Rumours trigger panic buying of salt in Northeast

November 16, 2013: Rumours from Bihar that salt was unavailable has severely hit all the Northeastern states which resulted in prices skyrocketing and panic buying.

The news following purported closure of salt-producing factories in Gujarat has caused panic among the people, even leading to clashes between customers and traders at various places and arrest of over a dozen black marketers.

According to The Shillong Times, “There was rush of customers at shops till late in the night at various places, including Jorhat, Nagaon, Tezpur, Sivasagar, Dibrugah, Golaghat and Lakhimpur. Traders ran out of stock at some places in Jorhat, Sivasagar etc.”

Meanwhile in Mizoram, the state government on Thursday warned businessmen against hoarding ‘salt’, which was rumoured to be sold for as high as Rs 300 a kilo against around Rs 10 per kg normal price in some areas of the state, while some shops in Aizawl sold more than 100 quintals of salt in just three hours, reports said.

The Dimapur Superintendent of Police is reported to have issued orders to identify and arrest such unscrupulous traders indulging in profiteering and black marketing and rumour mongers.

Majority of the wholesalers operating in the Northeast region hailed from other states of the country, including West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.

Manipur to witness first International flight on Nov 21

Tulihal Airport in Imphal is finally set to debut on International Aviation map on November 21, more precisely at 9:30 am, when Golden Myanmar Airlines aircraft from Myanmar makes it maiden landing at the airport, coinciding with the inaugural event of Manipur Sangai Tourism Festival 2013 on the same day.

The passengers of Golden Myanmar's first flight to Manipur would include Chief Ministers of Myanmar’s Saigang and Mandalay divisions as well as Meitei diaspora and media persons from the neighbouring country.

According to a local media report, the state Chief Minister O Ibobi, along with the visiting two Myanmarese Chief Ministers would then head for Dibugarh to attend the North East Business Summit on November 22.

"We are already in a dialogue with (private Indian airline) Indigo to start a service between Tulihal and Yangon," Principal Secretary (Commerce and Industries) O. Nabakishore Singh told IANS. Indigo was, however, yet to respond.

A round trip for Imphal-Mandalay flights is estimated to cost around Rs 11,500.

Mizo Congress ‘Dynasty’ Spreads Wings

By Linda Chhakchhuak

Aizawl, Nov 15 : The ‘royal’ family or ‘Lal Chhungkua,’ as the family of Mizoram Chief Minister and Congress boss Lal Thanhawla is called, has spread its political fold as one more member of the family has bagged a ticket of the party for the forthcoming Assembly election. This brings the number of “family candidates” to five even as two seats have been allotted to the party chief himself.

A period of 40 years as the head of the most powerful political party in the State is long enough for any family to expand its wings. The latest entrant into the list of candidates is Chalrosanga Ralte, brother of Sports Minister Zodintluanga. Both Chalrosanga Ralte and Zodintluanga, who are contesting on Congress tickets, are the brothers of Thanhawla’s wife.

Thanhawla’s own brother, Lal Thanzara, currently a Parliamentary Secretary assisting the Chief Minister, will contest again from Aizawl N III. Thanhawla himself will contest from two constituencies – Serchhip, which he represents, and Hrangturzo.

Another family with close ties with the ‘Lals’ is the family of Lt Col (retd) ZS Zuala who himself represents the Aizawl S II seat. Zuala will contest from the same constituency again. He was a surprise candidate in 2008 as he had no political background. Zuala is the brother-in-law of John Rotluangliana, Speaker of the Mizoram Assembly and also of Lok Sabha member CL Ruala.

These two powerful families have no blood ties, but informed sources said that Zuala’s and Thanhawla’s family links date back to their fathers. Indeed, these relationships make Thanhawla a powerful patriarch presiding over one of the most formidable political dynasties in India.

During the previous years, the Lal Chhungkua factor did not receive much attention. For this election, however, the family network has become a hot topic of discussion on several Mizo social media sites.

It all gained momentum when a Congress ticket was given to Chalrosanga. Due to the “wild-card candidature” of Dr Lalmalsawma, a political novice, the grapevine is working overtime even within the closed Congress circles. Son of a noted Mizo evangelist from Shillong, businessman Lalmalsawma has been given the Congress ticket by surpassing other aspirants.

“Power and wealth are concentrated in a single network comprising close families and I really do not know how it will do any good to promoting democratic values,” said Muana, a professor teaching in one of the colleges here.

