Cyclone Mahasen Headed For Mizoram; Northeast India

Bangladesh Issues Warning As Cyclone Mahasen Approaches

Dhaka, May 13 : Maritime ports in Bangladesh were Sunday advised to take adequate precautionary measures as cyclone Mahasen originating in the southeast Bay of Bengal, moved slightly towards the northwest.

"Depression which has already turned into cyclonic storm would likely move initially northwestwards during the next 36 hours and recurve thereafter northeastwards towards the Bangladesh-Myanmar coast," Xinhua cited the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) as saying in a special weather bulletin.

The bulletin said the cyclone was centred about 1,455 km south-southwest of Bangladesh's Chittagong seaport.

It said maximum sustained wind speed within 54 km of the storm centre has risen from 62 km per hour to 88 km per hour in gusts/squalls.

A BMD meteorologist said caution has been sounded for all ports and all fishing boats have been advised to remain close to the coast.

They were also advised not to venture into the deep sea.

You can track the cyclone here:

India Of A Thousand Dreams!

By Ibu Sanjeeb Garg

I am from the North-East — a paradise unexplored as those grandiose “Incredible India” campaigns would spell. I belong to the land of the rhino, the national parks and the dances. But I also belong to the land which is on the wrong side of the “looks” discourse. Where I come from people don’t have long noses and sharp big eyes; we have flat noses and small eyes. Colloquially, my brethren from my home are lumped together as one big racial group, “chinkis.”

We, the people of India, have never had problems with sweeping generalisations such as the loud Jats and Punjabis or the silent Tamilians, good or bad generalisations adorn our social discourse. Yet, never are they so vivid and as socially offending as with the “chinkis” and very often it spills over to those who don’t have the “chinki looks.” I must admit that never in my life have I been referred to as an exotic breed unlike my friends — that is because I share a more “mainlander” look. So the question is: why this necessity for a mainlander look to be called an Indian?

Recently, a close friend visited the Taj Mahal. He wanted to see the beauty that made India a global tourist hotspot. He had his Afghan friend along with him. They had a minor altercation with the security guards over entry for the Afghan student. Soon, the guards demanded identification proof of my friend. When he showed them his identity card, they did the unimaginable! They asked him to take a foreigner’s pass. Imagine the surprise and disgust of my friend. He had studied in Delhi almost all his college life and now he had to get a foreigner’s ticket because someone decided that he was not Indian enough to be Indian; or, perhaps, he was on the wrong side of the country.

This is not just one story. We hear thousands like this everyday. We hear of Bodo students being harassed during the Tibetan monk protests (since they looked Mongoloid). If you are a Mongoloid and girl, Delhi suddenly turns dangerous for you because there is a popular discourse that “NE girls are cheap.” This negative perception is endorsed by even neighbourhood aunties who argue that these “thin girls with short clothes” are always on the lookout for “easy money.” Sometimes, I wonder if this is really concern or disgust or merely jealousy since most of the aunties got the wrong part of the deal in the weight debate! Yet, the question remains: what does this mean for my friend and many others like him who face harassment everyday? It seems the idea of “India” still does not include them or others like them.

On the other hand, there is no denying the discrimination that runs counter in the North-East. The recent declaration of a bandh in Meghalaya against a “non-tribal” getting the Speaker’s post in the Assembly points to the bias that exists in the “egalitarian” tribal milieu. If anything, tribal society today is not egalitarian — it is mostly an exclusivist society where anything non-tribal (non-Mongoloid) is seen with suspicion and contempt.

So the story of India is one of conjoining these two systems (mainland and NE) — one which thrives on discrimination and an idea of India which is either speaking in Hindi or a south Indian techie, and the other which is inherently distrustful and exclusivist in character.

When one looks at the root of the problem, it is not the clash of these two systems but one which has a “trust deficit” in essence. The problem is both sides have not been able to bridge the trust gap.

The solution will be found when someone from Uttar Pradesh/Bihar/Tamil Nadu stands up for my friend the next time he or she is stopped at the Taj Mahal and called non-Indian. The solution will be found when a non-tribal is declared Speaker of a tribal State the people rejoice. This is very much our India, an India of a thousand dreams they may come in all shapes and sizes but one whose destiny is shared.

(The author is working with the Observer Research Foundation, a think tank based in Delhi looking into multilateral policy of objectives. Email: pabloo8690@gmail.com)

Behind Fall Of A Meghalaya Univ, Rise And Rise Of A ‘Chancellor’

By Samudra Gupta Kashyap

Guwahati, May 13 : If PhD degrees in one year to 434 candidates is a "feat" for which CMJ University in Shillong now finds its doors sealed, the growth of its chancellor in the field of academics has not been any less exponential.

