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updated : WEDNESDAY 23 JULY 2008
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Militant groups asked not to
recruit minors
Imphal,
July 22: The All Manipur United
Clubs Organisation (AMUCO) has
urged all militant outfits to
stop recruiting children as
cadres of the banned organizations.
The Civil Liberties and Human
Rights Organisation (CLAHRO)
also urged the proscribed outfits
to release all children allegedly
in their custody.
Meanwhile, chairman of the proscribed
United National Liberation Front
(UNLF) Sanayaima, in a statement,
said the “revolutionaries
should work to strengthen ties
with the people.”
“The UNLF is striving
for an autonomous, democratic,
egalitarian, independent nation,”
he said.
“No one below the age
of 18 years should be recruited.
Even if they come to join voluntarily,
they should be sent back,”
he added.
About 14 children, including
three girls, between the age
group of 11 to 16 years, were
reported missing so far. Meanwhile,
in a special drive against the
forced recruitment of minor
children by underground outfits
at least three school going
children were rescued by the
Kangpokpi police last evening,
while the Imphal east police
commando team was also able
to arrest a PREPAK(GS) cadre
involved in aiding child recruitment
to the militant group early
this morning.
Three students studying in Class
X at the Standard Scholar English
Academy, Keikhu identified as
Md Satib Ali, 15, son of Md
Jamaruddin of Urup Mayai Leikai,
Md Anisur Rahman, 15, son of
Md Salter Rahman of Keikhu Mayai
Leikai and Md Amir Lucky Ali,
15, son of Md Sirajuddin of
Lilong Turel Ahanbi were reportedly
rescued by the OC of Kangpokpi
from a house belonging to one
Meena Begum while the three
children were having food last
night around 10.25 pm.
According to a official source,
the students initially reported
that they left their homes to
help their parents by seeking
jobs somewhere in Senapati district
as they were weak in studies.
In the meantime, the OC Kangpokpi
while producing the minor boys
at a press conference at Kangpokpi
police station said all three
students claimed their leaving
home was not related with any
pressure on them from anyone
to join the revolutionary groups.
Their intention was to start
earning to help their parents
and as a result the trio had
attempted to reach Senapati
yesterday in a Imphal-Motbung
passenger bus and later took
a auto-rickshaw for Senapati
from Motbung.
Last evening they came down
to Kangpokpi and enjoyed a mela
till 9.30 pm there, after which
they searched for a Muslim hotel
and found one belonging to one
Meena Begum. They were taking
their meal there when the police
arrived.
The OC further said the three
children were detained since
last night and later handed
over to their respective families
through one of the apex social
organisations of Kangpokpi this
morning. The police are also
investigating if the three children
were abducted, the source added.
Meanwhile, following strict
instructions from the state
DGP in connection with the serial
disappearances of children,
a special police team for Imphal
east district headed by additional
Sp, Imphal east Md Kayamuddin
was formed and has already started
operations to find the missing
children from Imphal east district.(UNI)
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NCPCR’s notification to
NE States on child rights
Agartala, July 22: The National
Commission for Protection of
Child Rights (NCPCR) has directed
all the northeastern States
to set up a self regulatory
mechanism to check child labour,
official sources said here yesterday.
The latest communiqu of the
commission expressed concern
over the growing instances of
child labour across the region,
asking the state government
to initiate social auditing
to make it sure that no child
labour was engaged in any form.
“Children are being employed
by many informal and household
sectors and many of them are
recruited as bonded labour.
The commission has taken cognisance
of reports of the children being
trafficked and employed in different
sectors,” the NCPCR stated.
The directives, like Juvenile
Justice Act, 2006, Bonded Labour
Act, Child Labour (Prohibition
and Regulation) Act, 1986, have
also been sent to the chief
secretaries of all the states
to strengthen the enforcement
of laws related to child labour,
apart from ensuring that the
children were sent to regular
full-time schools.
The commission has directed
the states to set up a task
force to perform social audit
through District Collectors
for ensuring that there was
no child labour in the processes
and occupations listed under
the Schedule - Part A and B
of the Child Labour (Prohibition
and Regulation) Act, 1986. It
has also emphasised on the inclusion
of auditing residential complexes
by the team to ascertain engagement
of domestic child labour. (UNI)
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North-east post offices
to go hi-tech
From our Correspondent
SHILLONG, July 22: Ten post
offices in the North- east
would be upgraded under the
“Arrow” project
of the Central Government.
Under the pilot project, 200
post offices in the country
including that of the North-
east would be upgraded in
terms of various kinds of
e-enabled services so that
these post offices can act
as the window to the world
for the common people in the
rural areas.
