Influx Worries Mizoram CM

Aizawl, Oct 8 : Mizoram chief minister Lalthanhawla yesterday expressed concern on the unabated infiltration of Bangladeshi nationals across both the state boundaries in Mizoram and Cachar district in Assam.

Talking to a delegation from the adjoining Cachar district in his official residence in Aizawl, Lalthanhawla said at present, the Bangladeshi infiltrators were allegedly involved in at least 25 per cent of the crimes, including murders.

Sharifuzamman Laskar, secretary of Congress’s Northeast coordination committee, led the delegation.

The delegation drew the attention of Lalthanhawla to the recent incidents in the state, including the violence on non-Mizos who travel to Mizoram seeking temporary jobs in construction sites here.

Laskar also pointed out the difficulties and inconveniences faced by non-Mizo businessmen while renewing their trade licences in Mizoram under the provisions of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulations Act, 1873, without which these people are threatened with expulsion from the neighbouring state.

Lalthanhawla, on the other hand, made it clear that the inner line permit for non-Mizos in Mizoram is essential, as otherwise, the minuscule Christian Mizo community of over 10 lakh would be outnumbered by outsiders.

The chief minister said he would not encourage the acts of the alleged harassment of the genuine non-Mizos from the state who regularly visit Mizoram either as tourists or on specific purposes.

When confronted with the accusations that the activists of Young Mizo Association, the biggest NGO in Mizoram, are engaged in checking the inner line permits of the non-Mizos, Lalthanhawla said there is nothing wrong with it.

He said the police at times engaged the NGO in checking such documents for their convenience.

In a bid to step up the inter-state travel of the traders from Mizoram into Cachar district and vice versa, the chief minister said his government was keen to make the Bhagabazar township in Cachar and its adjoining Vairengte block area in Mizoram a free zone.

This in turn could become a valid enclave for the free movement of the traders of both the adjacent states with their wares.

Lalthanhawla also promised that the boundary demarcations of Assam and Mizoram along the 70km stretch of border of the Barak valley districts would soon be completed, in coordination with the higher authorities of the two states, without any acrimony or bitterness.

A Wild Gecko Chase in Northeast India

By Prasanta Mazumdar

Kohima, Oct 8 : Jacob Sema is a school teacher in Nagaland but it has been over a month since he held his last class. He is often seen invading the jungles in search of tokay geckos (a species of lizard) in a mad craze to become a millionaire overnight.

Like many others in the north-eastern states of Assam, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram, Jacob is driven by rumours that a gecko at least 14 inches long and weighing a minimum of 200 grams can fetch up to Rs10 lakh in the South East Asian market. Though not proven scientifically, it is believed, especially in south-east Asian countries, that geckos can heal HIV/AIDS and cancer.

So taken are north easterners with this obsession that they’ve started rearing geckos. They’re even feeding the lizards — who normally feed on insects and worms — chicken to make them fat and saleable.

Roland Ao, who owns 100 geckos, says he hardly gets time these days to go to office. His geckos weigh between 100 and 110 grams, so he’s desperately trying to fatten them. “Some youth hunt the reptiles for me, and I buy each for Rs 2,000,” Roland says. “I’m feeding them grasshoppers and cockroaches, also supplied by the same hunters. Sometimes, I even feed them chicken.”

Kept in specially-made cages, the geckos descend at night to eat the insects. Both Jacob and Roland say the trade chain involves both national and international traders. Once caught, the reptiles are allegedly smuggled into Myanmar and then onwards to the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. The Nagas say it is usually Manipuris who buy the reptiles. “I am often approached by some people from Manipur. They come to my house to enquire if any of my geckos have reached the required weight and length,” says Roland. “I am taking good care of them hoping that fortunes will smile on me some day.”

A male tokay gecko can grow to a length of about 11-20 inches while a female grows to 7-19 inches. They weigh anywhere between 150 and 400 grams.

Peter Mao, a gecko hunter, says that they catch the lizard by driving it out of its hole: “We usually burn green tree leaves to create smoke around a tree. The smoke forces the geckos to come out of their holes.

