18 june

Nagaland Post www.nagalandpost.com

Vol XXXI No. 192

DIMAPUR, FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 2021 Pages 12 ` 5.00

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Govt to restrict all movement from June 19

DIMAPUR, JUN 17 (NPN): The State government has ordered a total ban on movement of individuals and vehicles from 4 p.m. to 5 a.m. with effect from June 19, on all days across the state, except for reasons/purposes and for those who are permitted to move as per the existing lockdown measures.

This order comes close on the heels of the decision of the High Powered Committee (HPC) on Covid-19 for extension of the ongoing total lockdown from June 19 to June 30.

In the order, chief secretary J Alam explained that the ban on movement was warranted since the positivity rate of Covid-19 in the State continued to remain high, above 5% in all districts. He said order was warranted for taking adequate measures for

preventing spread of the virus.

The order further ruled that District Task Forces have been empowered to take additional stricter measures in their respective districts/area based on local conditions if, in their opinion, such measures were urgently required for containing the spread of Covid-19.

The decision was also taken after taking the views of Health & Family Welfare department and DTFs, it added.

Kohima: Meanwhile, Kohima district administration has notified that the existing lockdown measures would continue to remain in force in Kohima district till June 30, 2021 with additional guidelines.

In an order, the deputy commissioner (DC) and chairman District Task

 State-wide ban on movement of public, vehicles from 4 p.m. to 5 a.m. w.e.f June 19 till June 30  Only exempted categories and emergency allowed  DTFs empowered to take additional stricter measures  DTF Kohima restricts movement from 2 p.m. to 5 a.m.  Shops to open in Kohima on Mon, Tue, Thu and Fri Force (DTF) Kohima, Gregory Thejawelie, stated that permitted category of shops would open on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The district adminis-

tration has reiterated that the proprietor of permitted category of business establishments/private establishments would be held responsible for ensuring strict compliance to COVID-19 SOPs within their respective establishments.

Further, there would be a total ban on the movement of individuals/vehicles from 2 p.m. to 5 a.m. every day from June 19-30, 2021 across the district except for reasons/purposes and for those permitted to move as per the existing lockdown measures.

DC cautioned that violation of the order would be deemed to have committed an offence punishable under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code and relevant provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

Odd-Even system:

DC Kohima also notified that movement of private vehicles would be allowed as per the existing OddEven system within the jurisdiction of Kohima Municipal Council except on Sundays.

In an order, DC Kohima informed that vehicles with registration number ending with odd numbers (1,3,5,7,9) would be allowed to ply on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays while vehicles with registration number ending with even numbers (0,2,4,6,8) would be allowed to ply on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

DC cautioned that violation of the directive would be liable to penalty under Section 177 & 179 of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988, adding that the order would remain in force till June 30, 2021.

Covid caseload breaches 24k mark; 5 deaths DC Mon clarifies to report DIMAPUR, JUN 17 (NPN): Nagaland’s total caseload on Thursday crossed the 24,000 mark after 76 fresh Covid-19 positive cases were reported while five more patients succumbed to the infection.

Of the fresh cases, 29 were reported from Kohima, Dimapru-14, Peren-11, nine from Mokokchung, four from Tuensang, three from Phek, two each in Kiphire and Mon, and one each in Wokha and Zunheboto, taking the total caseload to 24,041. Further, three more patients succumbed to the infection in Kohima and one each in Kiphire and Mokokchung, pushing the death toll to 466 (including 14 non-Covid deaths but with Covid positivity).

PTI: A single day rise of 67,208 new coronavirus infections were re-

MHA operationalises cyber fraud helpline NEW DELHI, JUN 17 (PTI): Union Home Ministry has operationalised the national helpline 155260 and reporting platform for preventing financial loss due to cyber fraud.

The helpline and reporting platform provide a mechanism for persons cheated in cyber frauds to report such cases to prevent loss of their hard-earned money, Home ministry said.

The helpline and its reporting platform has been made operational by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under MHA, with active support from RBI, all major banks, payment banks, wallets and online merchants.

