclear power stations at Rajasthan’s Narora and Rawatbhata.

In Kathmandu, MPs debating the national budget ran out of the legislature to a parking area but returned after 15 minutes to resume the session. Families scrambled out of homes in Dhaka too but Bangladesh got through without fatalities.

On Sikkim’s winding highways, a falling boulder smashed a car and killed two men on the Nathula road and another trapped a woman in a car 5km from Gangtok.

Football star Bhaichung Bhutia was fortunate. “I had just driven down to my village Tinkitam from Gangtok, where my wife and kids are staying, and was sipping tea when the earthquake hit,” he told The Telegraph.

“My village is fine but Gangtok has been badly affected. My wife and kids are safe.”

Panicky tourists in Gangtok huddled among the crowds on MG Marg. “We’ll spend the night in the open and try to reach Siliguri early tomorrow,” said Abhishek Srivastava of Patna.

The full extent of damage in Sikkim was unclear because remote areas were cut off by quake-triggered mudslides. Four IAF aircraft left for Bagdogra with National Disaster Rescue Force teams.

Army rescuers and medics were spreading out across Sikkim while army engineers moved uphill from Siliguri to clear the Gangtok road, blocked at four places.

Six Loaded Trucks Set Afire in Manipur

Imphal, Sept 19 : Six loaded trucks were set afire by suspected supporters of the ongoing economic blockade at Oinamlong area in Manipur's Tamenglong district, official reports said here today.

Reports said the vehicles which were coming from the border town of Jiribam, about 222 Kms west of here, were set ablaze by suspected supporters of the economic blockade at Oinamlong, about 150 Kms west of here yesterday.

While Sadar Hills District Demand Committee (SHDDC) has launched economic blockades on Manipur portions of Imphal-Jiribam-Silchar (NH 53) since August 1 last to press demand for conversion of Kuki-majority Sadar Hills area in Naga-majority Senapati district, United Naga Council (UNC) opposing the demand launched economic blockades on NH 53 and Manipur section of NH 39 linking Numaligar in Assam to the Indo-Myanmar border from middle of August.

Official sources said the state government had issued orders to arrest leaders of the SHDDC some days ago for launching the economic blockades but so far no arrest was made.

Reports from the markets said prices of essential commodities have shot up due to scarcity of essential items due to economic blockades.

Official sources said between 300 to 400 vehicles used to ply everyday on the two national highways bringing in essential items from outside Manipur.

But due to economic blockade, trucks and oil tankers plied along the national highways twice or thrice a week with security escort, sources said.

Manipur social organisations have appealed to both the SHDDC and UNC to call off the economic blockades and launch some other type of agitation to press their demand.

Official sources said the state cabinet had met four or five times in the past one and half months but no decision could be taken on the Sadar Hills issue.

So far more than 20 loaded trucks have been set afire on the two national highways by suspected supporters of economic blockades in the past one and half months.

PRISM Cries Foul in MSACS Appointment

Aizawl, Sep 16 : Mizoram Anti-corruption watch-dog PRISM (People’s Right to Information and Development Implementing Society) has alleged malpractice in the appointment of assistant director under the Mizoram State AIDS Control Society (MSACS).

Accusing the interview board of appointing an unqualified candidate for the post, the civic organization wrote to the health minister, chief secretary and health secretary today demanding cancellation of the appointment and a punishment to the interview board members.

According to PRISM's letter, an advertisement for the post was floated by MSACS project director on May 25, 2011, which clearly stated that three years experience was required besides the educational qualification.

Of the 27 applicants, only 13 were qualified. However, no written examination was conducted and all the applicants, including the unqualified ones, were called for an interview.

Based on this interview, the applicant who scored the highest marks was given the appointment.

Though Lalthakimi Sailo scored 76 marks, the highest among the applicants, she was unqualified for the post as per the requirements stated in the advertisement.

Applicants who ranked second to seventh position were qualified applicants. PRISM also criticized the absence of competitive exams in the appointment process.

While applications of the unqualified applicants should have been rejected, they were called for interviews.

This indicated that the appointment of this particular applicant was preplanned, PRISM said. According to PRISM's letter, Lalthakimi Sailo is the daughter of Lalthuamluaia Sailo, a resident of Babutlang, Aizawl.

Road Tax Heartaches in Mizoram

Aizawl, Sep 16 : Collection of road tax from private vehicles and two-wheelers for the life time of 15 years at a time evoked complaints from the road tax payers. Mizoram Road Transport Union today asked the state government of Mizoram to review implementation of  The Mizoram Motor Vehicle Taxation (Amendment) Bill, 2011 passed recently by the State Legislative Assembly.

