Hmar Refugees 'Protected' As Per Rule Book: Mizoram

Aizawl, May 22 : The Mizoram government today clarified that the Hmar refugees, who took Shelter in the state in the wake of ethnic violence in Assam during past two years, were given protection as per "standard operation procedure".

The government's statement was in reaction to reports in some vernacular dailies that the displaced Hmars were denied job cards under the NREGS, which sparked off a hot debate in the social networking sites as the Hmars belong to Mizo tribes.

According to the official statement, 39 Hmar families living along Jatinga (Assam) to Bairabi (Mizoram) railway fled to Mizoram during October 14-17, 2011.

While some families were given shelter in makeshift camps in Bairabi, some families stayed with their relatives in other villages.

"Besides giving them free ration, the Mizoram government also provided them with special scheme of daily employment," the statement said.

"However, as the internally displaced people are supposed to be enrolled in the electoral roll and have job cards in their own state, the Mizoram government barred them from getting every facility it provides to the citizens," it added.

As normalcy returned to the Dima Hasao district, all the refugees returned to their homes by October 24 last year, said the government's release.

The government made it clear that there is an all India standard operation procedure to deal with internally displaced persons, and it is under this procedure that the Tripura government has been treating the Bru refugees from Mizoram during the last 14 years.

The Bru refugees were never given job cards by the Tripura government, it said.

It also made it a point that many Hmar families who fled their home states of Manipur and Assam following communal conflicts during the period of 1990 to 2003 have permanently settled in different villages and towns in Mizoram. Understanding their situation, the Mizoram government has never made any attempt to send them back. On the contrary, it treats them equally with the permanent citizens of Mizoram, the statement said.

It's Been Difficult To Reach The Olympics: Mary Kom

By Ismat Tahseen

India's entrant, boxer Mary Kom, chats with BT on finally making her dream come true. India's entrant, boxer Mary Kom, chats with BT on finally making her dream come true.

Mary Kom aka Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom is about to do what no other Indian woman has done before. She's got an Olympic berth (for the first time women's boxing will be included in the programme), making her India's official hope for a gold medal.

Speaking to BT, the 29-year-old who returned on Sunday night from China after competing at the Women's World Boxing Championship event - the only Olympics qualifier for women's boxing - Mary is counting the days to the London extravaganza.

"I don't know yet if I shall be at the inauguration or just go for my event, but I'm thrilled either way," she said.

"It's been difficult to reach here but I'm proud. I hope that I can inspire women in India. We can do much for the sport if the ministry and federation provide the right facilities," she says.

For the first time, she will be taking on the 51-kilo category, having won her last world titles at 48kg. But there is no case of nerves. "I'm not scared, I can face anything, so bring it on!" she laughs. What might worry Mary is when things take on an ugly turn. "Sometimes partiality surfaces, like when a referee might give points to say, a European side. That's why I pray hard the second I enter the ring. I find myself asking God for a fair bout; winning and losing is in His hands."

She knows a thing or two about overcoming pain and obstacles, having taken up boxing at 17 and faced several hardships along the way, with her training being managed by Olympic Gold Quest. Despite a two-year sabbatical (where she got married and had twins) some years ago, she came back to the ring to win two more world championships. In fact, her struggle is also going to be depicted in a movie soon. She affirms. "I am already in an agreement to make a movie on my life. They are finding an actress to play the part and I have heard Rani's name being floated; I wonder how she'll play Mary Kom!" she giggles.

She's also juggling between managing her boxing academy with husband Onler Kom back in Manipur and taking care of her little boys. "I don't want them to take up boxing ever," says the champion, her softer side coming through. "I don't want my kids getting hurt."

Santosh Trophy: Mizoram vs Tamil Nadu Clash Turns Violent

Bhubaneswar, May 22 : On-field violence left a player injured in a quarter-final match of the Santosh Trophy National Football Championship between Tamil Nadu and Mizoram at the Kalinga stadium here on Monday.

In the 53rd minute of the match in which Tamil Nadu beat Mizoram 4-3, the referee red-carded Mizo defender Lal Chhawn Kima for intentional hand-balling to save a free-kick off V R Murugappan of Tamil Nadu and awarded a penalty in favour of the opposition.