This is it!

“Hey, come on run. Pass the ball to your right.”

K Y M C

COVID-19 STATUS AS ON June 17, 2021 District

Asymptom- Mild atic

Dimapur 825 Kiphire 20 Kohima 467 Longleng 13 Mokokchung 526 Mon 54 Peren 15 Phek 36 Tuensang 126 Wokha 35 Zunheboto 42 Total 2159

63 5 16 7 10 0 0 0 11 1 6 119

ACTIVE CASES Symptomatic Severe Moderate ICU On On (without Oxy- Oxy- ventilagen gen tor) 20 5 14 0 0 1 11 9 0 2 0 0 5 4 0 4 0 2 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 2 0 0 51 19 17

corded taking India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases to 2,97,00,313, while the active cases declined to 8,26,740, the lowest after 71 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

The COVID-19 death toll climbed to 3,81,903

RecovDeath ered

ICU (On ventilator 3 10367 297 0 120 6 0 6555 78 0 105 0 0 580 28 0 855 6 0 572 0 0 288 15 0 598 6 0 141 4 0 344 12 3 20525 452

Non Covid Deaths Miwith gratCovid 19 ed Positivity 10 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 14

Correspondent

Total Cases

490 12092 1 152 109 7245 11 140 36 1189 15 939 2 590 2 345 3 743 5 191 8 415 682 24041

with 2,330 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed The active cases declined to 8,26,740 comprising 2.78 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 95.93 per cent.

KOHIMA, JUN 17 (NPN): Following reports about detection of five “delta” variant Covid-19 cases in Mon district, deputy commissioner (DC) Thavaseelan K has clarified that the report from ICMR Dibrugarh was based on partial genome sequencing.

He said samples from Mon district were sent to Tuensang BSL lab-2 and ICMR’s Regional Medical Research Centre, Northeast (RMRCNE), Dibrugarh for testing.

Since some samples were sent to Dibrugarh, it was during this time that authorities at Dibrugarh had asked whether a viral sequencing of some samples should be conducted.

“We agreed to it since we wanted to know whether

the samples from Mon district had any kind of variant so that we could strategize better,” he added.

DC said the report from RMRCNE on June 10 had stated that five of the samples had tested positive for delta variant (B.1.617.2 lineage), based on targetspike gene sequencing.

He however claimed that it was just a partial report and that the actual report would be soon known from the designated lab.

On June 14, health & family welfare principal director Dr Neikhrielie Khimiao had informed Nagaland Post that ICMR officials from Kolkata had recently visited Kohima and collected 98 samples for genome sequencing. Dr Khimiao, however, said that they were yet to receive the report.

SII to start trials of Covovax vaccine on children in July NEW DELHI, JUN 17 (AGENCIES): The Serum Institute of India (SII) is planning to start the trials of Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine in the country on children next month, it was reported on Thursday.

According to NDTV, the Novavax vaccine, which is being produced under the name ‘Covovax’, is likely to be launched in India in September.

“Novavax is very exciting. In the past week, it has created a rage because India is going to manufacture al-

Vials labelled COVID-19 Coronavirus vaccine and syringe are seen in front of a displayed Novavax logo in this illustration. (Reuters)

most a billion doses a year. vaccine effectiveness,” Dr It is going to be simple and NK Arora, chairperson of cheaper with a 90 per cent the Centre’s Covid Working

Group, was quoted as saying

by NDTV. In May, Novavax, a US-based biotech firm, had said it had started clinical trials of its proposed Covid19 vaccine on children, in a program that will involve up to 3,000 adolescents aged 12-17. Novavax said the trials would test “the efficacy (and) safety” of the vaccine, with participants receiving either the vaccine candidate or placebo in two doses, 21 days apart. Participants will be monitored for up to two years after their injections.

