Tripura Looks to achieve 100% voter enrolment

AGARTALA: Tripura has set itself a target of enlisting 100 per cent of the eligible voters in the electoral rolls ahead of the general elections through massive campaigning and by approaching voters through booth-level officers (BLOs), said state chief electoral officer (CEO), Ashutosh Jindal, on Thursday.

The state achieved 100 per cent Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) coverage and enlisted 30,099 new voters in the 18-plus age group recently. President Pranab Mukherjee awarded Tripura for conducting 100 per cent error-free elections in the state assembly polls last year and for motivating eligible voters through Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation programme.

In order to meet the target, Jindal opened a counter at the 32nd Agartala Book Fair that began on Thursday, to facilitate on-spot enrolment of voters. Since enrolment and updating of electoral rolls is a continuous process, the entire state election machinery has been involved in the work.

Jindal observed that a small portion of youths and shifting voters did not show much interest in meeting election officials and filling forms. It was impossible to adopt the census method for enrolment of all eligible voters, he added.

"Apart from continuous campaigns through mass media, we can facilitate voter-enrolment at major public functions in Tripura. Hence we chose the book fair. If we are successful here, the department will participate in all fairs and festivals to enroll voters and address their queries," Jindal said. He added that the facilitation centre at the book fair comprises competent officers who can begin the registration process on spot, apart from making corrections, if any.

NCB probing ‘unusual’ NE drug route

By Adam Halliday

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) is investigating a drug trafficking route that, according to officials, would mark a “new and unusual” trend if discovered.

Anti-narcotics officials in Mizoram were recently left flummoxed by the testimony of a drug peddler, who was arrested after the seizure of the largest consignment of methamphetamine in Mizoram so far.

He claimed the drugs came eastward from Guwahati rather than along the traditional route that begins from Myanmar.

The Mizoram Police’s Special Narcotics squad and BSF troops had on January 30 seized 14 kg of the party drug worth Rs 2.25 crore from a man in Aizawl.

Assam becomes the first state to ban smokeless tobacco legally

Guwahati, Feb 14 : The north-east state Assam has become the first state to legally ban consumption and sale of all forms of smokeless tobacco, including pan masala containing tobacco and nicotine.

The Act comes into effect on Thursday. On Wednesday, state health minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma informed the legislative assembly that governor JB Patnaik had given assent to the Assam Health (Prohibition of manufacturing, advertisement, trade, storage, distribution, sale and consumption of zarda, gutkha, pan masala, etc, containing tobacco and/or nicotine) Bill, 2013, on Tuesday. "The notification will be issued on Wednesday, and the law will come into force from Thursday," Sarma said.

The law will come into force from Thursday, said Assam health minister Though several states have imposed similar bans under the food safety regulation, Assam will be the first to impose the ban through legislature. The state government decided to take this step after considering the fact that smokeless tobacco accounts for 90% of oral cancers.

The act also bans the manufacture, advertisement, trade, storage, distribution and sale of the substances. For violating the law, one shall be punished with imprisonment up to seven years and a fine between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 5 lakh. Consumption or possession of zarda, gutka and pan masala containing tobacco shall be punished with a fine of Rs 1,000 for the first offence and Rs 2,000 for each subsequent offence.

Sale, manufacture and storage of pan masala and gutka containing tobacco and nicotine have been banned for a year with effect from March 8, 2013, under the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulation, 2011.

"Our department can ban the sale of tobacco but the production aspect has to be handled by the agriculture department. We cannot ban production of tobacco. If any farmer produces such products, he has to sell them outside the state," Sarma added.

Mizoram policemen miffed over not getting top govt posts, threaten strike

Aizawl, Feb 13 : Senior Mizoram police officers are angry over not getting top govt posts and said they will push for a re-implementation of the decision.

Mizoram police investigate Bru leader, national newspaper over report of ethnic violence

Irked at the Mizoram government canceling a Cabinet decision to allot senior police officers secretary level posts, a police officers’ body comprised of SPs and senior Home Department officials on Wednesday took exception to the move and said it will “do whatever is necessary” to push for a re-implementation of the decision.

