Nagaland Post www.nagalandpost.com
Vol XXXII No. 310
DIMAPUR, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2022 Pages 16 ` 5.00
India lose to Morocco 0-3; out of U-17 WC SPORTS, PAGE 16
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President flags off MeghalayaNagaland direct train service
DIMAPUR, OCT 14 (NPN): President Droupadi Murmu flagged off the first train service linking Meghalaya with Nagaland via Assam. She flagged off the inaugural run of the existing Guwahati-LumdingGuwahati Express, which had been extended up to Shokhuvi in Nagaland in one end and up to Mendipathar in Meghalaya on the other. Murmu launched the train service virtually from Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra, Guwahati in presence of Assam and Nagaland governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi, Assam chief minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas Rameswar Teli and a host of ministers from Assam and other dignitaries, including Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) general manager Anshul Gupta. Speaking on the occasion, the President said she was pleased to inaugu-
Reminder for removal of cables from electric poles DIMAPUR, OCT 14 (NPN): Power department has issued final reminder to all cable TV operators, mobile operators and telecom operators to remove cables obstructing and hampering the progress of work in shifting of existing 11KV lines and LT distribution network to the newly constructed trunk lines in and around Dimapur town. Dimapur electrical division executive engineer Y Akito Sema has informed that no further notice would be served and any cables found obstructing the work progress would be cut/removed without warning.
NH-2 travel advisory
DIMAPUR, OCT 14 (NPN): Sub-Divisional Officer (C) Wokha has informed that National Highway-2 (Wokha-Mokokchung road) would remain closed from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on October 16, 2022 to allow clearance of major mudslide caused by incessant rain and consequent road blockade at Wokha village location 80+300Km to 80+400Km in Wokha district. All medium/light vehicles on MokokchungWokha-Kohima route have been advised to use Alichen-Mangmetong-Doyang Reservoir-Wokha “O” Point route during the period.
This is it!
“One authority issued permit for sale of crackers. But other authorities will penalise me for selling them.” K Y M C
President Droupadi Murmu speaking at the inaugural programme held in Guwahati, Friday. (NFR)
rate the train service and thanked Union Minister for Railways, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw and his entire team for their sincere efforts in further augmenting rail connectivity in the Northeast. This is the first direct passenger train service connecting Meghalaya and Nagaland and will boost the interstate connectivity, fulfilling a long-pending demand of the people of both
the States. Mendipathar is the only railway station in Meghalaya having passenger train operations, while Shokhuvi is the second railway station in Nagaland to get train connectivity after a gap of more than 100 years. The first direct passenger train connecting Nagaland with Arunachal Pradesh was started on August 26 this year by NFR. The extended service of Guwahati-Lumding up to Shokhuvi would be the second passenger train con-
necting Shokhuvi. This was stated in a press release by NFR chief public relations officer Sabyasachi De. He said foundation stone of a modern cargocum-coaching terminal at Agthori station would facilitate traders with regular supply of perishable and white goods for the North-eastern region. The terminal would have world class standards facilities and infrastructure like parcel office, labour rest room, circulating area and enough space for inward and outward movement of trucks, he added. According to De, the commencement of train service and foundation for the cargo terminal was a major step towards improving connectivity and facilitating development of all the North-eastern States. These would lead to easy movement of passengers and material throughout India and bring more employment opportunities for the people of the region, he claimed.
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KOHIMA, OCT 14 (NPN): State government would spend Rs. 69 crore as premium annually for Chief Minister’s Health Insurance Scheme (CMHIS), out of which Rs. 16 crore was released on Friday. Finance commissioner Sentiyanger disclosed during a press conference post launch of CMHIS at civil secretariat here. According to CMHIS portal, altogether 46,006 households, 61 State government employees and 45,945 pensioners had been covered till 7 pm on Friday
Neiba Kronu along with officials addressing the media. (NP)
under the scheme, besides 2,33,328 were covered by Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). Planning & Coordination, Land Revenue and Parliamentary Affairs minister Neiba Kronu said CMHIS was meant to provide free and cashless treatment for
various ailments to all citizens of the State. He said the beneficiary families (general category) would get a health coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh per annum on a family floater basis similar to AB-PMJAY, while the sum assured for the State government employees would be Rs 20 lakh
INTERNATIONAL, PAGE 13
Compensation to victims of Shopping Arcade incident
Chief Minister’s health insurance scheme launched in Nagaland
DIMAPUR, OCT 14 (NPN): State government has announced to provide compensation of Rs.4 lakh each to the next of the kin of two individuals who were killed on October 12, 2022 when two eucalyptus trees fell on them at Naga Shopping Arcade (Super Market), Dimapur. A statement from NSDMA home department stated that compensation from State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) would be provided as soon as possible after following due procedure. NSDMA also informed that Rs.12,700 each has been provided to the two seriously injured persons as per the norms of assistance of Ministry of Home Affairs from SDRF. The two deceased persons have been identified as Holika (33) and Vijay (45) while two seriously injured persons were Moksodul Haq and Khetoli. Four more persons, who also suffered minor injuries, were discharged after receiving first aid at District Hospital, NSDMA stated.
