Manipur, Hydro Companies Agree to Develop 1,500-MW Tipaimukh Dam

New Delhi, Nov 17 :  Hydro developers NHPC Ltd. and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd. (SJVN) have established a joint venture with India's Manipur State to develop the 1,500-MW Tipaimukh hydroelectric project on the Barak River in Manipur.

Officials of the two government-owned hydro developers and the northeastern India state signed a promoters agreement October 22 for setting up the joint venture. NHPC is to have 69 percent of the venture, with SJVN having 26 percent and Manipur 5 percent.

Tipaimukh is proposed to be a multi-purpose storage project with the main objective to generate 3.8 billion kWh annually. It also would moderate flooding of downstream areas. Construction is expected to require 87 months.

The project has been in the pipeline since 1954. In 2006, India's North Eastern Electric Power Corp. courted bidders for the project, which is to include two diversion tunnels, four spillway tunnels, two headrace tunnels, two surge shafts, two power tunnels, cofferdams, switchyard, powerhouse, and a main rock fill dam to be 163 meters tall and 390 meters long.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh delayed the laying of a foundation stone for the project in 2006 due to opposition of local people who said the project threatened thousands of homes and a sacred lake holding the sword of a legendary hero.

Tribal groups said the sword of revered hero Jadonang lies in one of five lakes to be inundated. Also to be inundated was an island called Thiledam, meaning life and death, where locals say souls of their people find eternal rest.

Chin-Kuki-Mizo Groups Should Also be Given a SUPRA State

Sinlung Says: Now that the Indian government seems to have made a stand on the Naga Issue. Next come issue of the Zohnathlak - Kuki, Paite, Mizo, Hmar, Lai, Pawi, Chin (Chin-Kuki-Mizo Groups). Shouldn’t they also be given a SUPRA State? They have divided by state boundaries for so long.

We know its coming soon…

Northeast States Ignored Over NSCN(IM) Peace Pact

By R Dutta Choudhury

Guwahati, Nov 17 : The Central Government has not given due consideration to the views of the concerned State Governments while preparing the roadmap for signing an agreement with the NSCN (I-M) and now only a few minor differences are to be settled before formally signing the peace accord with the militant outfit.

However, the date for signing of an agreement with the militant outfit is yet to be finalised.

Highly placed sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that the Governments of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh opposed intrusion into their territories while going for a settlement with the NSCN (I-M) and the Centre has also ruled out the possibility of creation of a greater Nagalim with inclusion of Naga-inhabited areas of other States.

But the Centre has agreed to the formation of Naga councils in the Naga-inhabited areas of the States of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur for economic development of the areas as well as protection of Naga culture and customs.

Sources revealed that the NSCN has demanded formation of such councils incorporating parts of Dima Hasao and Karbi Anglong districts of Assam, Tirap, Changlang and parts of Lohit districts of Arunachal Pradesh and the hills of Manipur inhabited by Naga people.

However, the geographical boundaries of the states would not be affected and the State Governments would have the responsibility of maintaining law and order.

Meanwhile, on the road map prepared by the MHA for signing of an agreement with the NSCN, sources said that Nagaland would be given the status of a special category state with its own flag and Naga nomenclature would be given to the administrative posts in Nagaland.

The NSCN has given up its demand for sovereignty and though the outfit demanded that the head of the State should be called the Prime Minister, the demand has been turned down. The Restricted Area Permit (RAP) system will also be introduced in Nagaland.

Sources said that at one point of time, following years of negotiations, the leaders of the NSCN verbally agreed only to a financial package for the Naga inhabited areas, but as the Central Government is keen on expediting the peace talks, the NSCN leaders adopted a tough stand and forced the Government to accept the demand for creation of Naga councils in the Naga dominated areas of the other states.

CCEA Nod To Create Livelihood Opportunities of Rs 683 crore in 4 Northeast States

New Delhi, Nov 17 : Decks were cleared today for implementation of a World Bank-aided project to create self employment opportunities for tribals, particularly women in four most disadvantaged northeastern states.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, approved the North East Rural Livelihood Project (NERLP) at an estimated cost of Rs 683.2 crore.

"The objective of the NERLP is to improve rural livelihoods especially that of women, unemployed youth and the most disadvantaged in four North Eastern States," an official spokesperson said.

The project is expected to cover nearly three lakh households in 1,624 villages of 58 blocks falling in Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.

The NERLP will be implemented by the DONER ministry in Aizawl and Lunglei districts of Mizoram, Peren and Tuensang districts of Nagaland, South, West and 15 poorest Panchayat wards of East district of Sikkim and West & North districts of Tripura.

The project will cost Rs 683.2 crore of which Rs 614.8 crore will be in the form of a soft loan from the World Bank and Rs 68.4 crore as a contribution from the Centre over a period of five years.

The objective is to reach 70 per cent of the poorer households in the village and help the poorest of the poor on priority.

The NERLP has four components - social empowerment, economic empowerment, partnership development and management, project management.