Till the early 1980s, as far as anyone can remember, Chandra Mohan Jha was a petty government contractor. By the time he moved on to his first educational ventures, the North East India Trust for Education and Development (NEITED), in 1999-2000, he had managed to rope in former CM D D Lapang as a chairman. The trust landed in a controversy over use of funds and Lapang resigned soon after.

The official website of CMJ University (named by Jha for himself) talks of the 'CMJ Group' having earlier promoted Shillong Engineering and Medical College. In 2003, the engineering and medical college affiliated to North-Eastern Hill University got permission to use two government hospitals in Shillong for the purpose of practical training of its medical students. It was later de-recognised by North-Eastern Hill University (it is now affiliated to CMJ University).

None of which appears to have come in his way as Jha set up CMJ University in 2009 and went on to admit over 3,300 students. Its 434 PhD degrees in one academic year also stand out for the fact that only 10 of its faculty have doctorates. It offers PhD degrees in 79 different subjects. Even a trip to Shillong wasn't needed for the PhD degree. One dental clinic in Panchkula advertised offering its degree. "I have been told that there are such agents all over UP and Bihar facilitating PhD degrees and other degrees from this university," says Meghalaya Governor R A Mooshahary, who as Visitor, filed an FIR against the university on April 30.

Since the FIR was filed and Jha went on the run, local media has been reporting about his "high connections", and how these have helped him for the past several years if not decades. "I remember him as a government contractor in the early 1980s," recalls Patricia Mukhim, a well-known social activist and editor of Shillong Times. "I also remember Jha sending us a press note claiming that a foreign university had awarded him a PhD degree."

Lapang admitted being associated with Jha, but says it was brief. "I soon resigned," Lapang told The Indian Express, adding "The law will take its own course (in the matter of the university)." The four-time CM of Meghalaya incidentally is currently chief advisor to the government of Meghalaya.

Reports are also emerging about Jha having been briefly arrested in 2011 in connection with a case filed by HUDCO; he was released on bail soon after. Another report says the CBI had filed a chargesheet against Jha, then secretary of NEITED, for "misutilisation" of funds released by the North Eastern Council for implementation of a scheme called 'Integrated e-education and tele health programme for 10 schools in Meghalaya'. He is accused of having filed false utilisation certificates.

While Jha himself remains missing, CMJ University authorities refused to comment. Registrar Mrinal Kanti Deb was arrested Saturday while Deputy Registrar Premlal Rai fends off all queries saying: "Wait till he (Jha) returns." Officially, the Meghalaya Police CID have been told by the university that Jha is away in Bihar, his home state, for a wedding in the family.

Aizawl Landslip Toll On The Rise

Aizawl, May 13 : The toll in yesterday’s landslide at Laipuitlang in Aizawl mounted to 14 today, spurring the Mizo National Front to demand the resignation of chief minister Lal Thanhawla, who is also the state’s PWD minister.

As the rescue efforts entered the second day today, four more bodies were located in the rubble. One of them, that of Zakir Hussain of Karimganj, was extracted. Another squall stalled efforts to extract the other three bodies.

Hussain was alive yesterday and even talked to friends and relatives over his mobile phone. Later he complained of having difficulty breathing and couldn’t be contacted again. Rescue workers pulled out his body from the rubble around 2 this morning.

Another youth, Lalrinsiama, was rescued alive from the rubble. But his sister Lalthafeli and brother Lalrindika were not so lucky. While Lalthafeli’s body was found, Lalrindika is still missing.

“‘I love you’ were my brother’s last words. The phone went silent after that,” Lalrinsiama said, remembering those few minutes after the landslide when his brother called him from another room of their collapsed house.

“Keep shouting for help no matter what,” Lalrindika had told him moments before that and he did exactly that, till rescuers heard his voice and came looking.

Another survivor, Lalhlimpuii, was also rescued today with serious injuries.

The director of the department of disaster management and rehabilitation, Lalpeksanga, told The Telegraph that five persons had been rescued since yesterday and 11 bodies recovered till 2 this afternoon. Three more bodies had been located but these could not be extracted as another squall stalled rescue efforts. He said six persons were still missing.

There is, however, no official word yet on how many people may have been there in the affected houses at the time of the disaster.

L.R. Sailo, press secretary to the Mizoram chief minister, said the state government had so far sanctioned Rs 40 lakh — Rs 25 lakh for Aizawl and Rs 15 lakh for other districts — to compensate those who had lost their property in the landslides. He said the government would decide on the quantum of aid within the next couple of days and then make a formal announcement.

