Gas Shortage Pushes Mizoram District Into Darkness

Aizawl, Jun 28 : Kolasib, a northern town in Mizoram, has reeled under power outage since the last five days, severely affecting normal life.

The 33/11 KV power sub-station that supplied power to the entire town broke down five days ago, which power & electricity officials today said was caused by overloading due to misuse of power for cooking meal.

"The department had repeatedly appealed the residents not to use electric heaters through the electronic and print media. Despite this, overloading continued," a statement of P&E said today.

After attempts to restore the transformer failed, the department today decided to replace it with a new 3.5 MVA transformer. Sources said the prevailing cooking gas crisis had forced many residents to use electric heater alternative kitchen fuel. Denying this claim, the Kolasib residents however said that the transformer, installed in 1983, was too old.

Newspapers in the town stopped publication since four days back while power-based commercial establishments had to be temporarily closed down. Telecommunication was badly affected their mobile phones ran out battery.

Landslide Debris Yet To Be Cleared

Silchar, Jun 28 : Southern Assam, Tripura, Mizoram and parts of Manipur remained cut off from rest of the country for the second day on Wednesday as the debris of Tuesday's landslides are yet to be cleared from the Lumding-Silchar Hill section of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) and the NH-6 connecting Badarpur in Assam with Shillong in Meghalaya.

Sources said nearly 3,000 train passengers have been left stranded at different places and stations in Dima Hasao district for the past more than 36 hours. While Down Lumding-Agartala Express was stopped at Haflong, Down Cachar Express was stopped at Mahur and Up Cachar Express was stopped at Maibang station due to landslides. There have been big and small landslides at 91 odd places along a 171-km stretch between Mandardisa and Damcherra stations on the Hill section. The landslides occurred in the wee hours of Tuesday and were triggered by torrential downpour in the Barail Hills for the past few days.

Sources said railway authorities are yet to make any arrangements to get the stranded passengers to their destinations. This is because road connectivity has also been disrupted due to landslides. Under such circumstances, the NFR has roped in the Army and the civil administration. But there were no signs of immediate action from any quarters.

Sources said the stranded passengers have been suffering from want of food and drinking water. Some local NGOs have been distributing milk and biscuits among the passengers. Dima Hasao Autonomous Council authorities have also made arrangements for supply of food to the hapless travellers.

Although work for clearing the debris from the railway tracks has been undertaken, it will take some weeks to restore the route, an NFR official said on Wednesday. All the trains on this route have been cancelled for an indefinite period. "We can't say at this juncture when the route can be revived. However, work is going on at a war-footing. On Wednesday, there was no rain. This helped us make some progress in the restoration work," said the spokesman.

The largest landslide is between Dihaku and Mupa stations. The railway line between Harangajao and Mailongdisa was also washed away. A 130-metre stretch of the track was washed away on June 2 after a landslide and the track was repaired after 12 days. The NH 6 remained closed for the second day on Wednesday.

Manipur Rivers Rise, Jiribam Flooded

Imphal, Jun 28 : The water levels of all major rivers in the state are on the rise due to the heavy downpour during the last three days.

Large chunks of areas at Jiribam subdivision bordering Assam have been inundated as the Jiri river overflowed on Tuesday, sources said. The affected people have been shifted to a relief camp. However, one person is still untraceable, the sources added.

Manipur Irrigation and Flood Control Department (IFCD) employees have hardened the banks of Imphal river, which is running above the warning level at four points in the capital. IFCD flood fighters have thickened other vulnerable banks too.

"Having noticed the rise of water level at Imphal river, our flood fighters along with machines immediately hardened fragile banks at various points, including Kekrupat , Kangla Villa, Lamlong and Golapati on Wednesday," the IFCD official said.

"The water level of Imphal river recorded in the Minuthong area here at 4 pm on Wednesday evening was 787.625 metres, which is above the warning level but below the danger level," an IFCD official said.

Nambul river, which passes through Imphal city, is also running above the warning level, he said, adding that the water levels of Lilong, Iril and Thoubal rivers are receding gradually.

A large number of people are putting up along the banks of Nambul river in Imphal. However since there was no heavy rain in both the valley as well as the catchment area in the hills on Wednesday, the water level is expected to gradually recede and hence there is no imminent danger of any major flood in the state, he added.

