Over 500 Pigs Die of Swine Fever in Mizoram

Aizawl, Apr 29 : Over 500 pigs have died in Mizoram due to swine fever in the last two months.

According to report from Animal Husbandary and Veterinary department officials, the number of pigs died due to the endemic "Classical Swine Fever" has crossed 500 mark since the month of March.

Officials said, the endemic swine fever caused the death of as many as 465 pigs in Aizawl district alone, while another 11,163 pigs are reported to have been infected with the disease.

More than 200 piglets of the New Land Use Policy (NLUP) beneficiaries also had died due to the disease.

The officials however expressed optimism that the 'Classical Swine Fever' will be contained soon.

The AH & Vety officials also informed that besides 'Classical Swine Fever' another disease is known to be spreading in the neighbouring Burma which is called PRRS (Parcine Respiratory & Reproductive Syndrome), and the same is suspected of spreading in Mizoram too as some of the infected pigs have the symptom of PRRS.

However, it is not yet ascertained, as the officials informed that that test is being conducted at Selesih Veterinary College after which they will send the samples to a laboratory in Bhopal for confirmation. Meanwhile, consumption of pork in Mizoram and Manipur have become less following the outbreak of swine fever.

Imports of pigs from Myanmar to Mizoram has been restricted following the outbreak of the swine flu.

Restriction on selling of 'affected pork' by the administration continues in the state capital Aizawl for the past one month and this restriction will continue till May end.

Owing to the spreading of flu among the pigs in Aizawl area in the past one month which has been proved to be 'Classical Swine Fever', the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Aizawl Sadar Sub Division, Aizawl here has been imposing certain restrictions regarding selling of pork in the market and related activities.

As the news of the spread of pig flu spread, the denizens of Aizawl have started avoiding their delicacy.

The sales of pork also dropped rapidly.

Chicken and beef have been substituting the menu in marriage feasting these days.

As reported earlier, taking advantage of the situation, the dealers have hiked the price of chicken.

Prior to the detection of the swine flu chicken (dressed) was sold at Rs 180 per kilogram but these days it has risen to Rs 250 or more a kilogram in Aizawl.

The 'Classical Swine Fever' was detected after examination at Laboratory of College of Veterinary Science & Animal Husbandry in Selesih last month.

Following the detection, vaccine is being administered free of cost to uninfected pigs for prevention of further spread of the disease.

However, butchers shall have to possess Acknowledgement from Local Council/Village Council and Vety Director, along with certificate on the health of their pigs.

In case of any death of pig due to swine fever, the owners are to bury immediately with the acknowledgement of their respective Local Council/Village Council.

The restriction is being made following the direction of Director of AH & Vety Deptt. vide No..D30017/1/99-DTE (AH&Vety) on March 22 .

The Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Aizawl Sadar Sub Division, Aizawl has imposed the restriction in exercise of his power under Section 144(4) of G.P.C.(Act II of 1973) .

The restriction will be effective during two months from the date of notification, within which any violator of the restriction shall be punished as per the above-mentioned law.

Newmai News Network

How Many Rhinos Must Die…

PATRICIA MUKHIM



‘For those who have never seen the rhino in its natural habitat, the first sight of this pachyderm is ecstatically uplifting’ The one-horned rhino that has put Assam on the world map is gasping for life in the Kaziranga National Park (KNP). A recent lead article in a news magazine from the Northeast titled, “Poaching is my business, business is good,” is a horrible indictment of the nonchalance exhibited by the government of Assam to a mammoth crisis.

The quote has unfortunately not been attributed to any single poacher but it can be assumed that those are the words of a paid sharpshooter. Although there is no definite scientific proof that the keratin inside the rhino horn is an aphrodisiac or that it can heal high blood pressure and fevers (according to the Chinese), the superstition that the person using it would derive aphrodisiacal powers has driven the poaching perverts crazy since there is big money out there in the international markets for the rhino horn.

While many in Assam are quick to point accusing fingers at the sundry militant groups in state such as Ulfa, the Karbi and Dimasa outfits for being involved in this nefarious activity, others feel that poaching on such a scale is not possible without collusion from within the system. Why would poachers have a field day inside the sanctuary day after day and the entire system not budge an inch?

After the latest rhino killing incident, the CBI will be stepping in to unearth the real reasons for this largescale poaching of rhinos inside the KNP. This park is perhaps one of the most frequented by national and international wildlife lovers.

A CBI inquiry is important to set at rest allegations flying thick and fast that there is a huge nexus within the system itself and that people in positions of authority are in league with the poachers.

In March this year, I happened to visit the KNP with a few students of journalism from the Journalism Mentor Foundation, Mumbai. For those who have never seen the rhino in its natural habitat, the first sight of this animal is ecstatically uplifting.