US CDC classifies Covid-19 delta variant as ‘variant of concern’ WA S H I N G TO N, D C, JUN 17 (PTI): The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has classified the Covid Delta variant, a highly transmissible COVID-19 variant first identified in India, as a “variant of concern.” “ T h e B. 1 . 1 . 7 ( A l pha), B.1.351 (Beta), P.1 (Gamma), B.1.427 (Epsilon), B.1.429 (Epsilon), and B.1.617.2 (Delta) variants circulating in the United States are classified as variants of concern. To date, no variants of high consequence have been identified in the United States,” the CDC said in a statement on Tuesday.

The CDC said the Delta variant shows increased transmissibility, potential reduction in neutralisation by some monoclonal antibody treatments under emergency authorisation and potential reduction in neutralization from sera after vaccination in lab tests.

The variant of concern designation is given to strains of the virus that scientists believe are more transmissible or can cause more severe disease. Vaccines, treatments and tests that detect the virus may also be less effective against a variant of concern.

Previously, the CDC had considered the Delta variant to be a variant of interest.

The World Health Organization classified the Delta variant as a variant of concern on May 10.

The CDC estimates it accounted for 9.9 per cent of cases in the US as of June 5.

By June 13, it accounted for 10.3 per cent of cases, according to the website outbreak.info, which tracks variants. The Delta variant could be the dominant strain in the US within a month, the CNN report warned.

US President Joe Biden and his Chief Advisor Dr Anthony Fauci last week have warned that the Delta variant of the novel coronavirus is highly infectious,

Validity of motor vehicle documents till September 30

CBSE notifies policy for Cl 12 evaluation; results by July 31

Spl. Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JUN 17 (NPN): Ministry of Road Transpor t & Highways (MoRTH) has further extended validity of documents related to Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989 till September 30, 2021.

According to the MoRTH, the validity was extended to help out citizens avail transport related services while maintaining social distancing.

The Ministry said that the validity of fitness, permit (all types), license, registration or any other concerned document(s) could be treated to be valid till June 30, 2021.

This covers all documents whose validity has expired since February 1, 2020 or would expire by September 1, 2021.

Delta plus variant may trigger 3rd wave, warns Maha Health dept The recently discovered ‘Delta plus’ variant of the novel coronavirus could result in the third wave of Covid infections in Maharashtra, the state health department said.

“The number of active patients could reach up to eight lakh, while 10% out of them could be children,” said the department in a presentation attended by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.

In a meeting held to review the Covid-19 situation in the state, the health officials informed that there were around 19 lakh cases in the first wave of Covid (postMarch 2020 outbreak).

However, in the more severe second wave, (which started around mid-February 2021) over 40 lakh infections have been detected so far in Maharashtra. The weekly positivity rate was 23.53% on 9 September, which was the highest in the first wave, and it reached 24.96% on 8 April (Read more on p-5) this year, officials said.

NEW DELHI, JUN 17 (PTI): Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Thursday notified its policy for evaluation of Class 12 students which will be based on a combination of marks scored in classes 10, 11 and pre-board exams and informed the results will be declared by July 31.

The policy was notified after the approval from the Supreme Court. Exams for Class 12 were cancelled earlier this month in view of the pandemic.

According to the policy decided by a 13-member panel set up by the board, the theory paper evaluation formula is 30 per cent weightage will be given to Class 10 marks, 30 percentage weightage to Class 11 marks and 40 per cent weightage to Class 12 marks obtained in unit test/midterm/pre-board exams.

CBSE scheme further

Assam police bust inter-state drug cartel; seize heroin worth `7 crore 2 kingpins held along AssamNagaland border B O K A JA N, J U N 1 7 (AGENCIES): In a major development, Karbi Anglong police Thursday arrested an inter-state drug kingpins based in Nagaland and Manipur, that included one male and a female and seized a huge quantity of drugs along with a Maruti Alto car from their possession at Janak Pukhuri under Khatkhati police station.

Assam police personnel along with the seized drug

The arrested have been identified as Th Paone (50) alias “Didi” of Senapati, Manipur and Kevin Movi (23) of Dimapur, Nagaland.

