Indefinite Eco-Blockade Against Nagaland

Activists of the All Assam Students Union (AASU) staging a demonstration while covered their faces with black cloth, at Santi Udayan, Dighalipukhuri in Guwahati on Saturday, in protest against the atrocities perpetrate by the Nagaland Police personnel on AASU activists at Pholongoni in Golaghat district of Assam on Wednesday. (Photo/Ujjal Deb)

Dimapur, Sep 19 : It is now the turn for the students in Assam. The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) has enforced an economic blockade on two roads, including National Highway 39, leading to Nagaland from Saturday in protest against Wednesday’s incident of assault on students in Golaghat district of Assam by the Nagaland Police. However, there is no clarity on the number of days to enforce the blockade.

The AASU as well as various other organizations in Assam had taken strong note of this incident and demanded the Nagaland Government immediately take action against the guilty cops. However, as action was not taken even after three days, the AASU resorted to the economic blockade on Saturday.

“We have nothing against Nagaland or its people. We had demanded action against the guilty Naga policemen. How on earth they got the courage to beat our students on our own soil,” AASU president Sankar Prasad Roy told Newmai News Network today.

“We will not tolerate such action and give befitting reply to them,” he said.

The AASU warned that the blockade would be enforced for an indefinite period if those guilty were not punished. “If action is not taken, the results will be dangerous,” Roy warned. A probe into the incident has been already ordered by the Assam Government.

General Secretary of the powerful AASU, Taban Kumar Gogoi, speaking over phone from Guwahati Saturday evening told the Morung Express that the blockade began from 3:00 pm today. AASU activists have blocked three crucial roads in Golaghat and Jorhat districts, linking Nagaland, Gogoi said.

The blockade was affected on Nagaland bound commercial vehicles on the Mariani-Mokokchung road under Jorhat, Merapani-Wokha road and the all important NH-39 linking Dimapur, a major stretch of which falls under Golaghat district.

The AASU general secretary though added that private vehicles and those carrying essential medical supplies will be allowed to ply. Gogoi further said that private vehicles carrying commercial goods will also not be allowed to cross into Nagaland.

Gogoi asserted that the AASU has no ill will against the people of Nagaland rather they are making their displeasure known, over the apathetic attitude of the authorities of both Assam and Nagaland, towards the September 15 incident.

“We’ve given enough time to both governments (Assam and Nagaland) but they did not listen”. Until and unless the erring Naga policemen are brought to justice, AASU will be forced to continue with the blockade, Gogoi aired.

The blockade comes in the backdrop of the Nagaland Home Minister issuing a statement three days after the incident.

Sources from police headquarters said that a full report will be expected only after ten days.  

via Newmai News Network

Arunachal To Go Ahead With Subansiri Project, Ignore Protests

Guwahati, Sep 19 : The 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri Hydro Power Project in Arunachal Pradesh will be commissioned by 2012 despite strident protests in Assam with environmental concerns over construction of mega dams, project builders said Saturday.

'The construction work of the Lower Subansiri Hydro Power Project is at a very advanced stage and we hope to commission three units in March 2012 and the remaining five units by December 2012,' National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) chairman-cum-managing director S.K. Garg told IANS.

The nearly Rs.9,000 crore project that began in 2003 is mired in a blazing row with several environmental and pressure groups in Assam, including the state government, making vociferous protests and demanding scrapping of the construction work citing adverse ecological and environmental impact in downstream areas in Assam.

'We are open to mending ourselves wherever it is required. Safety of the people is of paramount importance to us and we are not going to compromise on safety norms,' Garg said.

Such was the intensity of the protests that union Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh last week took part in a daylong consultation with various civil society and environmental groups on the issue of dams in the northeast.

'I would let the prime minister know about the apprehensions of the people of Assam regarding building of dams in Arunachal Pradesh. This is not just the issue for Assam, this has been an issue for the entire nation,' Ramesh said.

