Toyota looks to enhance operations in India's North East

Guwahati: Japanese car giant Toyota plans to increase operations in India's North Eastern region, where its sales have grown at double the national average of 3 percent annually.

The company, which is present in India through a joint venture with Kirloskar group, is looking to set up an area office in the North East considering its rising importance.

"The North East market is currently growing by 6 percent in our representative segment against a national growth of 3 percent. It is expected that in the second half of the year, the North East market will show much healthier growth," Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) Senior Vice President and Director (Sales and Marketing) N Raja said.

The North East market contributes 20 percent of the total eastern market, therefore making it very significant region for TKM, he added.

Last month, TKM sold 11,215 units in India, down 6.6 percent as compared to 12,007 units in August 2013.

With rising sales in the eight states of the North East, the auto maker plans to strengthen presence in the region.

"We do intend to establish an Area Office in Guwahati at the right time in future," Raja said without giving any timeline for having the establishment.

Currently, the entire North East market is being addressed out of the East Regional Office in Kolkata.

The company, however, has exclusive sales, service and customer relation personnel in the region.
When asked if the company planned to invest in the region for building capacity or other activities, Raja said: "...We will study the market and decide accordingly."

Talking about sales, Raja said petrol variants of TKM models contribute to around 45 percent of sales on an average, while diesel ones contribute to about 55 percent.

"Innova, Etios, Liva, Cross and Fortuner have seen very good response in the North East region. We also have seen growing demand for premium vehicles like Camry and Land Cruiser," he added.

Comparatively a new entrant in the region, TKM is selling approximately 150 cars per month in North East with Assam contributing the highest at an average of 110 units a month.

Talking about future roadmap, Raja said: "We are in the process of establishing and stabilising our network in North East. The customers are now getting the touch and feel of world-class quality of Toyota vehicles and at the same time, the exposure to international sales and service infrastructure."

TKM has six dealerships in the region at Guwahati, Nagaon, Silchar and Dibrugarh in Assam, Dimapur in Nagaland, and Shillong in Meghalaya.

Northeast Civil Society Groups Demand Repeal of AFSPA

Dimapur, Sep 15 :  Civil society groups from the seven sister States of North East, assembled in Gawahati on Thursday to deliberate on the various aspects of the imposition and continuance of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 and took a resolution to take up intensive mobilisation of the masses in the NE to oppose this draconian law and struggle against the AFSPA by linking up with other peoples’ movements in the region.

They also resolved to constitute a North East platform for a broader coordination and coalition of various human rights groups, civil society groups, peoples’ movements at both regional as well as at all-India level by going beyond ethnic, tribal and community affiliations.

The civil organisations also adopted a resolution to lobby with the MPs from NE as well as other sympathetic parliamentarians to facilitate procedural and substantive actions to repeal the AFPSA at the earliest.

The civil society organisations participating in the event were Centre for Research and Advocacy, Human Rights Alert, Manab Adhikar Sangram Samiti, WinG-India, NE Dialogue Forum, Borok People Human Rights Organisation, Barak Human Rights Protection Committee, People’s Right to Information and Development Implementing Society of Mizoram.

Eminent personalities like Prof Apurba Kr Baruah, advocate Bijon Mahajan, writer and social activist Kaka Iralu, Dr Prasenjit Biswas, Professor of Philosophy, NEHU, Babloo Loitongbam, Executive Director, Human Rights Alert, Anjuman Ara Begum, member, WinG-India and Prof Akhil Ranjan Dutta among others spoke on the various aspects of the imposition and continuance of AFSPA.

The cvil society organisations noted that it was on the September 11, 1958 that the President of India signed the Act, and the same day 9/11 is observed as anti-terrorism day. The struggle against State terrorism started on the same day.

People are outraged by the horrendous stories of atrocities committed by the armed forces, including aerial bombing, forced grouping and re-grouping of villages, burning down of villages, enforced disappearances, extra-judicial executions, rape and other forms of sexual violence, torture and inhuman degrading treatment, etc., under the impunity provided by the AFSPA, they observed. The groups also expressed their outrage at the fact that rape and other forms of sexual violence has been used as a weapon of militarisation under the impunity provided by AFSPA.

The groups expressed concern that the AFSPA is being increasingly used to gag and subvert the democratic voices against the unsustainable, predatory and anti-people mega dams and other development projects.

Mizoram Govt Clarifies Centre Has No Intention To Shift NIT

Aizawl, Sep 12 : Mizoram government today said that the Central government did not have any intention to shift out the National Institute of Technology (NIT) from the state due to non-availability of sufficient land for establishment of the NIT campus.

According to an official statement the land allotted for the NIT by the state government near the lone Lengpui airport, about 40 km from Aizawl, after ground demarcation, was found to be smaller than the initial measurement.

"The state Land Revenue and Settlement department issued Land Lease no DLL 58 of 2012 for an area of 164.2 acres to the NIT on October four, 2012," the statement said, adding, however that when the IRCON International undertook ground demarcation in June this year, the allotted land was found to be only 140.16 acres.

The state chief secretary was informed about the shortage and the state Land Revenue and Settlement department has been conducting detailed verification, it said.

Though the Centre wanted 300 acres for the purpose, the required size could not be available in Lengpui area, the statement said.

"It was unfortunate that a press release issued by some people said that the Centre intended to shift the NIT from Mizoram and it was confirmed from Joint Secretary (Technical Education) Ministry of HRD Pravin Prakash that there was no such move," the statement added.