The move comes months after government engineers won a secretary-level post reserved for one of their own after several rounds of strikes. Cadres of the Mizoram Engineering Services were in fact the latest to be reserved such posts – various other service cadres from several Mizoram Organised Services, including the Mizoram Civil Services (MCS), Mizoram Finance and Accounts Services (MF&CS), Mizoram Secretariat Services (MSS) and the Mizoram Judicial Services (MJS) have and are currently heading various departments as secretary-level bureaucrats.

Wednesday’s meeting of officers from the Mizoram Police Services (MPS) condemned the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms’ (DP&AR) revocation of a September 11, 2013 cabinet decision to reserve three top administrative posts under the Home Department for MPS cadres.

“As torch-bearers of the government, we police officers have never shown any kind of unhappiness towards the state. We will negotiate with the government, but if that fails we will do whatever is necessary [to realise our demand],” a statement by the Mizoram Police Service Association said.

This is the second incident of Mizoram’s police personnel publicly complaining about service matters in less than six months. Late last year, a police body made up of more than 13,000 lower-rank personnel ranging from constables to inspectors had jumped the chain of command and directly approached the Chief Minister demanding a wage hike, complaining they were receiving less than their counterparts in various other departments.

China Slogan in Nido Backlash

16hr ‘curfew’ on ‘outsiders’ - Cry against discrimination grows louder

ZODIN SANGA AND KHELEN THOKCHOM

Shops down shutters in Imphal on Wednesday during the curfew called by six students’ groups. Picture by UB Photos Aizawl/Imphal, Feb. 12: Protests against racial discrimination and attacks on people from the Northeast in Delhi witnessed a pro-China slogan being raised in Mizoram and a “curfew” being imposed on “outsiders” in Manipur today. “Hello China”, read a placard at a demonstration staged by the Mizo Students’ Union in front of Raj Bhavan in Aizawl though Mizoram does not share a boundary with that country at all. The protest was held against the racial discrimination meted out to northeasterners in “mainland India” and to express the feeling of alienation which is seemingly gaining ground among the people of the region. “Is Northeast a part of India?” read another banner. “We came under the Indian Union without our consent. If we are continually oppressed and racially discriminated in what is called our country, what else can we do?” MZU president Zodinpuia said. Nido Tania on his birthday on January 4. Picture by Rajesh Kumar He, however, clarified that they do not mean to wage a war against India or launch a secessionist movement like Laldenga-led Mizo National Front in the early sixties. “We just want to let India know that if we are treated like second class citizens or aliens here, there are some countries in our neighbourhood where we can feel more at home and where we will not be discriminated on the basis of our physical features,” Zodinpuia said. The students’ union also sent a memorandum to Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde through Mizoram governor Vakkom Purushothaman. It threatened to “launch a movement” if discrimination against people from the Northeast continued and appropriate steps were not taken to address the issue. “We demand that the authorities should give paramount importance to the safety and security of the people from the Northeast living in Delhi and elsewhere in the country,” the memorandum said. In Manipur, a coordination committee of six student bodies imposed a statewide “curfew” on all “outsiders” (non-Manipuris) from 5am to 11pm in protest against the serial attacks on people from the Northeast in Delhi. They are the All Manipur Students Union, Democratic Students Alliance of Manipur, Kangleipak Students Association, Manipuri Students Federation, Students Union of Kangleipak and the Apunba Iramdam Maheiroi Sinpanglup. The curfew was a part of the ongoing protest against the killing of Nido Tania, a student from Arunachal Pradesh, and attacks on Manipuris, including rape of a minor girl, in Delhi recently. A majority of shops and restaurants owned by outsiders remained shut in Imphal for the day and non-Manipuri labourers and hawkers did not venture out of the city for their daily livelihood. Only shops owned by local people remained open. “We closed our shops to honour the sentiments of the people and to show solidarity with the people of Manipur,” a non-Manipuri businessman of the city said. Sources, however, said most of them downed shutters fearing trouble from protesters. Shops and saloons owned by non-Manipuris on the city’s outskirts also remained closed. “The hawkers who regularly bring bakery items to my shop did not turn up today because of the restrictions imposed by the student organisations,” Leima Devi, a shopkeeper in Imphal West, said. Sources said the protesters warned non-Manipuri hawkers found selling items in and around Imphal today. Sources said the student groups may continue the agitation to demand justice for the victims. The United Revolutionary Front, a militant group engaged in peace process with the government, also joined the protests. Police said there was no report of any untoward incident during the day. Armed police, Manipur Rifles and CRPF personnel were deployed in and around the city to ensure that outsiders were “safe”. The Manipur unit of the BJP also sent a memorandum, signed by party president Th. Chaoba Singh, to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today, urging him to frame an anti-racism law to protect northeasterners and deliver justice to victims and their kin. “This (the attacks) is not a good social indicator for a democratic and developing country like India,” the memorandum said. It added that the attacks would be globally condemned and would affect the country’s goodwill.