The seizure consisted of 164 packets containing

2.125kg of fine quality heroin worth over Rs.7 crore.

Karbi Anglong police had been tracking “Didi” for the past couple of weeks before she was arrested on Thursday.

Briefing media, SP

Karbi Anglong, Pusparaj Singh, disclosed that police came to learn about “Didi” while investigating a recent narcotics seizure case in Barpathar police station of Karbi Anglong district.

Singh said SDPO Bokajan, John Das, discovered that as per inputs, “Didi” was a big player in the narcotics trade based in Dimapur.

It was also disclosed that ‘Didi’ alone was responsible for over 60% of all the illegal drug entering Assam through NH-36 and NH-39. Singh said police eventually managed to obtain her phone number and

place her surveillance.

The SP revealed that after her network was disrupted due to frequent police raids, ‘Didi’ began looking for new customers to continue her drug trade. Police used a decoy as customer to fix a drug deal and lay a trap for ‘Didi’. When she arrived to deliver the contraband, police arrested her.

During the past years, Karbi Anglong police have seized Heroin, Opium, Crystal Meth, Ganja and thousands of “YABA”, “WY” tablets worth over Rs.100 crore in the black market.

Police said the drugs

which is now the dominant strain in the United Kingdom, spreading rapidly among young people between 12 and 20 years old.

COVID-19 cases have been declining over the past few months in the United States, but there’s concern that could change as the pace of vaccinations slows and the Delta variant spreads.

The US, the worst hit country by COVID-19 pandemic, has so far reported 33,498,155 confirmed cases and 600,649 deaths.

However, there is no immediate cause for concern in India as its incidence in the country is still low, they added.

were smuggled from the “Golden Triangle” bordering Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. After reaching Imphal, the contraband are then re-routed to various states through Nagaland and Assam.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted, “In a big breakthrough, @assampolice has busted a big supply chain network with narco terror angle in Karbi Anglong. Over 2 kg pure heroin worth Rs 7 cr in international market seized. Compliments to Assam Police for relentlessly working on breaking the backbone of the drug cartel.”

elaborated that for Class 10, the 30 per cent marks based on average theory component of best three performing subjects out of main five subjects will be taken.

For Class 11, the 30 per cent marks based on theory component of final exam will be taken and for Class 12, the 40 per cent marks based on unit test/ mid-term/pre-board exams will be taken.

“The marks of practical/internal assessment of Class XII will be on actual basis as uploaded by the school on the CBSE portal,” the CBSE said.

In case, any student is not able to meet the qualifying criterion, he/she will be placed in “Essential Repeat” or “Compartment” Category. CBSE has asked schools to finalise results and upload it on the portal by July 15 while the final result will be declared by July 31.

Over 2.18 cr vaccine doses still available with states NEW DELHI, JUN 17 (PTI): More than 2.18 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses are available with states and UTs, and over 56,70,350 more are in the pipeline and will be received by them in the next three days, the Union health ministry said on Thursday.

More than 27.28 crore (27,28,31,900) vaccine doses have been provided to the states so far by the Centre (free of cost channel) and through direct state procurement category, it said.

Of this, the total consumption, including wastage, is 25,10,03,417 doses (as per data available at 8 am on Thursday), the ministry said.

“Fur thermore, more than 56,70,350 vaccine doses are in the pipeline and will be received by them within the next three days,” it said.

K Y M C

2

state

Nagaland Post, Dimapur FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 2021

COVID-19 pandemic: Activities, vaccination and information

(L-R) Beneficiaries line up at UPHC Tuensang to get vaccinated. Persons with Disabilities during special vaccination drive at New Jalukie. (DIPR)

DIMAPUR: State Health a n d F a m i l y We l f a r e (H&FW) department along with respective district task force for COVID-19 have been creating awareness on the virus and carrying out activities such as vaccination, random testing and upgrading existing infrastructure to combat the second wave of COVID-19.