We then catch them by their necks.” Adds Sanjay Rai, another hunter and Peter's friend, “A gecko living in a tree has at least a couple of holes, each linked with the other. We pour petrol into one of the holes. The smell of the fuel drives the reptile out.” They say they get to know of a gecko's presence in a tree from its sound 'gec-ko'. “Last week, seven of us went to Assam and caught eight geckos, each weighing between 80 and 100 grams. One person bought them all for Rs16,000,” says Peter.

“Some people say that geckos are a cure for diabetes. I eat a lot of sugar and who knows, I may be a patient of diabetes. So, one day I ate a gecko after roasting it. It tastes like any other meat,” he adds.

Under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, trading in or killing of geckos is an offence. Wildlife experts say geckos are needed to maintain the ecosystem. Hunting geckos for profits is a clandestine trade in Nagaland, and the administration has little knowledge about the trade or its traders unlike in Manipur and Mizoram, where the police and wildlife authorities recently launched a crackdown on people involved in this trade, and even made a few arrests.

Authorities in these two states are also trying to dismiss the rumour that geckos can heal HIV/AIDS and cancer. “Geckos can’t heal HIV/AIDS and nor can it be processed into an aphrodisiac. The Chinese have been consuming the reptile for a long time and it has been proven, both medically and scientifically, that geckos have no medical properties,” a wildlife expert from Mizoram says.

Dutch Collaboration, Northeast India Fashion in Focus at WIFW

New Delhi Oct 8 : Besides the usual plethora of design greats showcasing their collections, the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week spring-summer 2013 edition is going a step ahead this time with a Indo-Dutch collaboration as well as a focus on talent from the North East.

Curtains on the five-day extravaganza - which involves 132 designers, 48 models and more than 200 buyers - will be raised tomorrow with a show by designers Payal Pratap and Anand Kabra, followed by designer Atsu Sekhose from Nagaland.

Sekhose's show is a presentation by the Ministry of Textiles, to showcase an eclectic line that captures the flavor of the North east, its vast wealth of textiles and intricate designs but with a modern twist.

Besides the show, there will be stalls set up to showcase crafts from various designers from the region, including Manipur, Shillong, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, curated by Mala Baruah.

The first day will end with a presentation by Indian and Dutch designers, who have come together to create a joint show displaying the best talents from the two countries.

Leading designer Suneet Verma has joined hands with Dutch couturier Jan Taminiau, whose ingenious constructions, use of materials and luxurious embellishments have dazzled the catwalks at both Paris and Amsterdam Fashion Weeks.

"I have been to India before and the rich heritage of Indian culture has always amazed me. I am happy that I have collaborated with Suneet because our working style is quite similar. Both of us like embellishments," said Taminiau.

"We did most of the designing over Skype. Our collection is denim infused couture. We have designed eight pieces individually and eight jointly," said Suneet.

Designer duo Rohit Gandhi & Rahul Khanna have teamed up with Dutch label Died comprising designers Diederik Verbakel and Marieke Holthuis.

The Dutch pair are famous for their avant-garde illustrations, accessories and hand-dyed and printed silks.

"We saw beautiful clothes in stores back home and always wondered who they were. We found that they were mostly by Rohit and Rahul. So when we got the opportunity to collaborate with an Indian designer, it had to be them. Their clothes are full of embellishments and are so modern," Diederik said.

This edition of WIFW promises to be high on the Bollywood quotient as well with actress Deepika Padukone walking the ramp for Ranna Gill and Manoj Bajpayee being the showstopper for Samant Chauhan. Model-turned-actress Sarah Jane Dias is all set to walk for designer Surily Goel.

Fashion bigwigs like Manish Malhotra, Wendell Rodricks and Rajesh Pratap Singh are also participating in the event which will come to an end with veteran Ritu Kumar doing the grand finale on October 10.

Mizoram Polls To 15 villages To Be Deferred Due to Hmar Rebels

Aizawl Oct 5 : Mizoram State Election Commission is likely to defer the village council elections in 15 villages for the second time as no nominations were filed till 3 pm today, the last day for filing of nominations reportedly due to intimidation from Hmar insurgents.

Police said that political leaders of the 15 villages - 13 in Aizawl district and two villages in Kolasib district - were told not to file nominations for the village council polls scheduled to be held on October 18.

