Declare Assam Flood Problem National Calamity

New Delhi: Expressing concern over the flood situation in Assam and the North-East, the BJP on Wednesday said the relief package of Rs 500 crore announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was meagre and demanded that the government declare the problem as a 'national calamity'.

"Of the 27 districts in Assam, 23 are affected by floods. 20 Lakh people have been displaced, crops destroyed, fields filled with sand (making them infertile), several cattle have died or been lost.... The relief package of Rs 500 crore announced by the Prime Minister is too less," BJP general secretary Vijay Goel told reporters.
Goel was a part of the team sent by BJP president Nitin Gadkari to Assam to study the flood situation there. General Secretary Kiran Maheshwari and Meerut MP Rajendra Agarwal were the other members of the team.

Goel maintained that the extent of damage in Assam was such that an amount of Rs 2000-4000 Crore will be required to deal with the destruction caused by the floods.
He said the amount of Rs 10,000 for those whose houses have been completely damaged and Rs 5,000 for those partially damaged is inadequate. This should be increased to Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000, respectively, he said.
"The floods should be declared a national calamity", Maheshwari demanded through a statement.
Goel said two rhinocerous and several deer had died in the Upper Assam region due to the floods.
The party also charged that though floods are a regular feature in Assam but no efforts have been made to find permanent solutions like building and strengthening dams and studying the behaviour pattern of the Brahmaputra river.

“Stop Segregating Hmar people”

Aizawl, Jul 4 : The Hmar Students’ Association (HSA) today demanded that the Government of Mizoram stop segregating the Hmar people.

In a memorandum submitted to the Mizoram government, Hmar students' body reacted to the direction of state government of Mizoram to take measures not to allot/issue house pass/site to the 'Hmar refugees'; measures to segregate them from the local population and not to issue job cards under MGNREGS to the Hmars in Mizoram and measures be taken not to enroll the Hmar refugees in the ensuing Special Revision of Electoral Roll, 2012 in Mizoram.

The memorandum stated that Vanhela Pachuau, Chief Secretary, Government of Mizoram along with officials from various departments convened a meeting on October 20, 2011 at 11:30 a.m. and derived a segregationist resolution under Memo No. D. 32020/24/2010-HMS dt. 21.11.2011, which was directed to the Hmar tribe, one of the Mizo tribes of Mizoram. According to the minutes of the meeting, R. Lalremsanga, Under Secretary to the Government of Mizoram, Home Department was directed by the government to take necessary actions against the Hmar tribe on mentioned above points.  

“The order, by ostracizing the Hmar tribe, spelt out measures to deny the community of their constitutional and citizenship rights. It stands against the rightful interests of a community whose rights and entitlement cannot be suppressed by a bias and unjust order. The insensitive order is detrimental to the unity and integration of the Mizos; it stands opposed to the collective interests of the same and negates the Hmar tribe of their fundamental rights. The assented order is parallel to the Nuremberg Laws that was dictated by Adolf Hitler under the Nazis,” said the memorandum. The memorandum further stated that the Hmar peoples cannot be “refugees” in Mizoram; and shall never be.

Taking strong exception on the govt order, the students body said that the virtue-less and ill founded political order is anti-people and undemocratic. The Hmar peoples' shall never accept the attrition and persecution that is directed to us; it is unconstitutional and despotic. The Hmar peoples' shall not be fragmented by such communal and abominable order. The abstruse order of the Home Department, Government of Mizoram amounts to a pogrom and genocide of Hmar peoples' rights. The Government of Mizoram is doggedly institutionalising injustice against the Hmar peoples' with the uncalled-for order. The memorandum signed by HSA Gen Hqrs. President Lalthlamuana Hmar and various president of  The Government of Mizoram ought to stop its “segregationist” attempt to outcast the Hmar peoples' from Mizoram, it asserted. It will remain a vain attempt and instead revive a primitive tribal phenomenon rather than a consequential political one, the HSA memo stated. The Government of Mizoram must end its segregationist commitment, further stated in the memorandum.