A police official in Aizawl said personnel of the State Disaster Response Force and the Mizoram Armed Police had been engaged in the rescue efforts, while the Young Mizo Association (YMA) is supervising the work. The association’s Laipuitlang, Chaltlang and Ramhlun branches have set up notice boards and information booths to help relatives locate the victims.

Aizawl citizens are seething with anger, as they know yesterday’s tragedy was far from being a “natural disaster”. The imposing five-storied PWD building, which doubled as quarters for some staff, had been in a precarious state since last monsoon, when earth below its foundations had broken away and the subsequent landslide had blocked the road in the area.

The building’s residents immediately shifted out and neighbouring house-owners also moved to safer places, as no one knew when the unstable structure would come crashing down the hillside. Though it was expected that the PWD and other authorities would immediately dismantle the building, nothing happened till heavy rain made the inevitable happen yesterday.

Sources said local council officials had even written to the PWD and the Aizawl Development Authority to dismantle the building, but action came too late. The government ordered a magisterial inquiry yesterday, after the damage was done.

The youth wing of the Mizo National Front today demanded resignation of Lal Thanhawla, who holds additional charge of PWD, for der-eliction of duty and for not do-ing anything to dismantle the damaged PWD building.

A pall of gloom has shro-uded Mizoram, with news of death and loss of property in four days of rains and landslides trickling in from various parts of the state. According to reports, over 500 houses have either been partially or fully damaged in the eight districts in the past four days, as heavy showers triggered major and minor landslides.

People in Aizawl today mourned the victims of the Laipuitlang tragedy during Sunday church service while a section of the state’s facebook users posted images of similar disasters waiting to happen.

Northeast Students Body Demands Separate Time Zone

NESO members at the news conference in New Delhi on Friday. Picture by Yasir Iqbal

New Delhi, May 11 : The Northeast may have been dubbed backward but the North East Students’ Organisation (NESO) is convinced the region is “ahead” in time.

A delegation of the student organisation told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a meeting this week that the Northeast should have a separate time zone, an hour ahead of rest of India.

The delegation, which also called on BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, BJP president Rajnath Singh and election commissioner H.S. Brahma in the national capital, believes that demands put up a year before elections “can put pressure” on political leaders.

They also presented an eight-point charter to Singh that also opposed the India-Bangladesh land swap deal, while demanding special constitutional status for the Northeast, an education commission for educational reforms in the region and restructuring of the DoNER ministry.

“We are seriously pursuing the time zone demand. The sun rises one hour ahead in the Northeast; so we do need a separate zone,” NESO adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya told reporters today. “Persons of eminence like filmmaker Jahnu Barua has taken an initiative and so have others.”

The Northeast is linked to the rest of India by a sliver of land just 26km wide. The entire region is located beyond Bangladesh, where the standard time is half-an-hour ahead of India. Yet, to Dhaka’s east, the Northeast is half-an-hour behind the neighbouring country. In a meeting with Singh and Opposition leaders, the organisation said a separate time zone was a must if the region was to develop. States like Nagaland even have shorter working hours owing to the “early sunset”, raising questions on productivity in government jobs.

Elsewhere in the world, there is the “daylight saving time”, which in the United States starts at 2am on the second Sunday of March every year. On the first Sunday of November, areas on daylight saving time reset their clocks one hour behind at 2am and return to the standard time. Daylight saving time is prevalent in Europe too.

Unlike the United States, which has nine standard time zones, India has a uniform time zone: Indian Standard Time or IST, that extends from the westernmost point on the Gujarat coast to Dong in Arunachal Pradesh, where the sun first rises for India.

Bhattacharya said the region was an hour ahead of Delhi and even further ahead in time than Mumbai.

Though the government finds “no merit” in the demand, the student organisation, which has held several meetings on the issue, feels that a separate zone is possible. Its leaders insisted that there was merit in this: “It can be and will be logically proven.”

Mizoram: 40 Houses Damaged, Five Hurt in Pre-Monsoon Squall

Aizawl, May 11 : Five persons were injured and around 40 houses were damaged in central Mizoram's Serchhip district in pre monsoon rain and storm, official sources said on Friday.

The reports said that of the five injured, three persons were discharged after administering first aid while two persons were admitted in the Serchhip district hospital.
   
Out of the 40 houses damaged by the strong wind, nine of them were swept to the ground while five houses were also rendered uninhabitable which included two residential quarters of the state health department.
   
Six electric poles fell to the ground resulting in Sechhip town being kept in the dark for the whole night.
   
Three houses were destroyed in Tachhip village in Aizawl by the squall while many villages across the state were powerless due to transmission lines being snapped by strong wind or massive landslides.