The other wild animals around the park seem a shade uninteresting, except if a tiger were to be sighted. This is because the KNP is known as the sanctuary of the one-horned rhino. And that is what most people come here to see! If you wanted to see tigers, deer and other fauna there are other sanctuaries across this country. But the one-horned rhino is our pride and joy. Yet this poor animal is being hounded because of human greed, and those in charge of safeguarding their lives such as the forest minister of Assam and the entire department of environment and forest seem ill-equipped to deal with this crisis.

Callousness

I also wonder why the plethora of wildlife protection NGOs, like Aaranyak and Nature’s Beckon have not demanded that forest minister Rakibul Hussain step down. Surely there is a system of accountability somewhere and that should begin at the highest level! Someone has to pay for this repeated onslaught on the one-horned rhino (17 killed between January and April 18 this year) Alas! No one has lost his job so far! What does this suggest?

I recall a wildlife NGO putting up on Facebook the picture of a dead rhino with its face bloodied after the murderers made off with its horn in the most brutal manner by sawing it off the animal’s face. This picture created an uproar across the universe. But hunters always seem to get away lightly even when arrested. No wonder poaching is not just a sport but a money-spinning business for many. In this regard one must appreciate the keepers of the Orang wildlife sanctuary who have not allowed a single rhino to be poached this year.

This raises some fundamental questions about the vigilance adopted in the two wildlife sanctuaries. What is Orang doing differently that KNP is not? When one enters the KNP, the forest guard posted at the entrance sits on his chair reading the daily newspapers, quite oblivious of who comes or who goes. We captured this picture on our cameras because we found it strange that a guard would not even put up a posture of being up and about his work.

The image that one carries back is that of a slothful worker with no passion for his work. He is only doing a job and there may be many like him in the park!

While one would not like to pass judgement on the entire wildlife protection framework on the basis of this solitary person’s attitude to his work, this is perhaps an indication of how the system functions. Coming back to the Orang Park it was heartening to read that four poaching attempts were foiled by the park authorities and one poacher was killed by forest guards. Both parks are close to Dimapur — the commercial hub of Nagaland and the bazaar for illegal trade in wildlife parts. Firearms are aplenty in Nagaland and Nagas are traditional hunters. Many are paid big money by the poaching mafia to hunt the rhino for its horn which is smuggled across the Indo-Myanmar international border via Moreh in Manipur.

A challenge

A hunter who was commissioned to kill a rhino but was arrested told the media that a kilogram of rhino horn fetches Rs 30 to 35 lakh in Dimapur. He said the price increases several times over in the international market. There are several websites that speak about the dangers posed to rhinos even in South Africa and how the international wildlife protecting agencies are trying to tackle this more cohesively.

But as long as the demand for the rhino horn remains, protecting this poor animal is going to be a monumental challenge. Apart from being used as a traditional Asian aphrodisiac, the rhino horn is also used for dagger handles in Yemen and Oman. Interestingly, the rhino horn is now used as the party drug of choice among rich Vietnamese kids and is said to be more expensive than cocaine. They apparently grind the rhino horn into powder and mix it with water or wine. One Vietnamese news website described rhino horn wine as “the alcoholic drink of millionaires”.

The latest news that the government has asked for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to track down poachers and that this proposal is awaiting the nod of the defence ministry should bring a ray of hope to the poor rhinos. Recently, the National Tiger Conservation Authority, the Assam forest department, the Wildlife Institute of India and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) International (Switzerland), had conducted four-day trials of UAVs over the KNP. Before this the government had also created the Assam Forest Protection Force (AFPF) which is armed with automatic weapons to deal with poachers.

It is true that all this while the forest guards were not well armed or well paid. If some of them were carrying out their duties with a passion it was out of love for their work. Unfortunately there are not too many with that same zest to save the rhino.

Many succumb to bribes and collude with the poachers. There is need to incentivise those who guard our threatened wildlife species.

(The writer can be contacted at patricia17@rediffmail.com)

Airports Authority of India Developing Northeast's Defunct Airports

Guwahati, Apr 29 : The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is developing three non-operational airports at Daparizo in Arunachal Pradesh, Tura in Meghalaya and Kamalpur in Tripura for operating ATR 42 and ATR 72 aircraft to connect the remote hill areas of the NE region.

An official said the AAI is also developing civil enclaves at Along, Passighat and Ziro in Arunachal Pradesh and Rupsi in Dhubri district of Assam.

The source said the proposals are subject to land acquisition by the state government concerned.

Operationalisation of Tezu airport has also been taken up, which can handle ATR-72 type aircraft.

The source added that once these airports are developed, they can be used for short take off and landing (STOL) aircraft also.

Minister of state for civil aviation KC Venugopal informed the Rajya Sabha that the AAI had undertaken a study through Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES) for improving air connectivity in the northeast which includes air connectivity among state capitals and other important remote locations of the NE region.

