Manipur reels under acute power shortage

From Hiyang Athouba

IMPHAL, Aug 7: The Electricity Department in Manipur said to be the den of corruption has been much in the news. It is a little concealed fact that the officials construct palatial buildings, acquire properties disproportionate to their known income and even a class four employees owns brand new cars. In Manipur's context the befuddled employees have not found it necessary even to make  perfunctory denials.

Manipur has been facing perennial shortage of power. At an average the Power Department can supply power for two-hour in a day. There are many villages in the valley and hills where the people have not seen electricity in their lifetimes. And the government has been spending Rs 15 crore per month to buy power from various sources. Some persons filed a PIL on the power mismanagement.

Taking advantage of the PIL the department launched a campaign to disconnect unauthorized connections. The official explanation is that since the number of unauthorized consumers is legion there is a shortage round the year. In a sense it was welcome since this long overdue official action will help augment the power position. However, there were flaws. The officials never conducted the raids, ordered the police to arrest the unauthorized consumers in Thoubal district from where Chief Minister Okram Ibobi was elected. Likewise, localities said to be close to powerful ministers were left out. The raids were also not conducted in the Imphal city dominated by the rich traders. It is on record that not a single powerful trader had been arrested for unauthorized connections although people know that it is a widespread practice among the traders.

The department claimed that several persons had been arrested and lakh of rupees collected as fines or due taxes. There was no big shot among those who were arrested and fined. Instead they are low rung persons without any political patronage or connection. The elected representatives and almost all government offices owe power bills in terms of lakh of rupees. In the eyes of law all are equal. In other words, these powerful elected representatives and heads of departments of the government offices should have been arrested like the common consumers.

Letters to editors have appeared in several newspapers pointing out that the electricity department never send the bills on monthly basis. Sometimes bills for 6 or more months are sent to a consumer. The department had also purchased very defective power metres which malfunction all the times. As a result the metre readers have been fixing tax at the rate of Rs 5 per bulb. Naturally, there are rooms for personal gains through this unheard of system.

In view of the selective raids by the officials there was a scramble for new connections. But things are made very difficult for the intending consumers since various documents which are not easy to obtain have to be furnished. There is no counter in the power department where an intending consumer could deposit the same. This is a part of the well chalked out plan to earn extra income by the dishonest officials. All these documents including the applications have to be done through some employees of the department. Once the new connection is okayed by the department after an inordinate delay the fee has to be deposited. Since there is no official in the counter money is to be deposited through the linesmen, metre readers or any employee who happens to be in a friendly term. Though the official fee for new connection is Rs 2500 only such middlemen are taking Rs 4500.

There are also allegations that some friendless persons are pulled up every now and then. They are released only after a few thousand of rupees are paid. They were not produced in a law court nor receipt given for the money paid. However, it was assured that they would not be pulled up again. One newspaper had exposed the clandestine sale of power to other states by the electricity department. The expose said that sales proceeds might have been pocketed by some higher ups since this was not reflected in the official account. A fuming chief engineer told reporters that if it can be proved that power is thus sold to other states he was ready to tender resignation.

After some days the same newspaper came out with a report quoting official documents and reports establishing that the power department has been selling power. The paper dared the chief engineer to resign. He did not issue a rejoinder. He has not resigned so far. Meanwhile, Manipur continues to grope in the dark. There is load shedding every alternate night. A consumer gets power hardly for two-hour in the day time. Long time back small scale industries had died and people cannot taste chilled beer or water.

Bomb hoax creates panic in two newspaper offices of Manipur

From Our Special Correspondent

IMPHAL, Aug 7: Some persons identifying themselves as insurgents of the Military Defence Force (MDF) today rang up two newspaper offices to inform the alarmed journalists and staff that bombs had been planted. If they value their lives they should scoot before the bombs explode, they were told. Naturally the employees and reporters fled since there have been death threats from two underground organizations for some time.

The reporters and editors are accused of discirimination since the press releases of the two outfits are not entertained.

The police were informed of the phone calls. Bomb experts rushed there. There were extensive searches in the newspaper offices. However, no explosive was found in the newspaper offices. The two newspapers which were thus subjected to hoax were Naharolgi Thoudang and Hueiyen Lanpao. It may be recalled that the MDF and the People's United Liberation Front (P M Akber faction) have been threatening to execute some editors and journalists.

Besides the newspaper distributors would be targetted, it was announced. The policy of the All Manipur Working Journalists' Union is not to publish the press release of the new underground organizations and factions. However, both the outfits are not amused with the stands taken by the AMWJU and editors. For the time being the PULF(PM  Akber faction) has not reacted to the stand taken by the AMWJU vis-a-vis the death threats. The MDF is not reacting to the expected lines. However, it was somewhat surprising that the newspaper offices were threatened with bomb hoax. But then the editors and journalists are  leaving nothing to chance. Their mobile phones are switched off. They will talk through the office phones only to known persons. Most of them are not available for personal meetings.

Home Minister G  Gaikhangam has asked the police to tighten security measures. However, it is not possible to provide fool proof security to the editors and journalists. Ahongshangbam Mobi, the president of the AMWJU says that since at least three groups are using the nomenclature of the MDF it is very difficult to select the press releases of the genuine one and reject those of two others. Meanwhile, police conducted raids near Dharmasala in the Imphal city today. Police had taken away 19 suspects for verification from among several  thousands of youths who were frisked. Sources said that armed police personnel will soon be deployed in the newspaper offices if the threats persist.