government was pursuing various financing resources including National Health Mission, World Bank , JICA etc to improve the state’s hospital facilities. Rio appealed to all the beneficiaries to get enrolled through online enrolment portal including also for all hospitals to immediately enrolled so they could also be able to provide services immediately. Delivering keynote address, state chief secretary, J Alam said that the Oriental Insurance Company Limited would be the insurance partner. He said the government has already signed the agreement with the company. Alam expressed hope that the state would be able to provide equitable, affordable and quality healthcare services to the people of the State. Further, he stated that CMHIS can only be a success if all the stakeholders, including the district administration, hospitals both public and private in the State, insurance partner and the people implementing the scheme work hand in hand to bring the benefit to all the citizens in the State. NHA CEO Dr. R. S. Sharma, in his live address from Delhi, stated that with the launch of CMHIS, Nagaland would become the second state in North-east to have universal health coverage. State health minister, S Pangnyu Phom, informed that there were two schemes being implemented in the State covering specific population segmentsAB PM-JAY scheme for the pre-identified deprived categories and Medical Reimbursement Scheme (MR Scheme) for the government employees and their dependent family members.
State to spend `69 cr annually as premium for CMHIS
Correspondent
Russia to evacuate from 4 cities as Ukraine advances
per family per annum on a family floater basis. Further, he mentioned that any additional expenses incurred by the government employees beyond the insured amount would be reimbursed on a case-to-case basis by the State government on the recommendation of State Medical Board. Noting that applying for medical reimbursements often involved a long procedure and releasing the amount took time, Kronu claimed that CMHIS would be very helpful to get free health services and appealed (Cont’d on p-8)
Neiphiu Rio, Pangnyu Phom and others at the launching programme.
Correspondent
KOHIMA, OCT 14 (NPN): Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana Chief Minister’s Health Insurance Scheme (AB PMJAY CMHIS), which seeks to provide free health insurance cover of Rs.5 lakh per family per year, was launched by state chief minister Neiphiu Rio here Thursday. The chief minister launched the scheme at CM’s State Banquet Hall, CMRC, Kohima, as special guest and National Health Authority (NHA) CEO Dr. RS Sharma, who attended the programme virtually as guest of honour. Speaking at the launch, Rio said that the scheme covering the entire population of the State would expand the coverage of insurance benefits, over and above those being covered under Prime Minister’s Ayushman Bharat scheme. Rio described CMHIS as state-specific welfare scheme that would enable people of the state to get insurance of better access to health services under the scheme. He said that the scheme would provide an assured coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh for almost every illness requiring hospitalization. The scheme will be available
throughout a wide network of nearly 28000 Ayushman Bharat empanelled hospitals across the country, he said. Rio also said government servants and pensioners will get coverage of up to Rs. 20 lakh per family and also have access to nearly 1500 Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) empanelled hospitals. He expressed the hope that the scheme will prevent many families driven to poverty or suffer extreme hardship after spending money on medical treatment. He said that it was also an opportunity for the private hospitals in the state to treat patients and get assured payments. “This is the first time that they are getting an opportunity to get empanelled and treat patients not only from the general population but also from among government servants who are as of now going for treatment outside the state,” Rio said. He also said that all government hospitals in the state will also get empanelment to provide in-patient treatment under the scheme and the revenue earned from the scheme can be used by the hospitals for improving the delivery of health services in their respective facilities. He said the
(Cont’d on p-8)
Skipped polls, expect call from EC Himachal polls on Nov 12; Gujarat dates not announced
NEW DELHI, OCT 14 (PTI): Missed out voting in elections? The Election Commission may soon reach out to you with a plea to cast your precious vote in the next round of elections. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar Friday said it had reached out to the industry, departments and organisations with more than 500 employees to appoint nodal officers to create awareness among the nonvoting employees. “After the voting, these nodal officers will try and persuade these non-voting employees. We will try to
reach out to them and say ‘please try next time’. That is a kind of awareness that we will start,” Kumar said at a press conference here. He said EC was focusing its energies trying to address the issue of urban apathy towards the poll process. Kumar said four metropolitan cities were among the 7-8 districts that had witnessed the least voting in the 2019 general elections. “We are focusing on urban apathy very, very seriously,” CEC said, adding that the CEOs and DEOs have been asked to focus on polling booths that have
witnessed lowest polling percentage in each constituency. Kumar said district electoral officers have been asked to personally visit such booths, find out reasons for lower turnout and address the difficulties faced by the people. He said the Commission has three broad objectives – to hold free and fair, inclusive, accessible and inducement-free elections. The CEC said the Commission would also reach out to colleges and universities to increase their participation in the poll process.
