Punjab Plans To Send Stray Dogs To Northeast India

Send stray dogs to Northeast states, China: MLAs propose in Assembly

 By Khushboo Sandhu

Chandigarh, Jun 29 : Punjab MLAs have come up with some unique ideas on how to get rid of the state’s stray dog population. From sending the dogs to Northeast states and even China, to formulating laws to kill them, the MLAs had a variety of suggestions to offer during the Assembly session on Thursday.

The discussions were held after a resolution was brought to the House to recommend to the state government that effective steps be taken to control stray dog population in view of the increasing number of dog bite cases.

Congress’ Ajit Inder Singh Mofar, who had mooted the resolution, said that stray dogs could be sent to Nagaland or China. “There is a need to make suitable policy and amend the law to get rid of stray dogs. The dogs can be sent to Nagaland or China, as at these places, dogs are in demand. Laws pertaining to dogs are also different in these states than ours,” Mofar said, adding that there have been many cases of dog bites in the state, with some resulting in death.

The MLAs, however, were careful enough to abstain from mentioning the purpose for which dogs should be sent to north-eastern states.

SAD’s Gurpratap Singh Wadala said that garbage dumps in rural and urban areas are one of the reasons behind the large stray dog population. “In London, New York and other developed countries, there are no stray dogs. This is because there are no garbage dumps where dogs scavenge. Slum dwellers take care of dogs as pets,” he said.

While stressing that there should be laws on dogs, SAD’s Iqbal Singh said that when there can be death penalty for humans, there could be laws to kill dogs as well.

Shiv Ram Kler of the SAD also told the Assembly that more than 15,500 people have been bitten by dogs last year. “There was a need to construct dog pounds on line of cattle pounds where strays will be kept,” he said.

Concern was also expressed over the lack of anti-rabies injections and medicines in the civil hospitals. The MLAs contended that with 10 to 15 cases of dog bites being reported every day at civil hospitals, the supply of medicines should be adequate.

Former health and family welfare minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla said that in February, she had written to Prime Minister’s Office asking for a solution to the problem. “But we never received a reply. It is the duty of the government to get stray dogs off the roads, no matter how they do it. Why are there laws to show mercy to stray dogs when all other animals are butchered?” she asked.

Delhi Police To Give Special IDs To Northeast Students

By Manash Pratim Gohain
New Delhi, Jun 29 : Representatives of students from northeastern states may get quicker access to the city police, to seek redress in cases of harassment and discrimination.

In a meeting between student representatives and special commissioner, law and order, Dharmendra Kumar, it was decided to provide special identity cards to the representatives. Delhi Police will also create a Facebook page for people from the northeast to post their problems on.

The meeting was arranged by Nagaland governor Nikhil Kumar, a former commissioner of Delhi Police. Students spoke about police insensitivity in cases of discrimination and crime against people from the northeastern states.

President of Naga Students' Union, Delhi, Lhusisato Iralu, and founder member of North East helpline Alana Golmei, represented the students.

"We will provide identification cards to five representatives from each state of the region. Each state will have two representatives each in north and south Delhi, and one in east Delhi," said Kumar.

Before meeting the police officers, the student representatives met the Nagaland governor and apprised him of police's indifference towards problems of northeastern students.

They complained that they have to bribe even to get an NOC for sending a corpse home. Kumar promised to take up the issue with the home minister and the Delhi CM. "When people from the northeast accept people from mainland India with their features, and culture, why can't people from mainland India reciprocate? It is basically lack of sensitivity."

The Road Out Of Scarcity

By H.S. Brahma

As a power crisis grips the nation, a look at the long-suffering Northeast

Recently, there was a severe disruption of power supply to the Northeast, especially Assam. This was caused by the sudden collapse of one 400 kV tower in West Bengal supposed to transmit power to the north-eastern region, which was restored immediately. This incident indicates the fragile situation in Northeast India. Added to this, there has been an open admission by both state as well as the Central governments of the growth of Maoists in the Northeast, particularly in upper Assam. This news is important to the people of the region, particularly entrepreneurs and businessmen. However, I would not like to dwell upon this subject for now.

It was reportedly claimed that the agitation against the establishment of a 2,000 MW hydro power station in lower Subansiri along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border was infiltrated by extremists. This recurring issue needs to be immediately resolved so that the power-starved north-eastern states can benefit from this project.