Meanwhile, various low lying areas in Keishamthong and Sagolband in the heart of Imphal have been flooded owing to the bad drainage system throwing life out of gear in the affected areas. On Tuesday, legislator Oinam Lukhoi of Wangoi constituency in Imphal West accompanied by IFCD engineers conducted a field survey of the vulnerable river banks of Imphal river within the constituency.

Mary Kom World's 38th Most Marketable Athletes

New Delhi: Five-time world champion boxer MC Mary Kom have been rated as the 38th most marketable athletes in the world by a monthly British magazine that reports on the business and financial aspects of sport.

SportsPro has ranked athletes from the across the world on the basis of their marketing potential over the next three years and after considering factors like age, home market, charisma, crossover appeal and value for money.

Mary Kom, who is the lone Indian female boxer to qualify for the London Olympics, is the only athlete from the country other than Dhoni to feature in the list that has been topped by Brazilian football sensation Neymar.

"I thank SportsPro for considering me among the top 50 marketable athletes in the world, which is such an illustrious list containing the names of so many of the world's most notable sportspeople," said Mary, who is currently training in Pune for the London Games.

"I am going to continue to focus on the Olympic gold and will wait to see if the potential that SportPro has identified can be made to come to fruition after the Olympics," she added.

The list also includes some of the world's best athletes such as Lionel Messi (3), Usain Bolt (4), Christiano Ronaldo (5), Rory McIlroy (2), Maria Sharapova, Novak Djokovic, Lewis Hamilton and many more.

IOS Sports & Entertainment, a sports management groups, holds the exclusive marketing and management rights for Mary and is responsible for coordinating all of her endorsements and public relations.

Speaking on the article, Managing Director and CEO of IOS Neerav Tomar said: "We are delighted that the world is sitting up to take notice of Mary and her incredible achievements and her ranking in SportsPro will go a long way in catching the attention of brands in India as well.

"She is the perfect brand ambassador and we can only hope that brands will look beyond cricket and Bollywood after the Olympics," he added.

Manipur Girls Ordered: 'Decent' Skirts, No Mobiles

Imphal, Jun 27 : Girls in Manipur have been directed by some student organisations not to wear uniforms above the knee and avoid using mobile phones in schools and colleges.

Six student bodies issued this diktat today that sought to prohibit school and college students from wearing 'indecent
dresses'.

They said girl students should wear the Manipuri ankle length dress 'Phanek' and under no condition uniforms above the knee would be tolerated.

The use of mobile phones during school or college hours would also not be allowed.

The student bodies including All Manipur Students Union, Democratic Students Alliance of Manipur and Manipur Students Federation formed a coordination committee to launch the drive, a joint statement said.

Sale of intoxicating substances at academic institutions would also be banned, the statement said.

In 2001, Manipuri rebel group KYKL, fighting for an independent homeland for the predominantly Hindu Metei community, had warned that women of the state who do not wear the traditional sarongs called 'Phaneks' could face a death penalty.

18 pc Students in Manipur Use Drugs

By Sobhapati Samom

Pallel, Jun 27 : Eighteen per cent of the students in Manipur were found to have used narcotics and psychotropic drugs, claims a senior official of Department of Community Medicine of the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Imphal.

Dr AK Brojen of RIMS said this at a seminar to commemorate the ‘International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking’, under the theme ‘Think Health – Not Drugs’ here at Pallel, about 45 km south of Imphal today. He said that they have found the development in their recent study.

“This is an alarming issue but we are turning a blind eye to it,” Dr Brojen said and expressed the need to develop a policy on drug users. He urged the concerned authority to develop updated counselling centres at the educational institutions with the involvement of trained hands. Parading of drug users in media is not encouraging, he feels.

Manipur is home to 50,000 drug users including 34,500 intravenous drug users (IDU) while about 14,000 drug users are concentrated in Imphal alone, according to UNODC reports.

“Time has come to carry out awareness programmes in our schools on a war footing”, said M Gandhar, a former drug user turned NGO worker.

Associate Professor Ch Priyoranjan of Manipur University’s Economics department urged the government to step in and control the drug menace.