Nagaland BJP stages dharna

DIMAPUR, Aug 7: The Nagaland state BJP unit staged a dharna outside its party office at Dimapur on Tuesday protesting against the insensitive and complacent attitude of the UPA Government towards drought relief and the continuation of an anti-farmer fertilizer policy.

Around 60 party workers took part in the dharna. The State Executive meeting was held in the presence of Prasanth Arora newly inducted by the central BJP as Nagaland election co-coordinator, former General Secretary(Org,) of Punjab and former National co-convener of NGO cell BJP and Shri Ranjit Muzumder North east office co-coordinator who also spoke on the occasion. The meeting resolved to appreciates the decision of the JLF to step down in the interest of the people. But this should not hamper the schedule of the assembly elections, the BJP demands that the ongoing Naga peace talks should expedited, Power supply is irregular and insufficient all over the a state. This has hampered not only the domestic life especially the education of students but also the smooth functioning of commercial and industrial sectors.

BJP demanded that ardent effort should be made to create adequate infrastructure and arrangements for production of electricity and regular power supply, road conditions as tested under the monsoon rains has revealed its poor non durable quality all over the state, Besides potholes in urban areas, district and state roads connecting district headquarters and important towns are in non usable conditions especially for heavy laden traffics.

BJP further demanded that road maintenances be given top priority.Deforestation has reached its zenith in the state so much so that, along with unabated hunting’s, wild life have also been reduced to almost nil. BJP demands adequate steps be taken to restore forest and wild life to a stable ecological level by banning deforestation and timber export from the state, A forestation should be encouraged and promoted through government support side by side, protection of wildlife need to be enforced.

The BJP Nagaland  urged the Centre  to  provide adequate provisions for the security of the concerned public. This was stated in a press release.

Grenade Explosion: four sustain injuries

From our Special Correspondent
IMPHAL, Aug 7: At least four persons sustained serious shrapnel injuries when a China made hand grenade exploded in the house of a Gram Panchayat Pradhan ahead of the panchayat elections. The explosion took place at 7:45 last night at the house of Wahengbam Brajagopal, the pradhan of Sagolband gram panchayat. The four injured persons were rushed to the hospital. Their condition is said to be serious.  The four injured persons were identified as the Pradhan himself, Wahengbam Brajagopal, Chingtham Inao, Loitongbam Dhaneswor and umabam Dharma.  Daughter of the pradhan told reporters that some persons came in a car and lobbed the grenade.  Brajajagopal said that no underground organization has asked him to pay money. He has never faced threats from any outfit. He feels that the grenade attack was a result of a political conspiracy against him. Police have registered a case. However, no arrest has been made till the filing of the report.

Tea production declining in organized sector in India

Agartala, Aug 7:  Tea production in the organized sector is declining in India due to ageing bushes and little investment and the country may have lost 50 million kg of tea in the past 10 years.

At the same time it is rising in small holdings which account for nearly 28 per cent of the total tea cultivation area and 26 per cent of the country’s total production.

“India lost production of 50 million kg of tea during the past 10 years in the organized sectors. Old bushes and scarce investment are the key reasons for reduction in production in the organized big holdings,” Tea Board of India executive director Rakesh Saini said.

According to him, 1,686 big gardens (organized sector) produce 723 million kg (from 416,027 hectares) of tea yearly, accounting for more than 74 per cent of the country’s total production.

Saini said, “The number of small tea growers in the country would be around 250,000, producing 257 million kg of tea (from 162,431 hectares) annually, accounting for more than 26 per cent of the country’s total tea production.”

The concentration of small tea growers is largest in Assam, followed by West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Bihar.

Saini said that domestic consumption of the beverage is rising although the per capita consumption in India is less than in other countries.

He was here for the setting up of a tea board office in Agartala. Tripura Industries and Commerce Minister Jitendra Choudhury on Monday laid the foundation stone of the office, to be built at a cost of Rs 2.07 crore.

Choudhury said the Tripura government has urged union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma not to shift the tea board office for small tea growers from Guwahati to Dibrugarh in eastern Assam.

“If the tea board office for small tea growers move from Guwahati to Dibrugarh it would make inconvenience for them to take the benefit of the tea board. Hence it would affect production and cultivation of tea in other Northeastern States,” he added.

The Minister also said that some tea garden owners are trying to use the stipulated land for rubber cultivation to earn more easy profit. The Tripura government would not allow this. Tea garden land cannot be used for other purposes according to the act concerned.

Tripura Industrial Development Corporation chairman Pabitra Kar said tea cultivation through small tea gardens started in the state in 1994. Now there are over 7,000 small tea gardens.

Tea plantations in Tripura dates back to 1895. In fact, Tripura is categorised as a traditional tea-growing state, with about 58 organised tea estates producing about nine million kg of tea every year. This makes Tripura the fifth largest among the 14 tea producing states after Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Kar, a former minister, said that with over 10,000 hectares under cultivation, Tripura accounts for six per cent of total tea area in India and four per cent of total production. (IANS)