The students' body demanded the Home Department, Government of Mizoram to immediately abrogate and withdraw its 'inhumane order' and secure the rights and entitlement of the Hmar peoples' of Mizoram according to the Constitution of India; stop targeting the Hmar peoples' as outsiders or “Refugees”; stop segregating the Hmar peoples' and the Hmar peoples' of Mizoram be granted the rights to house pass/site, job card under MGNREGS and register in the electoral roll/census.

Mizoram To Get Power Tariff Hiked

Aizawl, Jul 4 : An average of 10.16 percent power tariff hike for domestic consumers in Mizoram is likely to come into effect from August one, despite strong protest from consumers' union and local NGOs.

The power & electricity has proposed to charge Rs 10.50 per kilowatt for domestic consumers using one to 50 kilowatt, Rs 25 per kilowatt for 100 to 200 kilowatts and Rs 80 per kilowatt for those consuming 201 kilowatts.

During a public hearing conducted by the joint electricity regulatory commission (JERC) for Manipur and Mizoram here today, the department officials stated that hike in power tariff is inevitable to mitigate the huge revenue loss.

Mizoram Upa Pawl (senior citizens association), other NGOs, who attended the public hearing voiced strong opposition to the proposal, saying that it is untimely. The Mizoram Consumers' Union insisted that the state power & electricity department be first privatised as demanded by the Central Electricity Act 2003 and make proper assessment on profit and loss before revising power tariff.

There are a number of issues like illegal connections bypassing metre box, excess workforce that need to be first settled before hiking power tariff, a representative of MCU said.

In response to this, JERC for Manipur and chairperson H Bihari Singh explained that the hike in power tariff was inevitable showing the price rise and the high cost at which the state purchases power from outside.

After considering merits and demerits of the proposal, the JERC will prepare new power tariff within 15 days.

70,000 Plus Buddhists Residents in Mizoram

Aizawl, Jun 3 : More than 70 thousand Buddhists live in Christian-dominated Mizoram and they constitute the second largest religious group in the state, Statistical Abstract of Mizoram, 2011 said.

Recently approved by the Centre, the report says that a total of 70,494 Buddhists live in Mizoram.

State Economics and Statistics department officials said that Buddhists were mainly Chakmas inhabiting the western belt of the state.

They mostly live in the south western part of the state where Chakmas were given a separate autonomous district council in 1972, sources said.

The population was based on the Census 2001 in which the number of Christians was placed at 7,72,809.

Buddhist community was followed by Hindus at 31,562 and by Muslims at 19,326, the report said.

There were 326 Sikhs, and 179 people following Jainism and 3,105 classified as others.

Separate DU Freshers’ Party For Northeast Students

Do 'special' freshers' bashes, only for DU's north-eastern students, do more damage than good?

It's admission time in Delhi University, which will soon be followed by numerous freshers' parties. The trend of freshers' bashes, though not new, has seen several changes, and one of them is the organization of community-based freshers' parties in the campus. Some students from north-east India, who study in the north campus of Delhi University, mainly Ramjas College, Hansraj College and Kirori Mal College, organize separate freshers' parties exclusively for students from north-east.

Hindu College too had such a party last year, but with a happy modification in the concept by making it all-inclusive. "At Hindu, the freshers' ceremony takes the form of a 'cultural integration programme' where the north-eastern students display their skills and put up stalls, and students from other parts of India are invited to take part in the ceremony," said a student of the college. However, separate freshers and farewell parties, exclusively for the north-eastern students are organized apparently at the hostel of Hindu College.

We spoke to some Delhi University students to find out why, according to them, is there a need for exclusive freshers' parties for north-eastern students apart from the departmental and the college ones. While some students said it is an important tool for interaction between newcomers and seniors, others disagreed with the concept and saw it as an act that promotes groupism.