Referring to the mode of levying and collection of the Road Tax to cover 15 years, the prescribed lifetime of the vehicles, the MRTU asked the Department to review this to suit the paying capacity of vehicle and 2 wheeler owners. The MRTU also asked the vehicle owners to convey their opinions over this to the MRTU Office Bearers.

Meanwhile, some MLAs and tax payers understands that the method of levying the road tax is considered to be too harsh causing inconveniences to many vehicle owners and users of 2-wheelers in particular.

Some of the MLAs also said, their discussion over “The Mizoram Motor Vehicle Taxation  (Amendment) Bill 2011” was concentrated on enhancement of the road tax. Many of them however could not recollect the exact decision taken in the House.

In line with the Mizoram Vehicle Taxation (Amendment) Act, 2011, which comes into force from September one, the state transport authority has revised the city bus fares. Prior to 1997, the Assam Motor Vehicles Taxation Act 1936 was enforced in Mizoram.

Source: Newmai News Network

6 Arrested For Trafficking Minor Girl From Mizoram

New Delhi, Sep 16 : In yet another instance of how men in uniform at times target women from the border states and even indulge in trafficking, a joint team comprising of the NGOs Shakti Vahini and CHAN and the Mizoram police - with help from Delhi and Haryana police - rescued a minor girl who had been sold twice to agents in NCR. The girl, a native of Durtlang North near Aizawl in Mizoram, was rescued from the clutches of traffickers from Rewari district in Haryana on Wednesday. The accused include a BSF jawan, Satyawan, posted at Aizawl. The other accused have been identified as Dinesh Kumar Yadav (31), Ram Yadav (60), Dharanveer Yadav (30), Jile Singh (36) and Mahender Singh (65), a former commander with the Indian army.

"The victim is being counseled by the professional counsellor of Shakti Vahini. During counseling, it was revealed that on June 6 this year accused Satyawan had dispatched Sonia to his home village Rotwal in the Alwar district of Rajasthan via Guwahati. He allegedly handed her Rs 3,000 for her journey expenses. The girl arrived at the New Delhi Railway Station and was received by Raju Yadav who is a brother of Satyawan Yadav. Raju, in connivance with other accomplices sold the victim for sexual exploitation at Rs. 90,000 to the other accused. Satyawan then availed leave and also reached his home village Rotwal. He was paid Rs 50,000 for the deal,'' said Rishikant of Shakti Vahini.

It was also revealed that the victim had been physically exploited by the BSF personnal posted at BSF at the Durtlang BSF sector headquarters as the girl resided nearby. Police traced the victim through mobile phone contacts made by unidentified callers to the family members from Haryana and Rajasthan. A case has been registered in this regard at the Bawngkawn Police Station, Aizawl, Mizoram under 5(1)(a),(b),(c) and (d) Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, sections 342/366-A/372/376(a) of IPC and Secs 73/76 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of children) Act,2000.

"On learning that a criminal case had been registered in Aizawl in connection with the missing girl, her captors decided to kill her. "A man named Dharamvir however developed sympathy for the victim and decided not to murder her. Instead he sold her to Ram Yadav and his son Dinesh Kumar Yadav for Rs 50,000," said a police officer.

The victim was produced before the chairperson, Child Welfare Committee. The CWC ordered that the girl be produced before the Aizwal CWC. The accused persons were produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Class I and the Mizoram Police were given 10 days transit remand for the accused. A team of the Mizoram Police is camping at villages in Haryana and Rajasthan for futher investigations after it emerged that a few BSF personnel had detained women at border areas and illegally sold them off to agents based in north India. The Mizoram Police team and the arrested persons have left for Mizoram on Thursday by two different flights.

Sold twice, 15-year-old Mizo girl rescued from Haryana
Aizawl : A 15-year-old girl, who was rescued by the Mizoram police on Monday from Haryana after being sold two times, was brought here today along with six suspected traffickers, the police said.

The girl, a resident of Durtlang village near Aizawl, was abducted and sold to a man in Haryana in June. The man sold him again to another man later.

After the parents submitted a complaint to the police, a team led by LT Puii Pulamte, Sub Division Police Officer, Aizawl North, went to Haryana and rescued her.