Chetri And Lalpekhlua Do The Star Turn For India

By Amitabha Das Sharma

ACROBATIC: Jeje Lalpekhlua (in blue) acquitted himself admirably in the friendly against Malaysia on Wednesday. Photo: Sushanta Patronobish

With a fine display of attacking football, India outplayed Malaysia 3-2 in the last of two FIFA international football friendlies at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Wednesday.

Having drawn the previous match at Guwahati 1-1 on Sunday, India made the perfect transition savouring two goals from strikers Sunil Chetri and one from Jeje Lalpekhlua. The Malaysians replied through their gifted striker Safi Sali.

India's new coach Savio Madeira fielded eight new names in the starting line-up, compared to the side that turned out at Guwahati on Sunday. Chetri, Gourmangi Singh and Syed Rahim Nabi — named the captain for the match — were the three who were retained.

The Indians got rid of the initial sluggishness and settled to a nice rhythm by the half-hour mark. The remarkable aspect of the Indian performance remained in the novel blending in the attack that had the experienced Chetri pairing effectively with the youthful Lalpekhlua. Tipped as the two best attackers in business, after the retirement of Baichung Bhutia, they impressed with their sense of opportunism and knack for scoring.

An effective combination in the midfield added more fluidity as Lalrindika Ralte, Baldeep Singh, Rocus Lamare and Francis Fernandes, entrusted with the creative role, stuck commendably to their tasks.

The efforts paid off in the 39th minute when the reflexive Chetri, after neatly receiving a long floater from skipper Nabi, finished with a deft half-volley.

Malaysia levelled the score just before the break. It came off a fine essay of passes in the Indian box, which the host's defenders failed to check, allowing the deft Sali to slot home.

Redoubling their resolve to regain the lead, the Indians adopted a more aggressive approach after the break. It succeeded in its mission within two minutes into the second half as Chetri authored a brilliant move that Lalpekhlua finished with a deft placement.

Second strike

After Lalpekhlua missed an opportunity that came close on heels of the second goal, Chetri did the atonement for the former by finishing the next opportunity in the 52nd minute (3-1).

Medeira exhausted his quota of substitution — which is six for an international friendly — to preserve the lead but could not stop the visitor from narrowing the margin. Sali proved his class again when he caught the Indian defence on the wrong foot in the 59th minute.

The host effectively sealed up its defence hereafter.

Manipur CM Seeks Clarification On Supra Naga State

Imphal, Nov 16 : Manipur Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh has sought clarification from the Centre on media reports that the government is considering granting a 'supra state body' status to Nagas settled across the Northeast to enable them to preserve their culture, identity and customary laws under one body.

Official sources said that the chief minister wrote letters to the Prime Minister and the Union home minister after reports were published in a section of the local media that the Centre was considering keeping all Nagas in Nagaland, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam under a 'supra state body' before Christmas.

According to the media reports, the Centre was weighing the option after having talks with the NSCN-IM which has been holding peace talks with the Centre for more than a decade.

Singh, according to the sources, clearly laid down the state government's position on the issue that the state government should be consulted before taking any final decision and asserted that the territorial integrity of Manipur would not be compromised at all costs.

The letter demanded assurance from the Centre that territorial integrity of the state be kept intact while negotiating with the NSCN-IM which has been demanding a greater Nagaland by interrelating Naga-settled areas of Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh with the present Nagaland state.

Senior Manipur Opposition leader of the Manipur People's Party O Joy said any attempt to break up Manipur would bring very bad consequences.

Eighteen people had been killed in Manipur during mass uprising when a BJP-led government at the Centre, holding peace talks with the NSCN-IM, had stated that a ceasefire agreement with the NSCN-IM would be extended 'without territorial limit' in June, 2001. The statement was later retracted.

'Climate Change May Cause Extinction Of Rare Northeast Flora, Fauna'

By Nikhil Agarwal

Imphal, Nov 16 : A number of rare and endemic species of flora and fauna found in the Northeast may soon be extinct due to climate change unless conservation efforts are accelerated, warns a new report.

"Species with limited climatic ranges or restricted habitat requirements or small populations are typically the most vulnerable to extinction, such as Pygmy Hog found in grassland ecosystems of Manas National Park in Assam and biota restricted to islands or wetland areas," says a study by Assam's Chief Conservator of Forests SP Singh.

The threats to biodiversity arising from climate change are likely to be very acute in this region on account of ecological fragility, economic marginality, and richness of threatened and endemic species with restricted distributions, says the study.

The severity of the impact is also likely to be increased due to habitat fragmentations and heavy biotic pressure on natural resources.

The study submitted at a climate change workshop organised by the Manipur Biodiversity Board here will be taken into account by the Planning Commission while preparing the 12th Five Year Plan.

In the Regional and Sectoral Analysis for 2030 of the Indian Network of Climate Change Assessment (INCCA) assessment, the Ministry of Environment and Forest has claimed that the temperature of the north-east region is set to increase by 1.8 degree ?" 2.1 degrees during the next two decades.

