Violence Against Women Increasing in Manipur

Imphal, Feb 1 : In a shocking incident of violence against women in Manipur, unknown miscreants brutally murdered two members of a family and abandoned their bodies in a paddy field.

The deceased were identified as Chanba Devi and her eldest daughter Menaka. n the night of 12 January, unknown miscreants posing as cadres of a militant organization abducted the victims from their home in Nungkopal village. he motive behind the killing is yet to ascertained.

"I don't know what really happened, as I was sleeping, but I heard the door opening. When they started talking they asked us to switch off the light. After my mother did so, they told her that the matter had to be discussed outside so that no one could hear it and took her away outside with my sister," said Raghu, son of the victim.

"We believe that they have been raped and murdered. The dead bodies were found in a very sad condition. I was very shocked to see them in that condition. Tomorrow, I will be going to the police station for the case," said A Ingojao Singh, a relative of the victim.

It is not the first time, when Manipuri people have had to bear the brunt of violence.

Repeated abductions, killings and extortion by militants have created an atmosphere of uncertainty and insecurity in the region.

In November, members of KCP-MC faction killed a 66-year-old farmer in Chigmeirong. He was first abducted and then brutally beaten to death.

Militants regularly target hospitals and government employees. Hurling grenades at soft targets and causing deaths of innocent people are a common feature of these attacks.

In one of the incidents villagers of Nongbrang chased a group of militants suspected to be belonging to Kuki National Front who used to extort money from the poor villagers and lynched two of them.

Unending Violence has affected development and progress of the state.

All that people in Manipur want today is stability and peace so that they can lead normal lives.

RRB Chennai Recruitment 2010 of Assistant Loco Pilot

Railway Recruitment Board Chennai applications are invited from eligible Indian Nationals for the Post of Assistant Loco Pilot Applications.

For candidates residing in Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, Jammu & Kashmir, Lahaul & Spiti districts and Pangi sub-division of Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh, Andaman, Nicobar and Lakshwadeep islands and for candidates residing abroad.

Assistant Loco Pilot - Vacancies 14079 Posts

Vacancies: Ahmedabad - 1440, Ajmer - 693, Allahabad - 1026, Bangalore - 942, Bhopal - 188, Bhubaneshwar - 449, Bilaspur - 1373, Chandigarh - 324, Chennai - 227, Guwahati - 720, Jammu & Srinagar - 210, Kolkata - 1486, Mumbai - 1772, Muzaffarpur - 352, Patna - 491, Ranchi - 834, Secunderabad - 1424, Thriruvananthapuram – 128

Pay Scale: Rs. 5200-20200 Grade Pay Rs. 1900

Last Date: The closing date for receipt of applications by posts will be 17-03-2010

For Detailed Information: http://www.rrbchennai.net/pdf/cen_no_01_2010.pdf

Vacancy For Assistant Professor Jobs at IASST in Guwahati

 

Institute of Advanced Study in Science & Technology, IASST,
(An Autonomous Institute under DST, Govt. of India),
Paschim Boragaon, Garchuk, Guwahati – 781035, Assam, India

Institute of Advanced Study in Science & Technology, IASST, was set up in 1979 by the Assam Science Society with the prime objective of setting up a premier research establishment in the NE region to deal with problems of the north east in particular and the country in general. Application on plain paper are invited from Indian Nationals for the following post :

Job Description: Assistant Professor

No of Post : 05 posts,

Essential Qualification & Experience : Ph. D with consistently good academic record and four years post doctoral experience in the relevant field.
Scale of Pay : Rs. 15600 to 39100/- with grade Pay Rs. 6600/-
Age Limit : Not to exceed 40 years.

How to apply for above post :
Application filled properly and complete in all respect along with bio-data and two recent passport size photographs and attested copies of mark sheets, certificate, reprints of research papers published in cited journals/award of patents. Application should be sent to the Director, Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST) Paschim Boragaon, Garchuk, Guwahati - 781035, Assam, on or before 26.02.2010.

Last Date of Application Submission : 26.02.2010.