Thanhawla, the patriarch of the family, has been a pivotal figure in Mizoram politics. In the schism between two Congress factions at the Centre in the early 1970s, he sided with the Indian National Congress led by Indira Gandhi. He has been the president of the State Congress since 1973. He has been the Chief Minister for nearly 20 years. The elitist family aura has received further embellishment by the change of his name from the simple Mizo spelling, ‘Lalthanhawla’ to ‘Lal Thanhawla,’ the second spelling indicating to the simple rural Mizo mind, a ‘chief’ or ‘king.’ The ‘Lal’ has been separated from their names by his spouse, Lalriliani, and his politician brother. A name or title can play many tricks as is evident from what many Mizos believe about the original Congress dynasty at the Centre, the Gandhis.

Congress party sources, however, played this down by explaining that Mizos having single names in their certificates have often had to break their names into two to fill up passport forms which demand first name, middle name and surname. “There is no conspiracy or megalomania behind this. It is just a matter of convenience,” they maintained.

‘No Quota, So NOTA’

By Rahul Karmakar

Guwahati, Nov 15 : For 9,771 Gorkha voters of Mizoram, NOTA isn’t just a new button on the electronic voting machine. It is an opportunity provided by the Election Commission to strengthen their demand for other backward caste or OBC status.

NOTA expands to none of the above, an option for people unhappy with candidates chosen by the political parties to represent them.

The Gorkhas began settling in present-day Mizoram in 1880. They enjoyed backward status when Mizoram was a part of Assam and also after it became a Union

Territory in 1972. Statehood in 1987 made them a ‘general category’ group.

“We merit OBC status as per the Mandal Commission report in 1980. All parties acknowledged our demand when we raised it, but nothing moved beyond promises. That is why we are weighing the NOTA option this time,” said HB Thapa, chairman of the Mizoram Gorkha Joint Action Committee.

The Gorkhas are a classless society in Mizoram and number around 25,000. Their voting strength across 23 of the state’s 40 assembly seats is 9,771.

Mizoram: Prime Minister likely to campaign for Congress on Saturday

Aizawl, Nov 15 : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to campaign for Congress in Aizawl on Saturday as the election to the 40-member Mizoram legislature is scheduled to be held on November 25.

Dr Singh would address a public rally at the parade ground of the third battalion of the Mizoram Armed Police on Saturday, official sources said today.

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi is also expected to visit south Mizoram's Lunglei town on November 18 while AICC Vice President Rahul Gandhi is likely to address public rallies at the Mizoram-Assam border Kolasib town and the Mizoram-Myanmar border Champhai town on November 21, party sources said.

Programmes of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are yet to be confirmed officially.

The Hottest Item in Town

By B. S. Satish Kumar

Nagaland agri entrepreneur Abea Mero displaying Naga Mircha variety of chilli at the BioFach India, in Bangalore on Thursday. Photo: Bhagya Prakash K.

The traditional Nagaland Chilli variety is 400 times more hotter than normal ones

Can you imagine a chilli variety that is nearly 400 times hotter than the normal ones? Well, the Naga Mircha, the traditional chilli variety of Nagaland, is one of the hottest chilli varieties of the world as its pungency level is about 400 times more than the normal ones.

This hottest variety, which is available for tasting, is naturally the hottest attraction at the three-day international organic trade fair titled “BioFach India together with India Organic 2013” being organised jointly by Nuremberg Messe India Private Limited, International Competence Centre for Organic Agriculture (ICCOA) and the Karnataka State Agriculture Department at the Bangalore Palace Grounds from Thursday.

The Naga Mircha has been showcased at the stall put up by the Nagaland Government in the trade fair. As against the pungency level of 2,500 to 5,000 Schoville Heat Units (which is a method of measuring the pungency level) of normal chillies, the Naga Mircha has a pungency measure of over 10 lakh SHUs, according to experts.

Akali Sema, Professor of the Department of Horticulture in the School of Agricultural Sciences and Rural Development of the Nagaland University, points out that Naga Mircha was granted the Geographical Indication tag in 2007.

Nagaland is using this hottest variety to draw the attention of the world on it’s organic crops. Naga Mircha is one of the few chosen varieties of crops which are being promoted under organic farming in this hill State.

Abea Mero, a foreign educated agri entrepreneur from Nagaland, who is a major exporter of Naga Mircha, says the produce is being sold around Rs. 1,800 to 2,000 a kg within India. “We export it to various States within India and several foreign countries. The demand is growing so much that it is not possible to meet all of it,” she notes.