In addition, the mean annual rainfall is also likely to increase by 1-6 mm per day while the number of rainy days in a year may decrease by few days.

"Biodiversity is intrinsically linked to weather pattern. Consequently with large scale change in weather, there are impacts on the habitats of species within ecosystem," points out Singh.

According to biodiversity records, north-east supports nearly 50 per cent of the total flowering plants recorded in India, out of which 31.58 per cent is endemic. This region is also a part of Vavilovian centre of biodiversity and rich in wild relatives of crop plants.

As a result of the ongoing pattern of climate change, wetlands, grasslands and tropical rain forests are highly vulnerable to face shrinkage of habitat, loss of endemic species and proliferation of invasive species, the report says.

The vulnerability of ecologically fragile species like lichens, orchids, insectivorous plants which occupy highly specific and narrow niches is very high. Similarly the riparian forests are also highly vulnerable to climate change due to over-exploitation caused by the habitation of human population.

"Changes in stream flow, floods, droughts, water temperature, and water quality due to climate change will make fresh water ecosystem highly vulnerable to loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services," the study predicts.

Singh suggests that that if rapid and irreversible change in biodiversity is to be avoided, conservation strategies need to focus more on supporting the species' natural capacity to adapt to change.

India Dirtiest And Filthiest: Jairam Ramesh

New Delhi, Nov 16 : Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today described India as the "dirtiest and filthiest" country in the world where people with mobile phones go out to answer the "call of nature".

The comment was the latest addition to the minister's repertoire of controversial statements on a gamut of subjects ranging from education and research to sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and sanitation.

Ramesh, who last month said open defecation was a "blot" and a "shame", returned to the topic as he highlighted what he called a "paradox".

"In one area in which India can claim success in the social sector is education. We can't say the same thing in health, we can't say the same thing in nutrition, we certainly can't say the same thing in sanitation because we do remain the dirtiest and filthiest country," he said.

He said around 65 per cent of rural houses had been provided with toilets but didn't use them. "Today, if you go to many parts of India, you have women with a mobile phone going out to answer the call of nature. I mean it is paradoxical," the minister, who also holds charge of sanitation, said at an event here.

"You have a mobile phone and you don't have a toilet. When you have a toilet, you don't use the toilet... (but) use it as a godown."

Last month he had said it was a "blot" on India and a "shame" on everyone that the country had the highest rate of open defecation in the world.

According to a WHO survey, Indians account for 58 per cent of the world's population practising open defecation. China is a distant second, accounting for about 7 per cent.

The minister, who has sought an increased allocation to address the problem of open defecation, said the biggest challenge was how to educate people about sanitation and cleanliness.

The Centre and states spend about Rs 2,400 crore a year on sanitation. While the Centre spends Rs 2,000 crore, the states contribute around Rs 400 crore.

The ministry has decided to set up community toilets, which villages will maintain.

As environment minister, Ramesh had said use of SUVs in a country like India was a crime. He said diesel was subsided primarily for farmers. Some of the costlier SUVs run on the poor man's fuel.

At a convocation programme, Ramesh had taken off his robe, saying the gowns were a sign of "colonial slavery". Earlier this year, he had said there was "hardly any worthwhile research" in the IITs and that teachers in the tech schools were not "world-class".

Facebook Attacked By porn, Inquiry On

Are pornographic images invading your Facebook news feed?

We have yet to see it, but ZDNET recently reported that “gory, violent pictures” and “hardcore pornography” are spreading across the social network.

Facebook says it is getting to the bottom of the problem, but hasn’t yet revealed a solution or how the fiasco started.

“Protecting the people who use Facebook from spam and malicious content is a top priority for us and we are always working to improve our systems to isolate and remove material that violates our terms,” Facebook spokesperson Andrew Noyes said.

“We have recently experienced an increase in reports and we are investigating and addressing the issue.” It is unclear who is behind the attack.

As The Washington Post points out, the flood could be a trick played by the now infamous hacker group Anonymous, in celebration of Guy Fawkes Day, which occurred on November 5th, but the group typically stakes its claim on major attacks.

The images, which are apparently spreading like a wild fire, could also be the result of unsuspecting users having been tricked into clicking malicious links. Updated with statement from Facebook.

Facebook’s official statement on the matter is as follows:

“Recently, we experienced a coordinated spam attack that exploited a browser vulnerability. Our efforts have drastically limited the damage caused by this attack, and we are now in the process of investigating to identify those responsible.

During this spam attack users were tricked into pasting and executing malicious JavaScript in their browser URL bar causing them to unknowingly share this offensive content.

Our engineers have been working diligently on this self-XSS vulnerability in the browser. We’ve built enforcement mechanisms to quickly shut down the malicious Pages and accounts that attempt to exploit it.

We have also been putting those affected through educational checkpoints so they know how to protect themselves. We’ve put in place backend measures to reduce the rate of these attacks and will continue to iterate on our defenses to find new ways to protect people.”

Read [ZDNET] Read [The Washington Post]