Application Form /Advertisement can be viewed here : iasst.in

Insurgents Affecting Loktak Lake Development

Imphal, Feb 1 : Development of the Loktak Lake area of Manipur has been repeatedly affected by insurgent attacks. Militants recently damaged an excavator that was being used to clear Phumdis, or floating bio-mass in the lake.

On January 22, some armed miscreants blew up an excavator that was being used for removing Phumdis or water vegetation at Ningthoukhong in Bishnupur District. Earlier on 14th January, a combined operation was executed by security forces to restrict militant activity in the Loktak Lake area.

A soldier of 33 Assam Rifles was also killed during the operation. According to sources, the bomb was an IED, which was planted inside the excavator. However, there were no casualties. Sources said that armed miscreants placed the bomb to intimidate security forces posted in the area.

It happens early in the morning. We could hear the explosion. But as it was dark and cold outside, we didn't take risk to go out and check. Later, we found out about the damage, said Bira, a local.

Their main object was to attack security forces. Of course, they have done the damage but the damage wasn't up to the desired level for them.

It was a desperate move. We have mobilized all our resources to prevent such happenings, said K. Jayanta Singh, Superintendent of Police, Bishnupur.

Since its inception, the activities of Loktak Development Authority have been severely hampered and interrupted by several militant organizations operating in the state.

To tackle the problem, from January 6, 2010, the work of the LDA has resumed once again after the state Governments decision to enforce stringent security measures in the area. Excavators are being used to remove excess Phumdis from 132-lakh cubic meters of the lake.

The lost is not only for LDA but for the whole state. Destroying of such costly machine is not right. The output in a year produced by the machine will be reduced. It shouldn't have happened, said KH. Ingocha Singh, Assistant Store Keeper, LDA.

Loktak Lake, which is the largest fresh water lake in the Northeast region, is under the risk of rampant growth of Phumdis.

In order to save the ecology of the lake, the task of removing these floating biomasses is taken up by Loktak Development Authority under the Special Plan Assistance Action plan of the Wetland International-South Asia and the Planning Commission.

A fund of Rs 378 crores is utilized for this assignment and the target years for accomplishment is three years.

IRCS to Help Rescued Northeast Kids Reunite With Parents

By J Jeyasingh Satyaraj

  Tirunelveli, Feb 1 : A week after the rescue of 76 children hailing from Assam and Manipur from an unregistered orphanage in Kanyakumari district, efforts are on to identify the parents of the children, so that they can be handed back to them.

Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) has come forward to help the children with its unique tracing wing especially meant to restore and maintain contact with family members and clarify the fate of persons reported missing.

When contacted, N Krishnamurthy Tracing Officer, IRCS TN branch, said that IRCS has taken the task seriously and was progressing in identifying their families.

According to him, tracing operations carried in Manipur has yielded results whereas in Assam the process was underway. “Initially our counterpart in Manipur experienced difficulty in understanding the language of the boys, as the dialect appeared to be one spoken by the tribal community and later it was confirmed that some of them belong to the Zeliangrong community of Tousem sub-division of Tamenglong District in Manipur which is somewhere near the northern part of India- China border,” he said.

The tracing officer said that IRCS besides tracing the parents has established contacts with the Social Welfare Department of the Manipur government, to take steps to send the children back to Manipur.

Moreover, the ‘Zeliangrong Union ZU’ an apex organization for the community has been talking with the concerned department in TN and has already informed the matter to the Chennai unit of ZU and instructed them to take appropriate action.

AFSPA Has Become Irrelevant: Mooshahary

Shillong, Feb 1 : Meghalaya Governor R S Mooshahary today reiterated that the enforcement of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in the Maoist-dominated states of the Northeast has become irrelevant.

''This Act has been in use for long and has lost its relevance in view of the emerging role of the civil society in violence-prone areas,'' he said, addressing the closing function of the 12th Northeast Region Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (NERCPA) Conference at the Meghalalaya Legislative Assembly here.

Stating that AFSPA has alienated the civil society while fighting insurgency, Mr Mooshahary said, ''We cannot contain insurgency related violence by alienating the citizens; we can do so more effectively by involving them.''