Northeast Buyers Welcome Bangladeshi Products

By Zahid Al Amin

Millions of fashion-conscious residents of North-Eastern states in India are excited to learn about recent duty-free access facilities accorded to Bangladeshi products, including textile items, which will not be flooding in the North-Eastern markets, as Bangladeshi products are cheaper in price and much superior in quality, comparing to those manufactured in India. Bangladeshi textile products already remain much ahead of the products manufactured in India, because of superior craftsmanship in Bangladeshi factories. Moreover, Bangladesh updates the latest trend and design almost on a daily basis, keeping eyes on the international market. That has possibly placed Bangladesh in the leading position as textile product exporters in the world.

The traders in North-Easter states in India believe that once Bangladeshi goods enter the Indian market, the retail prices of garments there will fall by 20-30 per cent because of the cheap labour and low production cost of goods in Bangladesh. Moreover, transportation cost of Indian textile products to the North-East is much higher than the transportation cost of Bangladeshi products to those markets. In addition to denim items and fashion textiles, Bangladesh will also have a huge market of cotton lungi and Bangladeshi Jamdani saree to this market. Leaders of Bangladeshi textile products are seeing a new scope of exporting textile products worth US$ 2-3 billion in the North-Eastern part of India as well as Nepal and other neighboring countries, under the current trade benefit accorded by the Indian government. Importers and traders in the North-Eastern states in India will also find interest in buying various types of stock lots of textile items from Bangladesh.

In addition to the textile items, Bangladesh will also be able to export its world-class ceramic items to the North-Eastern states in India. Bangladeshi ceramic items are currently exported in a number of Western countries as well as America and the Middle East.

Monno Ceramic Industries began producing porcelain tableware for the Bangladesh home market in 1985, and secured its first export order the following year. Monno soon earned an enviable reputation for both quality and value. The subsequent introduction of bone china to its range of quality dinnerware has only served to strengthen that reputation. As the original exporter of porcelain dinnerware 'Made in Bangladesh' Monno is proud to contribute to the growth of the Bangladesh economy. In a developing country the kudos accorded to exports and the valuable foreign exchange derived is significant. Today in Bangladesh Monno is a household name and regarded as one of the country's premier companies.

Monno offers products in Porcelain, New Bone China, Ivory China, and real Bone China. In fact they source the materials in their bone china body and glaze from Stoke on Trent, to which is added pure water filtered from their own wells. So Monno likes to think of it as 'English' Bone China. Customers include many well known prestigious department stores, speciality and chain stores around the world for whom they manufacture own label products. Some customers have been with Monno for as long as 20 consecutive years and Monno is proud to enjoy a close relationship with them. They work with customers to develop their own shapes or decorations, or can offer designs from their extensive stable. Their talented teams of artists and designers work closely with the experienced technicians of an own in-house decal print unit. That combination of man and machine helps achieve striking results.

Monno's Porcelain & Bone China factories are perhaps unique in being able to offer under one roof the flexibility and versatility of many manufacturing methods as best suit the size or nature of the product. Monno has invested in modern machinery and can boast high pressure casting, ISO Static Pressing, auto cup lines, auto dip glazing, spray drying, and an open firing system. That technology helps them in their never ending pursuit of excellence. Manufacturing capacity is in the order of 2 Million pieces per month.

Monno Products are safe! Tests carried out by CERAM show their products fall well below the thresholds for lead and cadmium release in tableware or cookware coming into contact with foodstuffs as specified under current European regulations. They also meet Australasian and US Federal requirements as well as those specified by California's very tough 'Proposition 65'.

RAK Ceramics is one of the leading ceramic factories in Bangladesh. RAK Ceramics [Bangladesh] Limited, a UAE-Bangladesh joint venture company, was incorporated in Bangladesh on 26 November, 1998 as a private company limited by shares under the Companies Act 1994. The name of the Company was thereafter changed to its name from RAK Ceramics [Bangladesh] Private Limited to RAK Ceramics [Bangladesh] Limited as a public limited company. The company is engaged in manufacturing and marketing of ceramics tiles, bathroom sets and all types of sanitary ware. It started commercial production in November, 2000. The commercial production of new sanitary ware plant started in January, 2004.

The company has over 1,000 different models and shapes of its products and regularly adds newer designs to the product portfolio. RAK's production capacity is 22,000 square meter floor/wall tiles and 3,400 pieces of sanitary ware per day. Products of the company are regularly exported to the Middle Eastern markets. RAK Ceramics [Bangladesh] Limited is an ISO 9001:2008 certified organization.