'Big dams would lead to catastrophic environmental hazards in downstream areas in Assam,' Samujjal Bhattacharyya, advisor of the All Assam Students' Union (AASU), said.

The NHPC chief said all prior environmental clearances were taken before starting construction of the project.

'We had taken clearances from the Central Water Commission, Central Electricity Authority, and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs for the Subansiri project,' Garg said.

The Arunachal Pradesh government has signed MoUs with several private firms for 10 major hydropower projects to generate an estimated 30,000 MW power in 10 years' time.

The state, bordering Myanmar and the Tibet region, has the potential to generate an estimated 50,000 MW of hydropower.

Among the major projects currently being executed in the state are the Ranganadi project, the Subansari project and the Taloh power project.

Despite stiff opposition, the Arunachal Pradesh government is adamant on continuing with the construction of dams.

'We are happy and welcome the NHPC's announcement that the Subansiri project would be commissioned in 2012,' parliamentarian from Arunachal Pradesh Takam Sanjay told IANS.

Villagers Lynch 3 Militants in Meghalaya

Shillong, Sep 19 : Three armed militants were killed on Saturday in a clash with villagers of Meghalaya's East Garo Hills district.

A group of six Liberation Achik Elite Force (LAEF) militants threatened and fired at the villagers of Menadoba Bazaar, police said.

On hearing the gun shots, scores of villagers rushed to the spot and a major scuffle broke out when the militant attacked the civilians.

Three of the militants were killed on the spot during the clash, while the other militants managed to flee, Superintendent of Police S Nongtnger said.

Senior police officials rushed to the spot and recovered two pistols and three magazines from the slain militants.

Last night, another LAEF militant, identified as Robin K Sangma, was arrested by the police from Dainadubi area of the district.

A Caver's Sojourn

By Shyam G Menon

Special Arrangement Brian Dermot Kharpran Daly: Passion for caves.

"It's like a spiritual quest," says Brian Dermot Kharpran Daly, founder-secretary of the Meghalaya Adventurers Association, who has been responsible for bringing to light the richness of Meghalaya's caves.

His friends having backed off in fear; the boy from Shillong, on a picnic at Cherrapunji, gazed unhappily at the beckoning cave. Just then two local youngsters turned up offering to guide. The trio walked the entire length of the cave and exited through a small shaft to the other side. The boy finished schooling, graduated from the local college and became an employee of the State Bank of Mysore (SBM) in Karnataka.

Aching to be home, he first secured a transfer to Kolkata and, then, a relieving order. Back in Shillong, he became CEO of a local bank facing difficulty. Today the Shillong Co-operative Urban Bank is in good shape and Brian Dermot Kharpran Daly, 63, enjoys extended tenure. It may seem SBM again, but then Shillong is home.

Looking for adventure

In the early 1990s, when Brian scouted for adventure, he remembered Meghalaya's caves. He became founder-secretary of the Meghalaya Adventurers Association (MAA). Shortly after they began exploration, a team of foreigners came looking for caves.

Since caves are sculpted on rock by water, tracking the worldwide distribution of suitable minerals helps locate cave-rich zones. Limestone is a fantastic cave-building medium. Deposits of soluble rock are called karst and, in rain-soaked Meghalaya, karst existed at the state's southern portion, in an east-west line. The British team included eminent cavers. The MAA tied up with them and joint expeditions to explore the caves of Meghalaya began in right earnest. 

The results amazed. Deep under Meghalaya were subterranean passages; rivers, ponds and vast chambers. Some 1200 caves have been reported, around 800 explored and roughly 360 kilometres of cave passages have been mapped, including India's longest cave: Krem Liat Prah-Um Im-Labit System estimated to be 31 kilometres. Meghalaya also has the country's deepest cave. In 2004, Brian was awarded the Tenzing Norgay National Award for Adventure in the land category. The exploration is continuing and the Indian Army and the Navy have links with MAA for expeditions.