Northeast Experiencing Real Estate Boom

Guwahati, May 11 : The countrywide boom in the real estate sector is now visible in the northeast, especially in Assam, which has fast emerged as an investment hotspot.

Assam is a growing hub for trade and commerce in the Northeast. And, this has opened up new vistas for the real estate industry. Shopping malls, showrooms, apartments and hotels - the new face of city has made it one of the most happening places in the country.

And to tap the potential - real estate developers are venturing in. In recent years, the demand for both residential and commercial complexes is on the rise.

"Now the government is focusing in Northeast and there is immense potentiality for development basically industrial projects," said D K Roy, DY General Manager, TANTIA construction, Kolkata

Recently, a three-day realty expo was also held in Maniram Dewan Trade Centre in Guwahati.

Organised by AREIDA, it aimed at bringing real estate leaders and customers under one roof. Many multinational companies also participated in the expo.

"We have our own service, showroom here in Guwahati. Now we are concentrating on the entire Northeast because northeast is one of the fast growing market in India and buying products is very good. We already sold many products because this is the most developing area and expecting more good number in future," said Parag Miraz, a participant.

The decline of insurgency has triggered economic growth in the Northeast. One of the sectors to benefit from this - is the real estate.

NESO Meets PM On Northeast ‘Specific’ Issues

Dimapur, May 11 : A delegation of the Northeast Students Organization (NESO), which has been camping in New Delhi since May 6 to apprise the central leaders on the burning issues confronting the people of the region, has met the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh on May 8 and submitted a memorandum. According to a press note from the NESO, the delegation had an in-depth deliberation on the various issues affecting the region.

The NESO delegation also called on the Leader of Opposition, Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj; BJP President, Rajnath Singh; Congress Vice President, Rahul Gandhi; Election Commissioner of India, HS Brahma and the office bearers of the North East MPs Forum.

According to the press note from the NESO, the issues discussed included education policy and human resource development; repeal of impunitive legislations and the need to expedite the ongoing peace process for an early negotiated settlement; infiltration of illegal migrants, refugees and demand for a comprehensive policy thereof.

Other issues raised were economic and infrastructural development; employment policy for NE; Indo-Bangla land swap deal 2011 and stapled Visa; special constitutional status and separate time zone for NE region and restructuring of the Ministry of DoNER. The NESO has informed through its Chairman Samuel B Jyrwa and Secretary General Sinam Prakash on the outcome of the deliberation with the central leaders.

On the education policy and HRD, NESO urged the PM to set up a Special Educational Commission in order to assess the state of education in the NE and to evolve a suitable and appropriate educational policy which is relevant to the people. The NESO pointed out that thousands of students have no option and are compelled to seek better education in mainland India. The PM gave a patient hearing and assured to look into the matter.

The NESO has urged the PM to repeal the AFSPA, 1958 and other “inhuman laws,” and to expedite the ongoing peace process for an early negotiated settlement.

NESO asked the PM that if the government can send a parliamentary team to Jammu & Kashmir, why not a similar initiative can be taken for the NE region.  The PM responded in the affirmative, the NESO stated. On the ongoing peace process, the PM asserted that for the last nine years, he had taken personal initiative to bring about a negotiated settlement at the earliest in order to restore peace in the region.

NESO also pointed out to the problem of influx of illegal migrants/foreigners and refugees besides enrolment of illegal foreigners in the electoral roll. The PM was urged to take steps towards deleting such illegal entries and deporting them. NESO also pointed out that the National Register of Citizens, 1951 should be updated. Moreover, NESO urged the PM for effective implementation of Assam and Manipur accord. 

 The PM was also urged to evolve a sustainable economic policy for the NE region and to stop construction of mega dams in the region keeping in view the seismic sensitivity and to declare floods and problems of erosion in the NE region as national problems. The PM agreed to the viewpoint of the NESO on this matter.

On employment policy for the NE, the NESO delegation stressed on the need to have an employment policy for the indigenous peoples of NE whereby a 100% reservation in Grade III & IV is needed to be reserved in all the Central government offices located in the region.

On Indo-Bangla land swap deal 2011, NESO while expressing concern for the indigenous communities, asserted that this should be scraped in order to protect the land of the people.

On special constitutional status, NESO urged the PM to grant a Special Constitutional Status for the people of the NE region in order to delegate greater federal authority to the State governments including the rights over land and its natural resources.

According to the NESO, the PM explained that the NE region has a special status and that special packages meant solely for the region exists. However he assured more for advance development of the region. The NESO also demanded to the PM not to dissolve the DoNER Ministry and instead urged for its restructuring.

The PM assured that DoNER will not be dissolved and that the Ministry will be strengthened so as to boost economic development in the region.

Source: Morung Express