The village council polls in the villages were not held along with the rest of the village councils on February 23, 2012 as the state election commission then felt that there would not be free and fair elections due to intimidation by the Hmar People's Convention - Democrats militants.

The HPC-D militants then threatened the voters that they should elect only those supported by the outfit.

Though the state election commission recently notified the date for election to these 15 villages, no one filed nominations forcing the commission, most likely, to defer the polls again.

The HPC-D militants were at loggerheads with the state government and the top leaders of the outfit - its chairman H.

Zosangbera, 'army chief' Lalropuia and 'deputy army chief' Biaknunga were arrested by the state police and are remained in prison till date.

Revoke AFSPA From Northeast: NEDF to PM

Shillong Oct 5 : The North East Dialogue Forum (NEDF) today appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to revoke the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from North East states particularly Manipur, saying law and order situation has improved considerably in the region.

NEDF convener U Nobokishore demanded that the Act be immediately revoke in the larger interest of Indian democracy and international humanitarian laws.

Urging the Prime Minister to convene a meeting of the cabinet committee on security which deals with AFSPA, Nobokishore said, the committee should discuss and take into consideration the recommendations of the UN to repeal AFSPA.

The NEDF is a conglomeration of civil societies, religious bodies, intellectuals and academicians from the northeast working on the issues of conflict transformation and peace building, environment, health, women and children.

The AFSPA has been operative in the north eastern states, first in Manipur and Assam since 1958. It was first promulgated as an ordinance in the north east in 1958. In 1972 it was extended to Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura before it was extended to Jammu and Kashmir in 1990.

In the states which come under the Act, the armed forces are also entrusted with the right to arrest without warrant and to detain people without a time limit. It also gives legal immunity to army personnel.

According to Rev P B M Basaiawmoit, NEDF adviser, the law and order situation has improved considerably in these states and the government ought to find new ways to build the confidence of the local people so as to sustain peace and stability.

Imphal Salad Enters Limca Book of Records

By K Sarojkumar Sharma

Imphal, Oct 4 : The 100-meter-long green salad displayed at an Imphal food festival in April has entered three prominent record scripting bodies- Limca Book of Records, India Book of Records and Asia Book of Records.

Measuring 6 inches in width and weighing 781.3 kg, the vegetable salad was prepared in 1 hour 10 minutes and 51 seconds by 15 volunteers of Innovative Youth Society (IYS) and BOSS Juices, Manipur at the third Chinjak (food) festival- International held in April this year under the aegis of IYS.

Prepared with cucumber, tomato, cabbage, mint, cheese and spices, the salad was placed on dozens of banana leaves neatly arranged over 40 tables sprawling over two rows. Hundreds of visitors who had arrived at the event were in for a treat as they were allowed to get a free taste of the record-breaking salad after the show was over.

A delegation of the Manipur tourism department headed by commissioner K K Chhetry were official witnesses.

"We are so glad that our efforts got the much-deserved recognition by the three prominent record scripting bodies. We will organize a grand celebration for our success during the ensuing Sangai festival, the biggest state-sponsored annual tourism festival scheduled to begin from November 21," said Khuraijam Athouba, secretary of IYS and managing director of Chinjak festival.

Imphal: The 100-meter-long green salad displayed at an Imphal food festival in April has entered in three prominent record scripting bodies- Limca Book of Records, India Book of Records and Asia Book of Records.

Measuring 6 inches in width and weighing 781.3 kg, the vegetable salad was prepared in 1 hour 10 minutes and 51 seconds by 15 volunteers of Innovative Youth Society (IYS) and BOSS Juices, Manipur at the third Chinjak (food) festival- International held in April this year under the aegis of IYS.

Prepared with cucumber, tomato, cabbage, mint, cheese and spices, the salad was placed on dozens of banana leaves neatly arranged over 40 tables sprawling over two rows. Hundreds of visitors who had arrived at the event were in for a treat as they were allowed to get a free taste of the record-breaking salad after the show was over. A delegation of the Manipur tourism department headed by commissioner K K Chhetry were official witnesses.

"We are so glad that our efforts got the much-deserved recognition by the three prominent record scripting bodies. We will organize a grand celebration for our success during the ensuing Sangai festival, the biggest state-sponsored annual tourism festival scheduled to begin from November 21," said Khuraijam Athouba, secretary of IYS and managing director of Chinjak festival.