Pointing out that this chilli grows only in a particular region of Nagaland as the crop is very sensitive to weather conditions, she says she is making efforts to increase the area under cultivation of this chilli.

She also processes the chilli and sells pickles made out of it.

According to Dr. Sema, Nagaland is now identifying important native crops that have commercial value and trying to promote organic cultivation methods for them so that farmers can get remunerative prices. Such crops which are being promoted under organic cultivation include pineapple, turmeric and ginger in addition to Naga Mircha.

Who will raise INS Sindhurakshak? Five firms are in the fray to salvage sunken submarine... and find the truth about how her crew died

By Gaurav C. Sawant

It is the Indian Navy's biggest peace time disaster till date, and one that is still shrouded in mystery.
What caused the catastrophe on board INS Sindhurakshak, a frontline Kilo class submarine which had just returned from Russia after a multi-million dollar refit, remains unknown.

The navy is desperate to salvage the sunken sub and find out the truth, not least because 18 precious lives were lost in the blast.

Last week, technical bids were opened to bring the sub to surface.

What's next? Salvage work on INS Sindhurakshak has so far drawn a blank

"All the five companies that participated in the bid met the technical requirements. Now the commercial bids are being processed to identify the lowest bidder," Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral D.K. Joshi, told Headlines Today.

In an unprecedented move to cut down months of 'negotiation time' and files moving up and down different departments, an empowered committee has been formed and stationed in Mumbai to identify the lowest bidder.

"The files move between several offices for requisite clearances. At times that takes months. We have sought and got government clearance to cut down that time and quickly settle for the lowest bidder with all parameters being met," Admiral Joshi added.

The empowered committee is headed by the navy and features officers of both the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and a competent financial authority to clear the paperwork for defence minister A.K. Antony's final nod.

"The navy wants to know what caused the loss of lives of 18 service personnel. While they have been declared as 'battle casualties' since the submarine was about to leave for a patrolling mission, the families are keen to know what caused the incident.

"The navy has a fair idea but once the submarine is salvaged, an effort will be made to find out which ordnance blew up and which is intact," a source said.

Interest: Chief of Naval Staff Admiral D.K. Joshi has revealed five firms are vying to salvage the sub

"While within five minutes of the incident (on August 13) submarines in the adjoining berths had sailed out, we had a safety stand down immediately. We went through all our standard operating procedures and did a detailed internal audit," Admiral Joshi said.

But was it, as many in the navy describe it, 'a freak accident?'

"We should be able to know once she is salvaged," he added.

The navy is hopeful that by early next year the operation to salvage INS Sindhurakshak will commence.

The salvage firms include the one that was engaged in the operations to retrieve the ill-fated Russian Navy Oscar II class nuclear powered cruise missile submarine Kursk, which sank in the Barents Sea on August 12, 2000, killing all 118 sailors on board.

Mizoram’s Ministers And Speaker Collectively Got 3 Times Richer in 5 years

Aizawl, Nov 14 : Mizoram's ministers and speaker have together become three times richer in the five years the Congress ruled the state, according to a comparison of the affidavits they submitted in 2008 and 2013.

Among the 11 ministers and the speaker, minister P C Zoramsangliana, who holds the transport, art & culture and printing & stationery portfolios, got more than seven times richer and tops the list of such jumps. His current assets are worth Rs 6.53 crore.

Following him is Minister of State (Local Administration and Social Welfare) P C Lalthanliana who got nearly five times richer and currently owns Rs 1.15 crore. Third is minister Lalsawta, who holds the education, law & judicial and parliamentary affairs portfolios, and whose assets increased over four-and-a-half times. His assets are currently valued at Rs 98.79 lakh.

Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla, with Rs 8.7 crore to his name, is the richest among all the ministers in the outgoing government. The four-time CM got almost four times richer since 2008.

The second richest in the outgoing cabinet is Home Minister R Lalzirliana, who also holds the rural development, prisons, secretariat administration and fisheries portfolios. The home minister currently has assets worth Rs 6.35 crores, an increase of more than three-and-a-half times in five years.

Speaker R Romawia is the third richest among the outgoing government's power-houses with assets worth 3.28 crore. He got four-and-half times richer.

Sports Minister Zodintluanga, who had assets worth Rs 2.28 crore in 2008, currently has Rs 2.99 crore and is the minister whose value has increased the least since the last elections.