Quit Delhi Mood Grows in Northeast Pockets

The capital’s latest ferment over racist attacks against those from the Northeast is beginning to boil over into a Quit Delhi movement.

NEW DELHI: Citizens from the seven Northeast states living and working in Delhi say that recent spike in violent incidents against them has compounded the racial abuse they face constantly to the extent that going back to their states now looks like a good choice.

The families of many of these youngsters living in Delhi too have been asking them to return. “While racism is nothing new, the situation seems to be getting worse with each passing day. I have been interacting with a lot of students from the Northeast and while they have been mulling returning home, it is their parents who seem to be frantically worried. So many of them have been calling their children back, asking them to leave their jobs or studies and just return home to safety,” said Tapan Doni, a resident of Arunachal Pradesh and the chairperson of the recently constituted Northeast Joint Committee that has been demanding justice for Nido Tania, the 19-year-old killed in an apparently racially motivated attack. “We are doing what we can, trying to remain cautious and alert, sticking together for we know that even the police cannot put an end to such behaviour overnight,” said Doni.

“Delhi has never really been perceived as a safe place for anybody, yet one comes here seeking a better life and hoping to overcome this fear. Recent incidents of violence against people from the North- east have, however, taken this fear to another level. Most my friends and I are very worried and are contemplating going back home,” said Rimi Awangshi. The 26-year-old, who works in a BPO firm in Gurgaon, has been living in the Kotla Mubarakpur area of South Delhi for three years now.

Attitude

“Sometimes when I am waiting for my office cab late at night, locals gawk at me. And this when I am very conservatively dressed.

Some of my friends have faced worse things. They have been sneered at, men have walked up to them to check if they are prostitutes,” Awangshi said.

“The locals probably think we are not Indians because we look different. Or, they probably think that since we are all by ourselves here, without any family to take care of us, we are weak. Hence, they can get away with making remarks at us or even attacking us physically,” said Chon Konghay, 24. Konghay and her husband, both from Manipur, run a convenience store in the Kotla Mubarakpur area.

North-easterners say that considering that they “look in a particular manner and speak with an accent”, everyday living in Delhi can be a grueling experience.

“The locals believe we drink all the time, return home late at night, have casual sex, and hence landlords have a right to throw us out at their whim. The autowallahs think we are outsiders and hence can be overcharged, shopkeepers and local youngsters can abuse us.

It is a never-ending nightmare,” said Diganta Lahon, 24, from Assam. “Most of the times, we ignore such behaviour for lack of a better choice,” he said.

Rampant

Delhi’s racism is not the preserve of a particular neighbourhood or area, but runs rampant across the Capital. In an attempt at securing camaraderie, safety, and out of economic compulsions, Northeasterners living in Delhi have gravitated to ghettoisation, primarily in South and North Delhi areas like Munirka, Kotla Mubarakpur, Satya Niketan, Chirag Dilli and Outram Lines. These areas are conveniently close to most of their workplaces and colleges, rentals are cheap—a single room set (with a bathroom and a kitchenette) costs between Rs 4,000 and 6,000 per month.