Shinepukur Ceramics Limited is a member of the Largest Private Sector Conglomerate, BEXIMCO, in Bangladesh with about 30,000 people in the permanent payroll, handling a diversified range of merchandise to and from Bangladesh. The Group's in-house manufacturing interests encompass Seafood, Jute Yarn, Pharmaceuticals, Textiles, Knit, Denim, Garments, Real Estate and Engineering. BEXIMCO is also involved in Media, Computers and the IT Arena's. As part of a meticulously planned expansion program of the Group, BEXIMCO has setup this state-of-the-art Ceramic Tableware Plant, SHINEPUKUR CERAMICS LTD. (SCL) on the outskirts of Dhaka in 1999. SCL is a 100% export oriented unit, equipped with the latest and modern Machinery's and Kiln's from TAKASAGO MINO, and SKK Japan and comprises of two independent units producing high quality Porcelain and Bone China Tableware. The Porcelain unit has a capacity of 60,000 pieces, whilst the capacity of the Bone China unit being 10,000 pieces a day. The Bone China unit has in fact been setup on the basis of the latest technology from NIKKO Japan, coupled with extensive training facilities to our Production team, both locally and internationally.

In addition, SCL is equipped with the top-of-the-testing and Quality Control Laboratory facilities, Decal Plant, Carton-Packaging Plant, Modeling Unit, and has at its disposal its captive gas-based Power Generation capability, and the best effluent discharge mechanisms in place. The Company is also an ISO 9001/2000 certified Company.

Since commencement of the commercial production at the end of 1999, Shinepukur has successfully developed a substantial export market for the top-of-the-line Bone China and Porcelain Tableware and the customer portfolio now includes world-renowned Tableware companies in the UK, USA, Spain, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Russia, UAE, Denmark, Germany, France, Mexico, Turkey, and India.

Decal Plant and Design Studio: Decal production started in August 2001. Total Printing Capacity is about 120,000 Sheets per Month, starting from single color upto 8 Colors with Gold/Platinum, both Onglaze [840 degrees Celsius] and Inglaze [1220 degrees Celsius], and completely Lead and Cadmium Free. The Company has set up Designing Studio in the Plant in 2005 and in Italy with Rody Time s.r.l. in 2006.

Packaging Plant: Production in the Packaging Plant started in June 2003. Assorted about 300,000 Pieces White and/or Brown Cartons per month are presently being produced in this facility. In addition, the Company also supplies 4-6 Color Printed Cartons.

Exports from Shinepukur Ceramics comprise about 60% of the National Tableware Export turnover of Bangladesh. As recognition of this contribution, SCL has been awarded National Export Trophy [Gold] in December 2003 for the Financial Year 2000-2001and 2002-2003.

Fu Wang Ceramic Industry Limited is a Taiwan-Bangladesh joint venture company established in 1995 which manufactures various types of floor and wall tiles. In 1998, the company went into Stock market as a Public Limited company. Fu Wang products are already exported to India, Taiwan and Bhutan.

FARR Ceramics Limited manufactures world class ultra white hard Porcelain Tableware with its state-of-the- art production facilities. The entire plant was set up with machinery from Germany, Italy and Japan. The main production process entails transformation of plastic clay into finished product within twelve hours production cycle.

Since FARR Ceramics desires to become the leader in the market of quality tableware producers, the company utilizes only the best quality raw materials, e.g., New Zealand Kaolin [CCP] from New Zealand, Ball Clay from Japan, China Clay from China, Alumina from Japan, Feldspar and Quartz [the top graded only] from India, Zero Leaded Gold and Colors from Germany.

China-Bangla Ceramic Industries Limited [CBC] production lines are equipped with world's most modern machineries from Italy. Under the dynamic leadership of its Chinese promoters and experts CBC is producing a wide range of Wall and Floor, Homogeneous, Decor and Border tiles with innovative designs in different sizes to cater the market demand with affordable and competitive price.

Buyers in the North-Eastern states, especially the traders prefer buying Bangladeshi products because of quicker shipment facilities. It takes only 24 hours for Bangladeshi goods to reach any of the destinations in the North-Eastern states, while transportation cost is also comparatively lower than those imported from other parts of India.

Other Bangladeshi items, which would have demand in the North-Eastern states are: cement, cosmetics, medicines, electrical items, electronic items, paints, biscuits, footware, toiletries, edible oil, vegetable ghee, fruit juice, potato chips, pickles, ketchup, laundry soap, detergent powder, mosquito repellant etc.