The civil police, which represents the civil society, needs to be strengthened and reliance on the armed forces reduced for greater cooperation with the citizens in fighting insurgency, the former NSG Chief added.

Observing that Meghalaya and Mizoram, which had suffered from the menace of insurgency and terrorism, are now peaceful, while Tripura is also free from insurgency-related violence and so is Nagaland, Mr Mooshahary said.

Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim never had insurgency and violence.

Only Manipur continues to be a difficult state with violence continuing unabated, the Governor said.

Stating that the prolonged insurgency problem is fast changing for the better in the region, Mr Mooshahary said, expressing disappointment to find that seven of the eight North Eastern States are in downward spiral with the net per capita income below the national-level.

Welcoming the Meghalaya Governors rejection of the AFSPA, former Manipur chief minister Radhabinod Koijam said, ''This Act has divided India. This attitude of the Government of India of not treating us at par with other states, which are also afflicted with violence, has alienated the people.''

Heroka Yepthomi Nagaland's Youngest Successful Entrepreneur

By Peter Chachei

Kohima, Feb 1 : Success and rest do not sleep together for a young and successful entrepreneur like Heroka Yepthomi. He is an inspiration for budding entrepreneurs in Nagaland.

Yepthomi's venture "Oasis" packages drinking water. He began with an investment of Rupees 1.5 crore and now has bench strength of 32 members. he bottling plant has been significant in generating employment, both directly and indirectly.

"There is a lot of unemployment in Nagaland. I thought of starting this business to help those guys," Heroka Yepthomi, entrepreneur. Heroka has used state-of-the-art machinery and his plant is highly mechanized.

Currently, the daily turnover is an estimated Rs. one lakh per day.he product from his factory is distributed in Assam, Manipur and other states.

The young entrepreneur has big plans for future, including penetrating the fleet market

Heroka has set the strategic target of expanding the small-scale industry to other states of India by excelling in customer services.

"I started working here since its inception. I was jobless, but after setting up of this bottling plant, I have now got a secure job through which I can sustain myself and support my family. Young entrepreneurs should be encouraged to take up such innovative projects to generate employment opportunities," Ketovi Achumi, a worker staff.

Such innovative projects will inspire young potential entrepreneurs in the region to come out with their own ideas and embark on new ventures. This will eventually assist in the development of the state.

Anti-India Forces Given Shelter in Myanmar

Guwahati, Feb 1 : Stating that the ensuing 2010 elections in neighboring Myanmar is equally important for India, particularly Northeast, Member of Parliament of the Exile Burmese Government Dr Tint Swe today claimed that the existing military regime in Myanmar is giving shelter to ‘anti- Indian’ armed forces.

Indicating that the Military regime in Myanmar is working in tandem with anti-India forces, he appealed to the Ministry of External Affairs (Indian Government) to review its policy on Myanmar.

Dr Swe also said that it would not be right for a country like India to do business or indulge in any bilateral activity with the present regime in Myanmar.

Dr Swe was speaking during a consultation meeting on 2010 election in Myanmar and its implication in Northeast India held at Guwahati Press Club.

The consultation meeting was organized by Burma Centre Delhi and Journalists’ Forum, Assam.

“Both India and China are very important for us and we appeal to them to help restoration of democratic rule in the country,” he said, adding, “I am still hopeful that the Indian Government will take a U-turn as far as its stand about Myanmar is concerned.”

He, however, took exception to a recent statement allegedly made by the Indian Government when it said India is not going to export democracy. “It’s understood that the Indian Government do not want to export democracy but at same time we do not subscribe to them exporting arms to the Military regime,” he reasoned.

Myanmar, it may be mentioned, is going to polls tentatively in October after a gap of almost two decades. The last election was held in 1998, though the regime ignored the results and refused to hand over power.

“It is unlikely that the elections would be free and fair and so we are neither opposing nor endorsing the same,” he said, adding that the amendment committee has been asked to look into the possibility of amendment in the Constitution.

The consultation meeting also aimed at creating space for activists and political actors in Northeast India for restoration of peace, justice and democracy in Myanmar.

BK Nath of Dainik Jugasnaka group and a host of senior journalists including Nava Thakuria were present on the occasion.