The minister said Air India is operating three flights every week on the Aizwal-Imphal route through Airbus A 319 and eight flights on Aizwal-Kolkata route through Airbus A-319.

He stated that operations in domestic sector have been deregulated and flights are being operated by airlines concerned on the basis of commercial viability subject to adherence of route dispersal guidelines laid down by the government to achieve better regulation of air transport services taking into account the need for air transport services of different regions of the country.

According to these guidelines, all scheduled operators are required to deploy in the northeastern region, Jammu and Kashmir, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep (category-II routes) at least 10 per cent of their deployed capacity on trunk routes (category-I routes).

Further, at least 10 per cent of capacity thus required to be deployed on Category-II routes, is needed to be deployed for connectivity exclusively within these regions (Category-II A).

Young Mizo Association Closes Down Bridge on Border of Mizoram & Tripura

Aizawl, Apr 26 : The Langkaih Group of the Young Mizo Association (YMA) in Mamit district has decided to close down the bridge over the Langkaih river on the Mizoram-Tripura border from 5 pm on Monday.

The decision was taken at a meeting held on Wednesday after the Bru community in Tripura organized a bandh in protest against the mysterious death of Sibaram Reang and accused the Mizoram government and the Mizo people of being involved in the latter's death.

The YMA leaders said the closure of the bridge would be indefinite and would begin from 5pm on Monday. The Bru community of Tripura adjoining Mizoram organized a bandh on April 23 in protest against the death of Sibaram Reang (25), who was a suspect in a robbery case, police said.

Reang was arrested by police in connection with the robbery of Abdul Manaf Uddin and his family members on April 8. Police said he escaped from the custody of the Mizoram Police on April 14.

His mutilated body was later found hanging from a tree at Laitauhpara village in Tripura on April 21. The Young Bru Association and Bru Socio-Cultural Organisation alleged that Reang died in the custody of the Mizoram police, who later amputated both his arms and legs and hung his body from a tree.

Earlier on April 8, reports said that eight masked, armed men speaking in the Bru dialect entered a farm hut owned by a Mizo man, J Malsawma, near Bungthuam early Sunday morning. They physically tortured the chowkidar of the farm, Abdul Manaf, and his family members.

Mumbai International Film Fest Comes to Aizawl

Aizawl, Apr 26 : Mumbai International Film Festival gets underway here in Aizawl from today as the Parliamentary Secretary to Chief Minister Lal Thanzara inaugurated the event at I&PR Auditorium today.

Film Division, government of India and Directorate of Information & Public Relations, government of Mizoram are organizing the three-day non-competitive Documentary, Short and Animation Film Festival in Mizoram which will conclude on April 27 .

Jim K.Chozah, Director, I & PR and Sumay Mukherjee, Film Division, Ministry of I & B, Government of India are also participating in the event.

During the festival, award winning films of Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short & Animation Films (MIFF) will be screened, along with a Mizo feature film.

MIFF in Mizoram is a festival of award winning films from the Mumbai International Film Festival for documentary short and animation, which is held biennially at the financial capital of India.

The MIFF, which began its journey in 1990 as Bombay International Film Festival (BIFF) has since grown in size and stature as one of the premier international events of documentary film movement.

The past editions have been overwhelming successes, and now MIFF is considered as one of the most spectacularly organized international festivals in the world.

It is reckoned on par with prestigious international film festivals like Leipsig, Berlin, Oberhausen, Cracow, and Tampere, etc.

However, MIFF has an edge over other festivals as it gives away the maximum cash awards-a total worth approximately Rs.6.35 million, besides mementos such a golden and silver conches for outstanding films.

On an average more than 35-40 countries participate in every edition of the festival, which serves as a platform for documentary film makers to meet, interact and exchange ideas.

The festival attracts the best of films made all over the world on varied subjects.

Many internationally renowned filmmakers like Gagisa Oshima, Werner Kobe, Krzysztof Zanussi, Peter Wintonik etc.

have participated in the festival as jury/ participants in the past.

Apart from micro animation & lengthy documentaries, MIFF boasts of a bouquet of acclaimed films curated and sourced from India and abroad in special packages and retrospectives.

MIFF in Mizoram has been showcasing in this event, some of the finest cinematic works realized in the last eight years throughout the world.

"Little Terrorist" directed by Ashvin Kumar, which was also nominated for the 2005 Oscar Awards for Live Action Short Film, was screened as the opening film.

The festival will culminate by screening the Mizo feature film "Zodinpuii" directed by Lalzidinga.

Addressing the Film Festival today, Lal Thanzara said that even as film making and production is not a new thing for the Mizos, given that for some years like in 2004 mizo films even began widespread, but due to lack of efficiency in film-acting, editing and other technicalities, the Mizo film industry still lagged behind.