Ao community Dimapur reach out to frontline workers: As a mark of appreciation and encouragement to the providers of essential services for their sincere and fearless service in frontline during this pandemic, the Dimapur Area Ao Baptist Churches and Ao Civil Societies CoOrdination Committee on COVID-19 visited the places where the city sanitation workers, electrical field staff, policemen and women on duty begin their day every day in order to keep the city and its denizens clean, safe and peaceful. During their visit on Thursday, the church and civil societies leaders offered prayer for the lives and families of the workers and shared refreshment.

Vaccination drive in Tuensang: COVID-19 vaccination drive for 18 years and above was organised on June 17 for beneficiaries of Bazar ‘C’ and Old Medical ‘A’ at Urban Primary Health Centre (UPHC).

During the vaccination drive, RRT, WHO Dr.Mero briefed the gathering about the benefits of COVID-19 vaccine and stressed on the importance of vaccination to stay protected. He also requested the beneficiaries to encourage their friends, neighbours, family members and others to get vaccinated.

More than150 beneficiaries were vaccinated.

NSRLM-RD department: As part of departmental monitoring inspection, Area Coordinator (SISD) NSRLM-RD department, Chichanthung Shitiri visited various villages under Bhandari block to oversee work progress of community surveillance Team, formed to contain spread of COVID virus in the rural areas.

Awareness on COVID19 second wave, symptoms and how to take care of affected members at home were disseminated during

the visit.

The area coordinator further inspected isolation centres of various villages which were established by SHGs in coordination with village stakeholders like village council, GB, Asha and church members, and visited households. The importance of vaccination was highlighted during the visit.

DTF Kiphire to hold special COVID vaccination for fathers: District Task Force Committee on COVID-19 Kiphire would be holding a special vaccination drive on June 20, coinciding with the Father’s Day celebration. The DTF has requested all the health centres to arrange “special vaccination camp” specially meant for fathers, while wives and children above 18 years of age and above have been requested to accompany their husband/ father and avail the vaccine as well.

Special vaccination drive for PWDs at New Jalukie: Medical department, Peren in collaboration with Social Welfare Department organised an awareness cum special vac-

cination drive for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) on Thursday at New Jalukie Council Hall.

According to DIPR report, zonal leprosy officer, Dr. Kiholi gave a brief introduction on the awareness of COVID vaccination for PWDs and general. She also emphasised on rumours and misinterpretation of some people creating wrong impact to the people.

A short message delivered by president of PWDs on why the people with disability should go for vaccination.

He encouraged the people to be co-operative with the government during the vaccination drive.

The programme was chaired

by CDPO Jalukie, Namhuheing while vote of thanks was proposed

by New Jalukie Village Council Chairman.

DC Peren launches relief distribution: Deputy Commissioner (DC) Peren, Sentiwapang on Thursday launched the relief

distribution for daily wage earners at St. Xavier College, Auditorium Hall, Jalukie.

The distribution was launched in the presence of ADC Jalukie, NZPO president, ward union and principal, St. Xavier College. The relief items were arranged and provided by district management authority, Peren in collaboration with the district administration.

Relief distributed at Longleng & Tamlu: District Task Force Longleng distributed relief packages for daily wages earner at Tamlu and Longleng on June 16 and June 17 respectively.

According to DIPR report, at Longleng, the relief distribution was held at Public Ground in presence of deputy commissioner and chairmen DTF, M.Shayung Phom, while at Tamlu it was held at ADC Office Complex in presence of ADC Tamlu, Temjensangla.

Altogether 1,150 daily wage earners registered during the relief

package were benefited.

DTF Mon invites applicants for CSV: District Task Force, Mon in collaboration with Eleutheros Christian Society (ECS) has invited applicants for 11 posts of Community Surveillance Volunteers (CSV) in Mon Town.