"We prepared the longest salad in the country not only to incorporate it in the record books but also to promote tourism in Manipur. Setting the record would attract more tourists for our next Chinjak festival and other state-sponsored tourist promotion events," Athouba said at a media conference here on Wednesday afternoon.

As many as 54 stalls including eight run by seven Southeast Asian countries- Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Hong Kong, China, Tibet and Singapore - displayed an array of 160 different mouth-watering indigenous cuisines and 40 international dishes during April's Chinjak festival.

The festival gave thousands of youths the opportunity to taste the rare indigenous food items like Kongreng Bora, Chakhao Tan, Phola, Fried Naoshek, fermented passion fruit drinks and the rest, Athouba said.

Visitors also enjoyed varieties of Asian cuisines like Korean Kimchi-fermented vegetables, Chinese Shark soup, chicken stew, chicken fried with ginger and golden brown egg boiled with herbs and Thai-noodle dried fry, fish fried rice, fish salad and so on.

"In the fourth Chinjak festival likely to be held in January next year here, we will try to cover more countries," Athouba said.

Mizos Organize Peace Festival

Bangalore, Oct 3 : It was not too long ago that hundreds of people of northeastern states headed home in the wake of threats to the community . Many of them later returned to their adopted home. But memories of the exodus loomed large over the Vangpui Kut festival organized by the Bangalore Mizo Association.

The mood, though, was one of healing. Determined to set things right, the community earnestly threw open its doors to other communities at the event organized in Baldwin Boys High School Auditorium on Tuesday.

Over 2,000 Mizos are currently based in Bangalore and most of them are students . Vangpui Kut was held to spread the message of peace, unity and friendship among all communities of Bangalore.

PC Zoran Sangliana, minister for art and culture, government of Mizoram, said India's success story is in spite of its diversities and differences of communities. He observed that the exodus has only strengthened the resolve of the people of Mizo community and Bangalore to remain united. "We will not let those vested interests to spoil our relationship with Karnataka," he said.

As a gesture of goodwill, he invited the Karnataka government to send a delegation during the Chapchar Kut organized in Mizoram in March.

Chapchar Kut is celebrated in March to herald the arrival of spring. The seven-day festival is a celebration of fecundity.

DG and IGP of police Karnataka, Lalrokhuma Pachuau, assured the gathering that the government and his department will be all prepared to prevent any recurrence of the exodus.

The evening was a melange of cultural heritage of Mizos and Kannadigas. The Bangalore Mizo band, Mizoram cultural troupes, Mizo band 'boomaranag' , Dollu Kunitha and Veeragase troupes performed during the evening.

Frequent Floods: Plans to Rehaul Brahmaputra Board

A girl wades through flood waters in the flood affected Morigaon district of Assam last month. Photo: Ritu Raj Konwar

Against the backdrop of frequent floods in Assam and allegations of its failures to deal with the situation, the Centre has decided to restructure the Brahmaputra Board and turn it into a body to develop and manage water resources of the entire Northeastern region.

The Water Resources Ministry has sought feedback of Chief Ministers of the seven northeastern States on the draft proposal to restructure the Board which came into being 32 years ago.

The Government may bring in a new legislation to transform the Brahmaputra Board into the Brahmaputra River Valley Authority and replace the current Brahmaputra Board 1980 Act.

“A review of the functioning of the Brahmaputra Board reveals that it did not have a mandate to provide a strong framework for the holistic development of the Brahmaputra river,” said the draft.

It also said the Board failed to build up competent engineering cadre to support its activities which remained largely concentrated in the state of Assam.

According to the draft, the proposed Authority will be mandated to coordinate development and management of water, land and related sources to maximise economic and social welfare without compromising the ecosystem of the Brahmaputra valley.

It will have two parts — a policy making apex council and an executive wing.

The Council will be headed by the Water Resources Minister as Chairman and include the Chief Ministers and Ministers for water resources of the NE states.

The Executive Board will be responsible for implementing the decisions of the council.

After the Authority is set up, the Centre will create a fund called the Brahmaputra Fund. The fund will be used to finance the water resources activities in the member states.

The Centre will be the custodian of the fund which will be controlled by the Authority, the draft said.