One of the reasons for the poor economic and industrial development in north-eastern India is poor infrastructure and power. All these are severely power-deficit states. Barring Assam and Meghalaya, none can boast of generating significant power either through the hydro or the thermal sector. Even Assam, presently with an installed capacity of about 376 MW, is able to generate only 280 MW, while its demand is more than 1,200 MW. Most of these seven states have a severe power crisis during winter and summer. Therefore, the region’s backwardness could be attributed directly to poor power supply and generation.

The tables indicate the status of all installed capacity (in MW) of power in the Northeast as on March 31, including allocated shares in joint and Central sector utilities.

Even in the agricultural sector, the production of paddy and other products is sub-optimal due to poor infrastructure and lack of power supply during the lean period. Therefore, poor employment opportunities and poor economic status is one of the main reasons for the proliferation of insurgency in these states. A small state like Manipur, with a total population of only 27.21 lakh, has approximately 35 insurgent groups. This could be attributed directly to the lack of infrastructure, failure of rural development agencies, poor connectivity and no employment opportunities for youth. The only source of employment lies in migration.

Therefore, for development, peace and stability in the Northeast, it is imperative that the existing infrastructure and power supply be improved. It is unfortunate that despite the presence of large opportunities in the Northeast (30,000 MW) for small hydro and gas-based thermal power stations, we are yet to tap these resources.

Similar is the case of natural gas, which is flared without usage. Although there is coal in north-eastern India, it is not enough to maintain large thermal power stations. It is fortunate that the NTPC is building one 750 MW coal-based thermal power station near New Bongaigaon with coal imported from central India. This project was taken up when I was working as secretary in the Union power ministry in 2009-10, and it is expected to complete one phase by December 2012 and the remaining in 2013 or early 2014. If this 750 MW power station is completed, there will be some respite, but this is not sufficient to meet the growing demands of the sister states. Hence, there is a need to fast-track power generating stations using natural gas. This warrants immediate stepping up of oil exploration by ONGC in the Northeast.

When one talks about natural gas, one has to look towards Tripura and natural gas-bearing areas on the Assam-Nagaland border. The Central government and state governments of the Northeast should collaborate to explore the possibilities of immediately establishing gas-based power stations. The existing project of Palatana (750 MW) in Tripura, a gas-based power station being built by BHEL, should be expedited. It was reliably learnt that it would be ready for operation by July 2012.

Another area to be pursued vigorously is joint ventures of gas-based power stations in Bangladesh. India will be supplying approximately 200 MW power to Bangladesh. This was agreed upon during 2009, and it was mentioned by Md Abul Kalam Azad, secretary of power division in Bangladesh’s power ministry, last month that Bangladesh will commission the transmission line by 2013. Since India will supply power to Bangladesh, it is desirable to allow NTPC or other PSUs to set up joint venture gas-based power stations in Bangladesh so that India’s expertise and capacity could be beneficial for both countries. The long-pending Tipaimukh hydro power station of 500 MW in Manipur is awaiting implementation due to various issues within government and also certain objections from Bangladesh. This needs to be taken forward.

Similarly, the NEEPCO (North-Eastern Electric Power Corporation Ltd), which is based in Shillong and is the sole agency entrusted with developing power generating capacity for the entire Northeast, should be made more accountable for faster development. This is required because small states like Nagaland, Manipur or Arunachal have neither large funds nor the technical knowhow to develop these projects. Hydro power projects and natural gas projects require very heavy initial investment, with a long gestation period, to become commercially viable. It is difficult to expect these small states to invest such amounts.

Hence, the NEEPCO or other national PSUs should be entrusted with the additional responsibility to implement these projects. While implementing them, due care should be taken to ensure that natural resources and people’s livelihood are not disturbed. We should cause minimal damage to the natural habitats of local indigenous peoples in remote hill areas of these states. In fact, some of the major hydro-electric projects in the Northeast, especially in Arunachal, have been stalled due to these issues.

Finally, what we require is our national resolve and fortitude to plan, execute and commission these projects for the larger benefit of the country.

The writer is Election Commissioner of India and former Secretary, Ministry of Power, Views expressed are personal

Airlines May Get Subsidy To Fly To Northeast India

New Delhi, Jun 29 : Government is considering a proposal to provide subsidy to private airlines operating flights on loss-making routes in the north eastern region.

Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) came out with the proposal after a few private airlines, including Jet Airways, sought government clearance to scale down their flights to the region to stem operating losses.

If the proposal is approved, private airlines may get a subsidy of Rs 35 crore annually for operating flights to the routes in the north eastern states, which are economically unviable but socially important, officials said.