It's a defence against discrimination

"The freshers' party gives us a chance to make sure that the juniors get to know their seniors and can contact them when they have problems. Our only aim is to make sure that the freshers feel more comfortable. They should be able to fight the discrimination." - Ronika, Ramjas

"We are called 'chinki' and 'momo people'. I am from Manipur and we hardly ever eat any momos there. The freshers' party makes sure that we do not feel alienated." - Chinglen, Hansraj

"It is more like a welcome party. It helps us remain united. The discrimination is more felt than heard. North-eastern girls are looked at in a different way, as if they are 'easy' and free" - Krispa, Ramjas

It is harmless

"It is like a two-edged sword. The north-eastern students stay in groups because they feel discriminated against, and we do not talk to them because they stay in groups. If exclusive parties organised for them make them feel better, I am OK with it." - Akash, Kirori Mal

"We have different food habits and we can't speak Hindi. Inside the campus, we feel safer because we can talk to others in English, but it does not feel great when people look at you differently in the Metro or when the landlord wants to overcharge you because you can't bargain in Hindi. If the university forms an official group for north-eastern students where the north-eastern students from all Delhi University colleges can meet, there will be no need for these parties." - Asker, Hindu
"It is more or less harmless. It's not like the entire class hangs out together all the time anyway." - Kriti, Ramjas

"It helps us make friends as we can talk to them in our own language. I have not felt any discrimination myself though. Making friends, especially inside the campus, is easy." - Alfred Roger, Hansraj College

It's a self-contradictory act

"These parties can promote groupism. We do not have any at our college. Department and college freshers' parties are enough for me. There are people from West Bengal and South India too, and we are all classmates at the end of the day." - Ajmal, Zakhir Hussain College

"Although it can be seen as a way of strengthening cultural ties, it can be counter-productive too. Such exclusive parties may deepen the already existing divide between the students." - Mihir, Ramjas

"It is not about being different, it is just that we are distinct. We have a distinct culture and we need interaction."- Hefajuddin, graduate and former VP of the Manipur Students Association, Delhi

N.E. student associations too

There are also institutions like MSAD (Manipur Students' Association, Delhi) and NSUD (Naga Students' Union, Delhi) that work for the welfare of these students. "Speaking in a different language and having a different appearance makes the students feel alienated. We just want to help them. We complete their admission processes for them so that they do not have to come to Delhi early. And we organize a prize distribution ceremony at the end of the year," said Shafikulhaque Mohd, president, MSAD.

While students like Ronika think that "the prize distribution ceremony is encouraging", Asker thinks that "the university should organize prize distribution ceremonies for students from north-eastern India".

"But what is the need for all the 'separate' and 'exclusive' things? All meritorious students are awarded in the annual prize distribution ceremony irrespective of where they are from," said Arpan, a student at Venkateswara College.

North-East Faces Flood Fury, North India Left Parched

New Delhi, Jun 3 : The monsoon has wreaked havoc with its presence as well as absence in different parts of the country. While many areas in the North-East have been flooded, leaving thousands of people homeless, there are no signs of rains in North India, which is reeling under the heat wave along with unprecedented power cuts and water crisis.

Floods and landslides have left 77 people dead and six are reportedly missing in Assam and all of its 27 districts are facing monsoon fury. The Kaziranga and other wildlife sanctuaries haven't been spared either.

The Army, the IAF and National Disaster Relief Force personnel are involved in rescue and relief operations.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi have reached Jorhat to oversee relief operations in the rain-hit areas.

Floods have also rendered 75,000 people homeless in Meghalaya. The Brahmaputra and the Kapili rivers are flowing above the danger mark at various places.

Meanwhile, North India is dry and has been awaiting the rains hoping for some relief from the scorching heat. It was a sultry Sunday in Delhi at 43.5 degrees Celsius and temperatures in other states were way above normal too. The minimum in Delhi stayed four notches above normal to settle at 31.4 degrees Celsius, the Met office said. The Bhakra Nangal Dam has critically low level of water in its reservoirs.

Uttar Pradesh continued to bear the brunt of searing heat with Allahabad recording the highest at 45.1 deg C. The temperature was largely above normal in Varanasi, Allahabad, Kanpur, Moradabad, Jhansi, and Agra divisions, however, the day temperatures fell in Faizabad division, according to MeT.

The data released by the weather office shows that rainfall has been 31 per cent deficient so far, 83 per cent of the country, including the granary states of Punjab and Haryana, have received deficient or scanty rainfall.
Heat wave in Rajasthan also showed no signs of abating as temperature in Churu district touched 46 degree Celsius followed by Sriganganagar at 45.8 deg C.