Caving isn't one activity but a convergence of many; there is the adventure, the science, the mapping, the planning, the skills and, finally, the philosophy and literature it inspires. Brian has authored articles on the subject including a book on Meghalaya's caves published by the state government. One of his essays was included as chapter for study in the state's Class XII syllabus. He has a novel coming up and he writes poetry.

Anxious moments

There were anxious moments. Once, Brian was injured by falling rock in a vertical shaft. Some caves don't have horizontal entrances; they have a shaft plunging into them. Shafts can be deep; India's deepest at Krem Shrieh in Meghalaya is 97 metres (320 feet), several times longer than a single rope length and therefore requiring ‘pitches' as in rock climbing. Lowering yourself can be tricky because shafts typically have narrow mouth and wider bottom. A rope anchored at the top progressively stays off the side leaving the abseiling caver dangling on rope in a growing void. On another occasion, in a cave with multiple entrances, cavers entering through different passages met at a point. There, an experienced woman caver decided she wasn't feeling well and retraced her steps. Somewhere she got lost in the labyrinth of passage ways. Her absence was noticed only after everyone had exited. After several hours, she was located sitting crouched to preserve body heat. Her headlamp was broken; the consequence of a fall. “Hypothermia is a real danger in caves,” Brian said. 

While the lay individual may presume that cavers go in leaving physical traces to identify the trail back, that isn't always the case. “I advise people to periodically look back and remember cave features for navigation because entry and exit points in subterranean chambers appear different when the direction changes,” Brian said. It is also important to never break team (there may be several independent teams exploring different parts of a cave, but each team should stick together) and systematically map the passage so that the data for navigation is available right there. A typical cave survey kit would have nyloflex tape measure, compass, clinometer (for measuring gradient), plastic-coated cave survey book, pencil and GPS. Back at camp, a day's survey data is processed with specialised software to generate a detailed map. This work has now been rendered easier by the Disto-X, a device that measures distance, direction and inclination at one stroke. It can be linked to the cartographer's PDA inside the cave itself, to make a detailed map. Interestingly, the cave explorer's credo is not to retreat but proceed with the faith that several entrances and exits exist. For Brian, it is like a spiritual quest. A vast underground chamber glistening with cave pearls (sand particles covered in calcium carbonate) is like an audience with God.

Besides his passion for caves, Brian makes one of the best homemade wines in Shillong. Interestingly, here too, he learned the ropes late, worked systematically at improving his craft and took the art to a superior level. That cave in Cherrapunji was long ago. But it seems to have shaped his attitude: a curiosity; a journey, a perfection.

The author is a freelance journalist based in Mumbai.

How Tehelka Nailed Manipur Policie’s Lies

Thirteen months after the exposé, the CBI charges nine policemen in the Sanjit fake encounter case

By Kunal Majumder

 

The chargesheet corroborates Tehelka’s findings that Sanjit was made a scapegoat by Manipur Police

CHUNGKHAM TARATOMBI Devi’s fight for justice has yielded results. Fourteen months after her son Chungkham Sanjit Singh Meitei was killed in a fake encounter by Manipur Police, the CBI has filed a chargesheet against nine of the 14 accused policemen. Exposés in TEHELKA by Teresa Rehman (Murder in Plain Sight, 8 August 2009) and Shoma Chaudhury (Life in a Shadow Land, 15 August 2009) had detailed the coldblooded murder. Photographs published along with the story revealed the entire sequence of Sanjit’s death.

The chargesheet filed by the CBI on 9 September this year in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Imphal, corroborates TEHELKA’s findings. It reveals how, on 23 July 2009, commandos led by then Imphal City Police Station in-charge Munal Singh picked up Sanjit from BT Road, took him inside the storeroom of a pharmacy and shot him dead. The CBI also found out that the 9 mm Mauser gun found on Sanjit was planted by the police.

That day, Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh told the Manipur Assembly that Sanjit was a People’s Liberation Army militant and was responsible for shooting six civilians. (The PLA is the armed wing of the Revolutionary People’s Front). The CBI now reveals that it was the police that was involved in the random shooting on BT Road that killed a pregnant woman, Rabina Devi. Sanjit was just a bystander who was made the scapegoat.