DoNER Ministry has been providing Alliance Air, an Air India subsidiary, an annual subsidy of Rs 35 crore for operating flights in the region but as services of the airline were not found "satisfactory", government was rethinking on continuing the assistance.

"We are considering giving the subsidy to those private airlines which operate flights to non-commercial destinations in the region. We will talk to Civil Aviation Ministry before taking a final decision," DoNER Minister Pawan Singh Ghatowar told reporters while briefing on the outcome of 61st Plenary meeting of the North East Council here yesterday.

After posting a loss of Rs 298 crore in the last quarter, Jet Airways sought government clearance to scale down operations to the north eastern region by about half.

Operations in the north east are guided by the government's Route Dispersal Guidelines (RDG) which entail that all Indian carriers fly to the north east and other remote parts of the country, more so as a social obligation.

Demanding better connectivity, DoNER and NEC have been urging Civil Aviation Ministry to review RGDs as air connectivity has remained neglected in these far-flung areas inspite of them.

According to the guidelines, domestic airlines are required to fly at least 10 per cent of their deployed capacity on metro routes to the north east, Jammu and islands of Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep.

In the recent NEC meeting, a number of chief ministers and governors of the northeastern states sought better connectivity to the region, saying improving road, rail and air links to the area would help boost economic growth.

They also expressed concern over slow progress of a number of key infrastructure projects and decided to meet the Prime Minister soon to apprise him about their views.

In 2010, government had announced an ambitious project for linking all capital cities in the northeastern states with railway network at an estimated investment of Rs 17,000 crore by 2016.

But, Ghatowar said, most of the railway projects are running behind schedule.

"The law and order situation has improved to a great extent. So, we think the pace of work should go up," he said.

Resolving to encourage the tourism sector, Ghatowar said the NEC meeting decided to develop eight tourist circuits, one each in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura in a time-bound manner.

"We will spend Rs 30 crore initially to prepare the detailed project report," he said.

Ghatowar said no headway has been made on the proposal to construct an alternative highway to Imphal through Jiribam.

Construction of an alternative road was envisaged last year after life in Manipur was crippled for almost four months following economic blockade of NH 39 by Naga groups. The NH 39, which goes through Nagaland, is lifeline for Manipur.

Floods Kill 27, Displace 900,000 in Northeast India

A mahout moves an elephant to higher ground as villagers padddle with their belongings through flood waters in the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, some 55km from Guwahati, the capital city of the north-eastern state of Assam on June 28, 2012. At least 27 people have died and 900,000 others have been forced to leave their homes as monsoon rains swamp wide areas of the north-eastern Indian state of Assam, officials said on Thursday. -- PHOTO: AFP

Guwahati, Jun 29 : At least 27 people have died and 900,000 others have been forced to leave their homes as monsoon rains swamp wide areas of the north-eastern Indian state of Assam, officials said on Thursday.
A state government spokesman said 21 of Assam's 27 districts were hit by flash floods which began last weekend as the rains lashed the tea and oil-rich Indian state.

'So far, 27 people have died in separate incidents including five who were killed when their boat sank,' Assam Agriculture Minister Nilamoni Sen Deka told AFP in Guwahati, the state's largest city.

Flash Flood in Manipur

Imphal, Jun 29 : A flash flood triggered by incessant rains for the past several days has affected thousands of people, inundated several villages and washed away 40 houses in Jiribam sub-division of Manipur's Imphal East district.

Official sources said on Thursday the water level of different rivers in the district have, however, started receding as rains stopped and the weather cleared.

According to Jiribam police, four persons were still missing.

Among them is a 27-year-old man who was swept away by the overflowing Jiri river in Jiribam, which borders Assam after saving his uncle from drowning in the flood waters on Wednesday. The body is yet to be recovered.

The flash flood inundated the Jiribam market and several villages including Sanathong, Ningthembam, Patchao besides washing away 40 houses at Khusoithok nearby Jiribam town.

The flood affected have been provided shelter in different relief camps, the sources said adding more than 1,300 people were kept at the Jiribam Junior High School.

Reports from Jiribam said authorities have started surveying to assess the damage and affected persons to provide government assistance.

Reports from other districts said major rivers including Jiri, Imphal (Imphal district), Iril (in Imphal) have started receding fast as rains stopped on Thursday and the weather brightened in the valley districts.

Imphal river which was flowing near the danger level on Wednesday started receding fast and state Irrigation Minister Ngamthang Haokip ordered the opening of Ithai barrage to allow the water to flow into Loktak lake.

Pic Courtesy: George Vaiphei

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.