However, the Mizos protested the decision and pulled up the referee with abuse and virtually manhandling him. As Tamil Nadu players came in support of the referee, Mizos turned their ire on the opposition and were seen coming to blows in the middle.

In the melee, one Mizo player Lalbiakulua sustained bleeding injury on his nose after being allegedly thrashed by a Tamil Nadu player.

As violence took the centre stage, the play remained suspended for 10 minutes during which the injured player was administered first-aid.

Besides Murugappan and Kima, three others - R Naveen Kumar (Namil Nadu) and Lalrinfela and F Lalrinpuia (Mizoram) - were red-carded for indulging in violence.

Mizoram To Have Normal Gas Supply By Mid-June

Aizawl, May 21 : Mizoram will hopefully have normal gas supply by the middle of June, IOC officials said here today. Reiterating that the gas crisis is a national phenomenon, the IOC officials said that Mizoram is one of the least affected states.

While the shortfall in northern region as of May 3 came to 10828 metric tonnes; it was 6780 metric tonnes in western region, 36313 metric tonnes in southern region and 11677 metric tonnes in eastern region, they said.

"While the backlog in Assam was 5905 metric tonnes, it is 500 metric tonnes in Mizoram," an IOC official said during a meeting with Mizoram's food, civil supplies & consumer affairs minister H Rohluna at the latter's office. Shortage of LPG supply in the international market has bad affected India, they said.

Saudi Arabia's heavy reduction in its gas supply was said to be the major cause of the kitchen fuel's shortage.

India produces about six lakh metric tonnes of LPG against its requirement of seven lakh metric tonnes. The other factors behind the LPG shortage in Mizoram were the recent technical failures and fire that disrupted four oil refineries in the Northeast - Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL), Digboi Refinery, OIL Refinery Duliajan and Guwahati Refinery. NRL that produces 4000 metric tonnes of bulk LPG was closed from April 7 due to a fire incident. It is expected to reopen from June 15. The shortfall in bulk supply to Haldia port in West Bengal was also another factor. Rohluna requested the IOC officials to increase its allocation to Mizoram from 1650 metric tonnes to at least 2000 metric tonnes.

He said that due to the nation-wide shortage, IOC allocated only 1240 metric tonnes to Mizoram during April. Mizoram received 1698 metric tonnes in February and 1873 metric tonnes in March. The IOC officials promised to consider Mizoram's proposal to transfer LPG stock from Borkhola bottling plant in Assam to Mualkhang bottling plant near Aizawl to curb gas tampering on the road.

The IOC officials also granted transfer of consumer cards to 88 consumers in Khamrang village and several others in Aizawl who wanted to shift to a new distributor in Seling. Upgradation of Mualkhang gas bottling plant was also discussed during the meeting. From the IOC, A Panda, (executive director, Assam Oil Division), P Dey, (general manager, North East Integrated State Office), A C Sharma (deputy general manager, LPG) and M K K Peggoo (SDRSM, Silchar) attended the meeting.

Power-Rich Northeast Consumes Far Less Electricity Than Rest Of India

Guwahati, May 21 : The northeast, often touted as the country's reservoir of hydel power, has the lowest per capita consumption of electricity in the country. According to a reply by minister of state for power K C Venugopal in the Lok Sabha, the combined per capita power consumption of electricity of northeastern states during 2009-10 was 249.65KW per hour, compared to the national average of 778.63KW.

The minister said that the government has taken several steps to increase availability of power in the country, which will in turn lead to enhancement in per-capita availability of power. The measures include acceleration in generating capacity addition during the 11th Plan following which new capacity of 54,964MW was added compared to the capacity addition of 21,180MW achieved in the 10th Plan.

Venugopal added that rigorous monitoring of the ongoing capacity addition programme, initiative for augmentation of domestic manufacturing capacity of power plant equipment, development of ultra mega power projects of 4000MW each, harnessing surplus captive power into the grid, renovation, modernization and life extension of old and inefficient generating units, development of an extensive network of high voltage transmission for transfer of power from surplus to deficit regions are the other steps currently being implemented.