NEW DELHI, OCT 14 (PTI): Himachal Pradesh will go to polls on November 12, the Election Commission said on Friday, but did not announce the poll schedule for Gujarat citing past precedents. Addressing a press conference here, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said the counting of votes for Himachal Pradesh polls will take place on December 8 and elaborate arrangements have been made to ensure maximum participation of voters in the “festival of democracy”.
However, the Commission refrained from announcing the poll schedule for the Gujarat assembly which has a tenure till February 18, 2023. “The Election Commission goes by convention in announcing poll schedules. It has decided to go by the convention which was last followed,” Kumar told reporters when asked about keeping the announcement for Gujarat in abeyance. Kumar asserted that polls in one state will not affect elections in the other as “there is a gap of 40 days” in the qualifying dates of
the state assemblies of Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. The term of the Himachal Pradesh assembly ends on January 8, 2023. However, it is still possible to hold Gujarat elections in the NovemberDecember period so that the votes could be counted on the same day as was the case in 2017. Some opposition leaders pointed out that announcing Gujarat elections later could allow the incumbent government to roll out more welfare schemes before the model code of conduct kicks in.
CMO says ED interrogation of Rio fake; Not surprised says RPP DIMAPUR, OCT 14 (NPN): Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) has denied a New Indian Express report on October 13, 2022 alleging that chief minister Neiphiu Rio was interrogated by Enforcement Directorate (ED) for several hours at a military facility at Rangapahar in connection with a “non-existent High Court”. In a statement, CMO termed as “fake” the news by one Amit Mukherjee, circulating through various media and social media platforms. CMO also clarified that the chief minister was never called by ED in connection
with any matter connected with High Court. Further the communiqué termed it as “unfortunate that such false and baseless allegations were being made without verification, primarily to cause loss and injury to the reputation of the chief minister”. CMO said action in accordance with law was being initiated against those concerned and responsible for “reckless dissemination” of the fake news. The department concerned would clarify other aspects of the news item, the release added. RPP not surprised: Meanwhile, Rising People’s
Party (RPP) said it was not surprised at Enforcement Directorate (ED) interrogating chief minister Neiphiu Rio for six hours. In a statement, RPP also said the interrogation would not be the last as it expected more grilling of the chief minister in the days to come. Despite Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) denying the news and terming it fake, RPP pointed out that there was no smoke without fire. And quoting newspaper reports that the army had declined to comment, RPP asserted that this meant that
something was fishy. Secondly, the party recalled that several months back ED had interrogated five close confidantes of Rio in connection with case no. ECIR/ GWZO/09/2020/488, one of whom was the personal assistant to CM. Thus, it was only natural that the chief minister himself would be interrogated, it added. While the question in everyone’s mind was whether ED would pursue the matter to its logical conclusion or not, RPP asserted that it was amply clear that the chief minister could not escape the net cast by ED.
It said the chief minister was now a prisoner of BJP, which would have intense ramifications for the State. The party said ED was also vigorously chasing 10 NDPP MLAs, while speculation was rife that the Central agency had built up cases of corruption against them. Citing sources, RPP said these 10 MLAs might strike a bargain with BJP to join the party. Similarly, given the aggressive pursuance of the case by ED, RPP said Rio too joining BJP could not be ruled out either. It stated that NDPP was in a precarious position and there was absolutely
nothing the party could do anything about it. Imchen joins issue: Former minister Imkong L. Imchen, who was among 21 NPF members who joined NDPP, opined that since NDPP is a registered political party, it has every right to file FIR against sources responsible for spreading the news. Therefore, he said since NDPP has declared that it was putting all legal instruments to place to apprehend the culprit responsible under the law, who or what is stopping NDPP from filing the FIR?
In 2017, EC had announced elections to Himachal on October 12 and to Gujarat on October 25. According to poll schedule for Himachal on Friday, the notification for election will be issued on October 17 and the last date for filing of nominations will be October 25. The scrutiny of nominations will be held on October 27 and the last date for withdrawal of nominations will be October 29. Kumar said the polls will be held on November 12 and the counting of votes will be held on December 8.
Coordination meet for Hornbill Festival on Oct 17
DIMAPUR, OCT 14 (NPN): In view of the upcoming 23nd Edition of Hornbill Festival 2022 and to deliberate on the preparations, the state tourism department has convened a coordination meeting on October 17, 2022 at 11 a.m. in the conference hall of the directorate of tourism, Kohima. In a notification, Tourism director Keduosieu Metha has, therefore, requested two representatives/members from each tribal hoho to attend the (Cont’d on p-8) meeting. K Y M C