KK Paul to be sworn as Mizoram Governor on 16 Sept

Aizawl, Sep 12 : Meghalaya Governor Krishan Kant Paul is likely to be sworn-in at the Aizawl Raj Bhavan on 16 September to take additional charge of Mizoram's governor, sources in the Raj Bhavan today said.

Paul was appointed to take additional charge of the Governor of Mizoram and Manipur after Manipur governor Vinod Kumar Duggal's resignation was accepted by the President Pranab Mukherjee today.

Governor of Meghalaya, KK Paul. Image courtesy PIB

Duggal, who took additional charge of Mizoram since 8 August last resigned on 27 August.
Mizoram had five governors during this year.

Vakkom Purushothaman resigned on 11 July after he was transferred to Nagaland from Mizoram by the BJP-led NDA government on 6 July.

After Purushotham resigned, Kamla Beniwal who was the governor of Gujarat was transferred to Mizoram. She was sacked as the Governor.

The Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) or the Mizo students federation on September eight faxed a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi protesting frequent transfer of Mizoram governors and urging the latter not to use the state as a dumping ground for governors unwanted by the Centre.

Mizoram Has the Highest Incidence of Cancer from Tobacco: CM

Aizawl, Sep 12 : Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla today said that the state has the highest incidence of cancer due to use of tobacco.

Addressing a function of the observance of the first Mizoram State Anti Tobacco Day in Aizawl, Lal Thanhawla said that the smokers and users of other tobacco products should stop immediately to enjoy healthy life and reduce spending.

The day was observed on the occasion of the 25th raising day of Indian Society on Tobacco and Health (Mizoram Chapter) in which the chief minister's wife Lal Riliani is the founder president.

State chief secretary L Tochhawng said that Mizoram was declared Smoke Free state on June 29, 2011 while all the gutkha products were banned in the state since August 22, 2012.

Mizoram State Anti Tobacco Day was observed all over the state and functions were held in all the eight district headquarters and in some Sub-Divisional headquarters across the state.

A Tale of Two Strikes: Manipur in Freeze Frame

By Alok Pandey

Strike shuts down Manipur capital Imphal

Imphal:  Two parallel strikes have shut down the northeastern state of Manipur.

Various student groups have launched a protest to push for their demand that all from outside the state be allowed entry only with permits. All schools and colleges have been shut indefinitely as the protesters are mostly students and the government fears violence.

The state has been virtually crippled by a highway blockade called by the United Naga Council after the recent death of two Naga activists. Fuel is in short supply and over 300 trucks are stranded on both the highways that lead to state capital Imphal.

The Naga council has decided to end the blockade today, as the state is confronting another emerging crisis.

In the last two days, a dozen people, including students, have been detained by the Manipur police after clashes. On Tuesday, the police had to step in when one group allegedly assaulted a non-Manipuri when he could not produce identification papers that they demanded. The group allegedly also turned on those who tried to stop them, including a young man who is now in hospital.

The groups called a strike yesterday demanding the suspension of the police officer who detained students.

The protesters want "Inner Line Permit Restrictions" across the state to prevent what they believe is a large inrush of outsiders. This means that they want "non-locals" - both Indians and foreigners - to be allowed into Manipur only with a state permit.

The rule is in place in Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. Last year, there was an agitation in Meghalaya for it.

In Manipur, groups have been demanding it for over a year now, and their protests have often turned violent.

Scholarship Scheme For Northeast Students

New Delhi, Sep 12 : Union Minister for Human Resources Development, Smriti Irani, today announced that the UGC has launched a special scholarship scheme – ‘Ishan Uday’ – for students of the Northeast from the academic session 2014-15.

Addressing a press conference, Irani said that the scheme envisages grant of 10,000 scholarships to students from the Northeast, whose parental income is below Rs 4.5 lakh per annum and they would be provided scholarship ranging from Rs 3,500 to 5,000 per month for studying at undergraduate level in colleges and universities of the country.

‘Ishan Vikas’ is a comprehensive plan to bring selected students from the school and college levels from the north-eastern States into close contact with the IITs, NITs and IISERs during their vacation periods.

A typical visit is envisaged for a period of 10 days to one of these institutions, in the form of either an exposure or an internship programme, she said.

Each school will send one teacher to accompany a group of about 32 students of class IX and X. The college students would be organised in two groups in summer and in winter, each consisting of 32 students. About 2016 college students and 504 teachers from NE will be visiting premier institutes like IIT, NIT and IISERs in an academic year.

The summer internship for students from the engineering colleges with stipends and travel will be taken up. From 25 institutions, about 250 students will be visiting 16 IITs and six NITs (to start with, six NITs are being considered) per year, the Minister added.

Mizoram May Retire its Alcoholic, Drug Addict Cops

Aizawl, Sep 11 : The Mizoram government may ask policemen who are chronic alcoholics or drug addicts to leave the job, an official said on Wednesday.

"The state government is considering a proposal to refer the alcoholic or drug addict policemen to a medical board. If the medical board finds them chronic alcoholic or drug addict then they would be asked to leave the job," the home department official said.

He said the government is considering all legal and administrative aspects of retiring such police personnel.

The proposal, mooted by the state home department, was considered at a meeting here on Tuesday. Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla chaired the meeting, where Home Minister R. Lalzirliana, senior home department and police officials participated.

"It was estimated that at least 25 to 30 policemen in each of the state's eight police battalions are either alcoholic or drug addict," the official quoted Lalzirliana as saying.

Alcoholism and drug addiction among the police personnel have become a major problem for the police authorities.

The chief minister and the home minister have also asked senior police officials to take appropriate steps to stop using constables for private works.