Extreme physical and sexual assaults are more common than the most pessimistic estimate.

“In November last year, about four local men accosted me right here in this street. It was around 1.30 am and I was returning home. They assaulted me and asked for money. I said I didn’t have any and just gave them my mobile phone. Then, just last week two of my female friends were assaulted at the end of this street. The matter was reported in the media but nothing has changed on the ground. The locals don’t fear anything and believe they can get away with such behaviour,” said Michael M, a resident of Munirka.

Talking about the kinds of comments passed on them, students in Delhi University’s North Campus said that people have come to accept their food items like momos and noodles but have not accepted the people. “ It is like you love to eat momos which are our staple diet but you hate us.

Again, you call us names that are our food items. What if we call you gobi- paratha because you eat it?” said Leeyir from Arunachal Pradesh.

Mizoram delegation visits 3s India facility in Pune

By Dileep Athavale

Pune, Feb 12 : A delegation led by Valbuanga- project director, SIPMIU from the state government of Mizoram accompanied by two senior authorities from The Asian Development bank (ADB) and senior engineers from the state department recently visited the facility of 3s India, an eco-friendly waste management solutions provider in Pune.

Rajeev Kher, chief executive officer and founder of 3S and Saraplast Pvt Ltd., along with Kevin Mellifont- chief of strategy and mentor, welcomed the 13 member delegation who are visiting the state to understand sanitation and waste management systems in order to adopt viable measures for their own requirements in Mizoram.

3S offers a wide range of portable sanitation solutions which includes specialty, mains free restrooms, bio toilets, septic systems, wash stands, urinals and allied cleaning and waste management services in six regions of India. 3S primarily works to provide portable restrooms and allied products along with cleaning, evacuation, disposal and waste treatment solutions to labour camps at construction sites, large public gatherings and religious fairs, events and concerts, unserved settlements, slums and communities as well as for disaster management.

Kher made a presentation on the company, its products, services, methodology of working, culture and business plans and the guests were given a step wise tour of the facility while highlighting their eco friendly and viable products and services.

Kher offered to help the state government authorities with any assistance towards creating better techniques, methods, and even drafting sanitation laws and regulations with local and state government authorities in the state of Mizoram

Northeast India Associations Discuss Anti-Racism Law

New Delhi, Feb 11 : Several northeastern associations came together with speakers like boxer Shiva Thapa, Tripura Maharaja Pradyot Bikram Manikya and Binalakshmi Nepram to discuss the draft of a strong and comprehensive anti-racism law. The core committee will meet all the MPs from the northeast on Tuesday so that the bill can be presented in Parliament.

"This is the first time I was feeling so bad taking a flight to Delhi," said Thapa. He said it was high time a proper law was formulated to protect those who are persecuted on the basis of looks. Demanding a strong anti-racism law in India, the unions blamed the Centre as well as the Delhi government for not looking into the discrimination faced by them.

"All governments have failed to protect our people. The elected representatives from northeastern states have done nothing to help people who are discriminated against in the capital," said Bina Lakshmi Nepram, founder of the Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network.

They want to include south Indians in the law as they also face discrimination. The speakers pointed out that even India had signed the United Nations' anti-racism treaty. "But they never applied any of it here," said Nepram.
The northeast community is upset with chief minister Arvind Kejriwal for not following up after announcing a committee. "Even Kejriwal, instead of acting firmly with the accused in the Nido Tania case, has put the onus on us. He's assured us of investigating the matter which has not been done till now. Where is AAP now?" said Pradyot Bikram Manikya.

The latest data by the North East Support Centre and Helpline shows 86% of people from the northeast in the capital have faced discrimination. Founding member Alana Golmei said the Centre should come up with an anti-racism law to insulate people from different forms of harassment.

"We are Indians and have the same rights enjoyed by people from other states." The anti-racism law will not just protect people from the northeast but also those living outside their states, she added.