On 25 August 2009, Sanjit’s mother approached the Gauhati High Court seeking justice. The court handed over the case to the CBI. Two days later, the Manipur government instituted a one-man commission of inquiry led by Justice PG Agarwal, a retired judge of the Gauhati High Court. Both TEHELKA’s Managing Editor Shoma and then Northeast Correspondent Teresa deposed before the commission and were interrogated by the CBI. Photographs in TEHELKA’S possession were shared with the probe team.

The commission asked TEHELKA reporters to name their sources and the name of the photographer who had captured the damning evidence. But they refused. After the exposé, journalists and activists in Imphal tried to deter TEHELKA journalists from visiting Manipur. “We cannot assure your safety,” they warned. “The commandos are looking everywhere for the photographer who gave you the pictures.”

TODAY, THE chief minister is not available for comment. “He is too busy with the Pradesh Congress Committee elections. He doesn’t have time for the people. The people of Manipur are grateful to TEHELKA for this exposé,” says a senior minister on condition of anonymity.

In the dark shadow land of Manipur, Sanjit was one among hundreds of young men and women who had disappeared, been raped or killed. Justice may be steps away for Sanjit’s ema (mother in Manipuri) but it remains an illusion for many others.

AASU Threatens Economic Blockade Against Nagaland

Guwahati, Sep 18 : Two days after the Nagaland police fired the All Assam Students Union (AASU), they now threaten to impose economic blockade on NH-39 from Sep 19.

They said that unless the police are arrested, they will further extend indefinite blockade on the border highway.

AASU said that its members would cover their faces in black mask, hoist black flags and hold demonstrations at the district headquarter in protest against the incident.

Meanwhile, Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday, Sep 17 directed the Labour & Employment K K Mittal to probe into the incident and submit the report within seven days.

Sources said he also spoke to Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio to ensure that the errant policemen were arrested at the earliest.

Foreign Infiltrators Held in Mizoram

Aizawl, Sep 18 : In a sweeping crackdown on alleged Myanmarese nationals living in Mizoram without any valid entry permits, the state police hauled up 52 persons from different localities in Aizawl town, where these foreigners have set up colonies.

The superintendent of police of Aizawl district, Lalbiakthanga Khiangte, said over telephone that the arrests came following an order issued by the Union home ministry on July 21 that the Myanmarese Mizo nationals without valid entry permits could cross the Indo-Myanmar border and travel a maximum of 16km into Mizoram for trading.

But in no case, the order from the Union home ministry pointed out, these Myanmarese nationals will ever be allowed to transgress the 16-km limit into towns and other habitats in Mizoram for earning their livelihood.

Khiangte added that another reason for the crackdown is that many of the immigrants have recently been indulging in narcotics-related crimes.

The 52 people who were picked up during the crackdown, were from two Aizawl settlements known as Ramhlun south and Ramthar Veng.

They were eking out their living there by working in jewellery shops, vehicle service centres, restaurants, clothing factories and road construction labourers.

The number of such illegal immigrants living in Mizoram has now been estimated at about 50,000.

Naga Council Threatens Blockade

By Sobhapati Samom

Imphal, Sep 18 : The United Naga Council of Manipur threatened on Friday to turn its off and on agitation on three highways of the state into an “indefinite blockade” from Saturday morning. “As there is no tangible response by the government of India to our prolonged grievances, the UNC is constrained to intensify

its ongoing agitation into indefinite economic blockade,” the organisation said in a statement on Friday. The central and state governments have appealed to UNC to call off the blockade. Manipur Chief Secretary D.S. Poonia had said the blockade was uncalled for since the governments “are always open to a dialogue…”

The step is a resumption of the Naga unrest that started on  April 11, when the All-Naga Students Association, Manipur launched its highway agitation, which ended on June 18.