As faced by other places in the world, piracy and violation of copyrights are the hindrance in the progress of filmmaking in Mizoram, Lal Thanzara said.

Parliamentary Secretary mentioned that Mizoram government since last fiscal allocates 10 lakhs for promotion of filmmaking in response to the need of the younger generations.

He expressed his expectation that the seeting up of IIMC Centre in Aizawl, Mass Communication cources in MZU would enhance immense development in filmmaking and production.

Saying that television programmes these days are not mere entertainment but educational and informative, Parliamentary Secretary expressed his hope that the pictures to be showcased in the Film Festival would be instructive and helpful.

The inauguration of Film Festival today was conducted by I&PR Director Jim K.Chozah, while Film Division of India, Kolkata Branch Manager Sumay Mukherjee delivered the foundation of the event.

During the 3-day festival to be held between 1 pm - 3 pm everyday at I&PR Auditorium.

Documentaries and Animated films will be presented for all interested visitors.

The film 'Little Terrorist 'was shown today.

On the last day of the popular Mizo film 'Zodinpuii' will be presented.

Central Government Film Divsion organises Mumbai International Film Festival after every two years in diffetent states, and the event being held in Aizawl is the fisrt time in Mizoram.

458 Non-Tribals Without ILP Detained in Mizoram

Aizawl, Apr 25 : At least 458 non-tribals without valid Inner Line Permit (ILP) have been detained in various police stations in Mizoram after the influential Young Mizo Association (YMA) launched a recent drive against them.

Police said those identified as staying in the state without valid ILP or fake ILP were brought before the local courts and, if convicted, they will be deported, a senior police official said here today.

192 of the Inner Line Regulation violators have been detained in the Aizawl police station while 180 of them in Bawngkawn police Station in the northern part of the city.

ILR violators were also detained in Mizoram-Assam border Vairengte and Kolasib police stations while majority of them were held in police stations and outposts within Aizawl city.

Under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation 1873 and the Inner Line Regulation, people from outside Mizoram have to have ILP before or after entering the state.

The laws were made by the British rulers to ensure that the tribal people in the North East, undeveloped and few in population, were safeguarded and protected from assimilation by larger communities.

Mizoram Track Gets Green Signal

Guwahati, April 25 : The Union ministry of environment and forests has cleared the forest-diversion proposal for the construction of a broad gauge railway line in Mizoram.

The forest advisory committee gave the green signal in its meeting held in New Delhi recently with a condition that no trees would be felled in stretches of alignment where the track passes through tunnels and no muck would be disposed of in any of the streams, rivers or on any forest land.

The 51.3km railway line project between Bairabi in Kolasib district and Sairang in Aizawl district will cost Rs 2,384.34 crore for execution.

Altogether 74.48 hectares of forestland will have to be diverted to construct the track. A total of 22.300 trees will have to be felled in Aizawl and Kolasib forest divisions for the project.

The committee stated as the project, whose deadline in March 2015, would generate large amounts of muck as it involved construction of tunnels on hilly terrain.

For this, the NF Railway has been asked to prepare detailed muck utilisation and disposal plan.

The state forest department has cleared the proposal stating the track is not passing through any national park, wildlife sanctuary or protected area.

The state government has been asked to constitute a committee under the chairmanship of local conservator of forests with representatives of NGOs in the field of forest, wildlife or hydrology.

This panel will visit the site during construction and submit half-yearly report to the regional office of the ministry.

Mizo Arrested in With Rs 6 cr Drugs: 'Kingpin' of Gang Arrested

Aizawl, Apr 24 : A commerce graduate from Mizoram has been arrested in connection with the seizure of Rs six crore worth banned pseudoephedrine tablets here allegedly from the son of a former Congress MLA.

Henry Lalremsanga, whom police described as the kingpin of the gang, was arrested yesterday.

"He was coming from Mizoram and is involved in illegal trade along with Arvind Ahuja, son of the former MLA Ashok Ahuja, and his driver Manish who were arrested yesterday from the capital with 2,51,680 strips of pseudoephedrine tablets," police said.

According to Additional Commissioner of Police (crime) Ravindra Yadav, the trio allegedly supplied pseudoephedrine based tablets in Mizoram and other states of North-East India and Myanmar.

Henry allegedly contacted Ahuja, a whole sale distributor of medicines, for supply of the drugs. Ahuja placed orders to pharmaceutical companies for the drugs and other medicines and after procuring he supplied it to Mizoram on his directions.

Henry, a commerce graduate, came to Delhi in 2003 and worked in various banks and later shifted to property dealings in the NCR region.

Yadav also added that Ahuja used to get huge commission on the transactions. He fell for this lucrative proposal and started supplying the contraband.