The State which is one of the largest supplier and consumer of illicit opium products rank third in India based on the percentage of drug users. With 28 per cent of the population under the influence of drug, Manipur boasts one of the highest cases of IDUs in India. The Assam Rifles in cooperation with Narcotics Control Bureau in the recent past has confiscated and destroyed 2,338 kgs of contraband drugs. The seminar was sponsored by the Assam Rifles.

Has Dr H T Sangliana Been Wronged?

Aizawl, Jun 26 : National Commission for Minorities vice-chairman Dr H T Sangliana has denied Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla's allegations that he was canvassing for himself in the upcoming presidential contest.

Mr Lal Thanhawla seemed to be confused as to whether it was Sangliana or PA Sangma who has been canvassing to be the next president of India, he felt.

Even if his name had come up in the media and on Facebook as a probable candidate from Christian community as a consequence to the opinions expressed by those who had known him well for more than four decades for his distinguished public service, it is the people of the state that considered him fit to be the first president of India from Christian community, Mr Sangliana told UNI.

'What is wrong about it and how fair is Mr Lal Thanhawla to be jealous of the goodwill I received from the people all over India,' he added.

Dr Sangliana maintained that he had never said he was 'favoured by Mrs Sonia Gandhi to head the Mizoram Pradesh Congress Committee' which reportedly pained the Congress leadership in Mizoram.

"It is obvious that someone fears that Sangliana might enter politics in Mizoram and might overshadow him, and as such is indulging in campaign of misinformation and a game of one upmanship," observed a political analyst. Dr Sangliana said he will never feel jealous if any Mizo was elevated to any high office.

While refusing to deny the fact that his name cropped up as one of the probable presidential candidates among the Christian tribals, the former Karnataka super cop told UNI over phone, "I have never said Mrs Sonia Gandhi proposed my name for the presidential election and it is a baseless rumour." He further said there had been a campaign of sort for him from many parts of India and abroad, and, several organisations had sent their written appeal to the Congress High Command to put him up as Christian candidate.

Love Dogs? This is Not For You

By Rob Cooper

These disturbing images show dogs being cooked and served up as a meal in a grim Chinese tradition.

The animals are chopped up and cooked in front of diners - despite a growing anti-cruelty campaign.

A group of Chinese activists in Yulin City, Guangxi province, descended on the dog meat market campaigning against eating the animals.
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

Takeaway: A cage full of dogs is lifted like just another type of cargo

Grim: The dogs arrive alive in cages ready to be killed, cut up and cooked at the meat market in Yulin City, Guangxi province, China

Artist Pian Shan Kong knelt down in front of the dead animals confessing for people's sins as he apologised to the dead animals during the demonstration.
China is yet to make animal cruelty illegal and end the grim tradition despite campaigning by animal rights activists.

 

More...

• A picture to terrify every parent: Chinese father drags baby boy through traffic in a crate attached to his moped with an old piece of rope

Pet lovers' associations have sprung up in Chinese cities over recent years.
While many Chinese enjoy rich dog meat, especially during cold winters, some object to the practice in some regions of beating dogs to death to release the blood into the meat.

A real dogs dinner: A disturbing picture of a dog dish being prepared in China

Dog dinner: Diners tuck into a meal which includes dog in Yulin, Guangxi province, China. The tradition dates back thousands of years

When food is scarce, dogs are eaten as an emergency food source around China in a practice which is seen as socially acceptable.
As the country becomes more affluent, a growing number of families are buying dogs as pets fuelling the growing campaign against animal cruelty.
In April, more than 500 dogs set to be slaughtered were saved when the truck they were being carried in to the slaughterhouse was intercepted by activists.
Many of the 505 creatures had barely survived their terrible ordeal, having endured cramped conditions and a lack of water during their near 1,000 mile journey by road.
But rescue came too late for 11 dogs which had succumbed to dehydration and exposure.

Grim: The dead animals lie scattered about ready to be cooked up and eaten in a Chinese restaurant

Dog dining: People tuck into dog meals in a restaurant in China in a grim tradition

Dog meat: The animals being prepared for a meal and a living dog, right

Chinese meal: Diners tuck into dishes in a restaurant which include dog

Video: CCN report into Chinese dog markets. WARNING: Contains graphic images