Addressing a news conference
here yesterday Chief Postmaster
General, North East Circle,
SK Chakrabarti said that the
project would be started in
10 post offices in the North-east
namely Cherrapunjee and Jowai
in Meghalaya, Mokukchung and
Wokha in Nagaland, Sabroom
and Panisagar (Tripura), Tawang
(Arunachal Pradesh), Champhai
and Lunglei (Mizoram) and
Senapati (Manipur).
Chakrabarti said the project
which is aimed to enable post
offices to reach the “aam
aadmi”, e-enabled services
like e-post, Western Union
Money Transfer, Instant Money
Order Service which were till
now confined to post offices
in urban areas will now be
extended to post offices in
the rural areas wherein broadband
services will be provided
by BSNL.
Under the project, renovation
of post offices will also
be taken up, he added. Chakrabarti
also said that the Department
of Posts has a proposal for
opening more branch offices
in the NE region during the
11th Plan Period.
He also said that electronic
money order (EMO) would also
be introduced shortly. The
department has also taken
up with the Ministry of Finance
to raise the interest payable
under various deposit schemes
offered by the central government
through the post offices such
as monthly income scheme,
time deposit, recurring deposit
and various kinds of saving
certificates for the benefit
of the rural people.
The department has also taken
up with the Finance Ministry
the matter of authorizing
the post offices to sanction
loans against deposits made
under various small saving
schemes to help small investors
in rural areas at reasonable
rates.
Out of 1.55 lakh post offices
in the country, 1.38 lakh
are located in the rural areas
which serve 80 per cent of
the rural population. The
department has therefore taken
up upgradation of infrastructure
in various post offices. In
this regard, about Rs 25 lakh
have already been invested
in Cherrapunjee and Mokukchung
for upgradation of such infrastructure.
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Phone
woe hit jawans near border
From our Staff Correspondent
SHILLONG, July 22: The problems
of home sick jawans of the Border
Security Force (BSF) becomes
more compounded in the absence
of telephone services along
the vast stretch of the Indo-
Bangladesh border. Although
there are a few land lines connections
provided by the BSNL in the
border fringes along the Balat-Ranikor-Borsora-Maheshkhola
of the international border,
the erratic telephone services
and far flung location of the
border outpost deter many jawans
from communicating with their
families.
A jawan located in a BOP near
Ranikor lamented that the absence
of telephone service has made
him homesick like never before.
“With no land telephone
service within 5-8 km, frustration
mounts if we don’t get
to know about our family well
being”.
Another jawan posted in Gumaghat
BOP revealed about his frustration
for failing to contact his family
members in. “I
had gone to Balat to make a
call to my family only to
learn that the telephone land
line service in Balat market
is not working”.
In spite of the Home Ministry
permitting the Ministry of Communication
to provide cellular phone services
close to the international border
has not worked well.
While the locals using Bangladesh
Grameen cellular service help
out the desperate BSF but it
comes with a hefty price.
A jawan said, “We have
no choice except paying Rs 300-500
in three to five minutes”.
Nonetheless, there are BSF jawans
who are using the Grameen phones
. According to sources, Cherragoan
and Borsora export points are
the twin places that BSF jawans
are seen using personal mobile
phones with Bangladesh Grameen
connections, even in Gumaghat
BOP. |
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Four
species of birds in Mizoram
critically endangered
Aizawl, July 22: Out of more
than 500 species of birds in
Mizoram, four have been declared
critically endangered, one endangered,
five vulnerable, seven near
threatened and nine restricted,
noted ornithologist Dr Anuwaruddin
Choudhury said.
Dr Choudhury has recorded 479
species of birds in his book
A pocket guide to the Birds
of Mizoram, released by Mizoram
Environment and Forest Minister
Dr R Lalthangliana’n.
“Among the rare species
of birds, Chinese Babax is found
only in Mizoram within the Indian
limits. Hume’s Pheasant
is the state bird of Mizoram
and among other worth-watching
species are Blyth’s Tragopan,
Khasi Hills or Dark Rumped Swift,
Great Pied Hornbill and White-Winged
Wood Duck,” Dr Choudhury
said.
“There are past records
of Great White-beillied Heron
and Rufous-necked Hornbill.
The status of rare green Peafowl
is not known,” he added.
Environmentalists have held
the jhum agriculture, logging
and cultivation in the valleys,
hunting and the proposed hydro-electric
projects responsible for the
large-scale habitat destruction.
Mizoram has two national parks
- Murlen and Phawngpui or Blue
Mountains - nine wildlife sanctuaries
and six important bird areas.
“The aim of the book is
to provide an up-to-date checklist
on birds with brief description
of a few threatened and notable
species found in the State,”
the author said.