The minister's reply shows that along with northeastern states, the per capita power consumption in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Lakshadweep, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh was also far lower than the national average in 2009-10. Dadra and Nagar Haveli showed the highest per capita consumption of 11,708.59KW per hour while Bihar had the lowest per capita consumption of just 117.48kW per hour.

Among the northeastern states, the per capita consumption of power every hour was 209.21KW in Assam, 207.15KW in Manipur, 613.36KW in Meghalaya, 242.39KW in Nagaland, 223.78KW in Tripura, 503.27KW in Arunachal Pradesh and 429.31KW in Mizoram.

MHA Advisory Over Northeastern ‘Profiling’

By Namrata Biji Ahuja

New Delhi, May 20 : The Union home ministry on Friday asked states to adopt a 'zero tolerance' policy against 'racial profiling and discrimination faced by Indian citizens of Northeastern states'.

In an advisory sent to all states and UTs, the MHA has suggested stringent measures, including action against police officers if they fail to act on a complaint or any information received from a citizen hailing from the Northeast, regarding a cognizable offence.

The move follows deaths of two Northeastern students, Dana Sangma and Richard Loitam in Gurgaon and Bengaluru in April, amid allegations that they fell victim to racial bias.

The MHA has said, “Where a complaint or if any information is received from a citizen hailing from the Northeast, regarding a cognizable offence and no follow-up action is taken, then a serious view should be taken against the police officer concerned and also against the officer-in-charge of the police station.”

It says if the complainant is a member of the Scheduled Tribe, then the provisions of Section 4 of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act should be invoked. This section prescribes imprisonment between six months to one year for a public servant who is not a member of the SC or ST communities and wilfully neglects his duties under the Act.

Toll-free helplines should be made available, where services of any officer or any operator conversant with English must be provided, since it is possible that the complainants may not be able to communicate in the local languages, says the home ministry.

The letter points to reports that people originating from the North Eastern states are facing discrimination 'as they are addressed with derogatory adjectives or face discrimination in the form of targeted attacks, assault, molestation and other atrocities'. This has caused considerable anguish and distress in the minds of the people from the North east, it says.

The home ministry says, "Quick action by the police would restore confidence not only of the victim but also of the community and send a clear message to the accused that such behaviour would not be tolerated.”

It says when complaints are received from a person belonging to the North-East, particularly from women, the 'level of sensitivity and response should be of an even higher level'.’

The states have also been asked to arrange outreach programmes , under supervision of DCPs or district SPs , in areas of northeast congregation to meet community leaders of such groups and address their concerns.

A Weird Pig in Churachandpur, Manipur

A weird Pig, with trunk like an elephant and one eyes in Churachandpur, Manipur, India.

Jayalalithaa Appeals to National Parties To Back Sangma For President

By R Satyanarayana

Jayalalithaa made a plea to all political parties to back the former Lok Sabha speaker.

Chennai, May 18 : A day after she announced support for P A Sangma's candidature for the presidential polls, Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa made a plea to all political parties to back the former Lok Sabha speaker.

In a brief statement, the chief minister said, "I now appeal to all political parties to rise above political considerations and support Sangma and ensure that he becomes the next President of India."

On Thursday, soon after Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik announced his support for Sangma's candidature, Jayalalithaa took political circles by surprise in quickly joining him in backing the senior parliamentarian. The move indicated that the issue had been discussed at length by the two leaders when Patnaik was in Chennai on a two-day visit recently for the Odisha Day celebrations. Sangma too had called on the Tamil Nadu chief minister on Tuesday last, accompanied by daughter and Union minister of state for rural development Agatha.

In a statement on Thursday, Jayalalithaa made a strong bid for Sangma saying that in the past 60 years of the Indian Republic, while eminent personalities belonging to various communities and diverse walks of life had graced the office of the Rashtrapati, no one belonging to a tribal community had had this opportunity so far. "Sangma not only belongs to a tribal community but is also eminently qualified to be the President of our great nation," she had stated.

Jayalalithaa's move to take centre-stage on the presidential polls is seen in political circles as a strategic step forward to grab a role for herself in national politics. During her rule in the state so far, Jayalalithaa has repeatedly attempted to position herself as a leader with strong views on national issues and displayed a desire to be more than a mere regional player.