But the Met department insists that rains are on the way and are likely to hit North India and revive in the South by later this week. Met officials also say that the temperatures will drop drastically in the north.

For now, however, North India is struggling to get power and water with no drop of rain. The farmers are now frequently taking their protests to the streets in Kurukshetra where there is an acute power shortage. Dozens of villages there get only just over four hours of power per day.

This year has seen a delayed onset of monsoon rains over Kerala and they have been making a sluggish progress drawing concerns from the farming community.

It still remains to be seen whether the Met department's claims for North India are accurate even as the North-East continues to be flooded.

Handshake Concert: Naga Bands Rock Bangkok

Officials of Rattle & Hum Music Society -Theja Meru and Khriehu Liezietsu are seen here with Smitthi Bhiraleus - the founder, CEO and Managing Director of VERY Inc and MTV Thailand, after their meeting to discuss about the Handshake Concert to be held in Bangkok this year on June 21 to celebrate World Music Day. Naga bands and individual musicians and folk artistes rocked Thailand capital Bangkok at the Handshake Concert to commemorate World Music Day.

The event, an initiative of Nagaland-based Rattle and Hum Music Society, was supported by the Nagaland government and Thailand’s ministry of trade and commerce.

“The cultural event showcasing vibrant performances by artistes from both countries, was held at the convention centre of Centara Grand, Bangkok,” the society’s chief patron Khriehu Liezietsu told HT from Kohima.

Nagaland presented some of its finest artists such as Zowe Madrigal, Tetseo Sisters, OFF, Avancer and Kenei Chale besides dance troupes from the Sumi and Zeliang communities. The 35-member Naga contingent packaged traditional, modern rock, Broadway and soul music.

The entourage was led by Nagaland’s minister of health and family welfare Azo Nienu, Music Task Force advisor Nicky Kire and press secretary to the chief minister Abu Metha. Apart from Liezietsu, the society was represented by entrepreneur-musician Theja Meru.

More Than Half Of Mizoram Families Own TV

Aizawl, Jun 29 : Not only that there is no homeless people in Mizoram, more than half of the families in the state own a television set and other electronic devices.

The Census 2011, which was reviewed at a workshop organised by the directorate of census operation at Aijal Club today, indicated that a whopping 55.1 per cent of the total families in Mizoram own television sets while everyone has a home to live in.

There are 221,077 households in Mizoram of which 145,538 families (65.8 per cent) live in their own houses, and 70,297 families (31.8 per cent) live in rented houses and 5,247 (2.4 per cent) live in other houses, which may include staff quarters.

Of the total 221,077 families, 203,185 have toilet facilities in within the premises of their houses, while 3,342 families (1.5 per cent) use public toilets and 14,550 families (6.6 per cent) go for open defecation. No family in urban area either use public toilet or practise open defecation, the Census revealed.

While 62.3 per cent live in good houses, 34.9 per cent live in livable houses and the remaining 2.8 per cent live in dilapidated houses. There are no homeless people.

While 58.7 per cent use tap water, 26.1 per cent still depend on water collected from rivers and other sources, including well, hand-pump, and lake.

Significantly, 72.7 per cent of households in Mizoram have telephone connectivity, with only 1.7 per cent having landline, 63.9 per cent having mobile phone and 7.2 per cent having both.

While 55.1 per cent of families have televisions, 2.5 per cent have computers with internet facilities and 12.7 per cent own computers without internet.

While 13.8 per cent families own scooters, motorcycles or mopeds, 7.3 per cent own four-wheeler vehicles.

As much as 84.2 per cent of families use electricity as the main source of lighting, 13.5 per cent use kerosene, 1.3 per cent use solar lamps, 0.6 use other source while another 0.3 per cent have no lighting facility in their houses.

While 52.5 per cent of households use LPG/PNG for cooking, 44.5 per cent still use firewood and the remaining households use other fuels, including kerosene, coal, charcoal, biogas, etc.

Of the total 221,077 families in Mizoram, 51.57 per cent are living in urban areas while 47.70 per cent live in rural areas, the Census 2011 data revealed.