“However, the ultimate
aim is to generate awareness
and interest on bird conservation
in the State. I hope that this
book would be of use and interest
to broad section of readers,
including birdwatchers, general
tourists forest officials, students
and researchers et al,”
he said. Mizoram falls under
the “Indo-Burma global
biodiversity hotspot”
and the “Eastern Himalaya
Endemic Bird Area”. The
entire State is hilly and mountainous
and is also at a higher altitude
than many countries, including
the Netherlands and Switzerland.
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Building
regulations shatter widows dream
for a home
Aizawl, July 22: A widow in
downtown Aizawl finds it tough
to realise her years-old dream
of having a home of her own,
thanks to the newly introduced
Aizawl Development Authority
Building Regulations.
“I need to hire an architect
that would cost me at least
Rs 40,000 if I go by the new
rules,” said the impoverished
widow, who did not want to be
named.
“With a small amount of
housing loan I obtained, I cant
afford an architecturally planned
building,” rued the widow,
who has to support herself with
a meagre income. Besides her,
anyone who is about to build
a house in Aizawl, is required
to ensure that the building
is an earthquake-proof.
“As per the rules, I am
required to use 20 iron rods
per-a-foot square cement concrete
beam, which again I can not
afford”, she said adding,
“What would be the use
of my earthquake-proof building
if a house next to mine, constructed
before the building regulation,
collapses on mine in an earthquake”.
The building regulations, which
came into force from May, require
a design by competent engineer
and other structural mechanism
so that it could withstand big
jolt in case of an earthquake
as Mizoram falls under seismic
zone.
Contravention of any of the
regulations would be liable
to imprisonment and fine, the
regulations said. Among many
others, the regulations restrict
the height of the building to
12.85m (42.14 ft) from the ground
level irrespective of the degree
of the slope of the ground.
Every building will have rainwater
harvest system and garage as
compulsory.
The regulations also demand
that commercial buildings, apartment
(flats), offices, hotels and
theatre and auditorium will
also have a minimum off-street
parking space of 3m x 5m. Any
existing building reported to
be unsafe or damaged will be
examined by a technical committee
under the ADA.
The authority willl give directions
to the owner or occupier to
complete repairs or to demolish
the building within a specified
time. (UNI)
Statisticians workshop
on July 24
Shillong, July 22: A day-long
regional workshop for statisticians
of Northeastern states will
be held here on July 24 to assess
the training needs to them.
Official sources said here today
that the worskhop will be organized
by the Central Statistical Organisation
(CSO), Ministry of Statistics
and Programme Implementation,
in collaboration with the Meghalaya
Directorate of Economics and
Statistics.
Director General of CSO Dr S
K Nath will attend the workshop,
besides other officials from
CSO and about 20 participants
from the entire NE region. Meanwhile,
to contain the consumption of
contaminated food from street
vendors here, a mong-long training
on ‘National Project on
Street Food Safety’, in
collaboration with the state
Health and Family Welfare Ministry,
was held recently, with 68 participants.
(UNI)
Four sisters commit
suicide in Tripura
Agartala, July 22: Four sisters
committed suicide last night
by consuming poison at Sakhaibari
village in North Tripura following
a dispute with their mother,
police said here today.
The daughters of retired school
teacher Jalal Uddin Ahamed -
Soma (22), Rima (15), Nilima
(13) and Masuma (4) - were found
dead in a room of their house.
Preliminary investigation revealed
that Soma had a feud with her
mother Sebi Sukkur over academic
issues.
Police suspected that Soma persuaded
her younger sisters to consume
poison before committing suicide
herself.
However, Ahamed stated to police
that his wife had been suffering
from psychological problems,
which was the root cause of
trouble in the family. (UNI)
3
women injured in BSF operation
Agartala, July 22: Three women
were allegedly seriously injured
by BSF personnel at Durgapur
near Sonamura in West Tripura,
as they had restrained the
security forces from conducting
search in their house.
Police said here today acting
a tip-off, BSF troops had
gone to conduct a search operation
in the house of one Shahid
Mian, about 300 metres from
the Indo-Bangladesh border,
last night.
Shahid was allegedly involved
in smuggling racket and huge
quantity of smuggled goods
were reportedly kept in his
house.
However, Shahid’s wife
Asiya Khatun refused to allow
the search operation to be
conducted and she, along with
her 16 year old daughter and
another neighbour, was allegedly
assaulted by the jawans.
She was rushed to the Agartala
Government Medical College
and Hospital in a critical
condition while the others
were undergoing treatment
at Sonamura Hospital, police
said, adding that FIRs had
been lodged and the case was
being investigated. (UNI)
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| Reports
from Barak Valley |
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BJP
castigates Silchar Municipal
Board
Special Correspondent
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