According to DIPR report, the details are as follows:Job Profile: Door to Door Survey (covering at least 20-30 households everyday), reporting of flu like symptoms, report for testing and follow up, create awareness on home isolation of Covid-19 positive cases; Duration: two months which may get extended based on number of cases and performance; honorarium: Rs. 8500 per month (funded by FES); educational qualification: Class XII & above; eligibility: one community surveillance volunteer per ward under Mon Town;he/she should be a permanent resident of the ward; should have experience in public speaking; preference to be given to those who are vaccinated; should have personal bank account; should be willing to do door to door survey and reporting thereof;should be willing to be tested of required; should coordinate with respective ward task force for reporting of any COVID-19 symptoms.

DTF has informed that application along with all relevant documents should be submitted in the Office Chamber of the SubDivisional Officer (Civil), Mon Sardar or on email at sdocmonsadar@gmail.com on or before June 25; for queries, one has been asked to contact at 8974182859.

Revised SOP issued for 2nd dose Covishield vax to special group of people DIMAPUR, JUN 17 (NPN): A revised standard operating procedure (SOP) for administration of second dose of Covishield vaccine prior to prescribed time interval – after 28 days but before 84 days – has been issued following a letter from secretary, Union health & family welfare ministry in this regard.

State immunisation officer Dr Ritu Thurr said that as per the revised SOP, this special dispensation will be available to students who have to undertake foreign travel for the purposes of education, persons who have to take up jobs in foreign countries and athletes, sportspersons and accompanying staff of Indian contingent attending Olympics to be held in Tokyo.

Further, the second dose of Covishield vaccine can be availed only at districts hospitals and the districts officials will check whether the beneficiaries fulfil certain criteria specified before administration of the second dose of vaccine.

These criteria include whether a period of 28 days has elapsed after the date of first dose, genuineness of the purpose of travel based on documents related to i) admission offers or associated formal communications for the purpose of education, ii) whether a person is already studying in a foreign educational institution and has to return to that institution for continuing his/her education, iii) interview calls for a job or offer letters for taking up employment and iv) nomination to participate in the Tokyo Olympics.

news in Brief

NSCN (I-M) terminates: NSCN/GPRN has terminated 11 members from Union Territory (UT) for defecting to Khango-led NSCN (K) group. NSCN/ GPRN MIP has informed that the members stand terminated from the national service and membership of NSCN with immediate effect for breach of national principle and deliberately defying the government ahza. Following are the names: AviChishi, tatar; PitoAchumi, tatar; H. John Aye, leacy; KhevisheShohe, leacy; AghaviAchumi, razoupeyu;AngukaviAchumi, razoupeyu; KakhetoJimo, razoupeyu; IhesheChophy, razoupeyu; AhozheAchumi, razoupeyu; KheshitoAchumi, khapurand AkutoAchumi, khapur.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

1st February 1952 – 15th June 2021 "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

Phil:1:21

You were our shining, guiding light, your presence continues to surround us. Sad we are but joyful too.

Daddy, you'll be missed and fondly remembered in every moment of our lives.

We, the bereaved family of Late Pithungo Ngullie would like express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who stood with us through spiritually, physically, materially and financially at the sudden demise of our beloved father.

Words are inadequate to thank you all, we regret our inability to thank you each one individually, but it's our humble prayer that our Almighty God bless you all abundantly.

DP-2818

K Y M C

Loving wife, children, daughter-in-law, sons-in-law, grand children and relatives

DP-2807

KMC informs business community: Kohima Municipal Council (KMC) has reminded all the shop keepers and business establishments to mandatorily place a dustbin in front of their respective shops and to dispose garbage only at designated locations. KMC warned that failing to comply with the directiveswould invite penalty deemed fit.

DC Kiphire informs: Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kiphire has informed public of Kiphire village and Okhezung village that the 7 Assam Rifle troops, Kiphire would be conducting firing practices at firing range of 14 IRB, Kiphire on June 18, June 22, June 25, June 29 and July 2, July 6, July 9, July 13 and July 16 respectively. Citizens residing in the villages near the firing range have been informed not to enter the firing range area. Violation of the information will be self-explanatory, said DC.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

07/07/1974 to 24/05/2021 (Associate Pastor, Chozuba Town Baptist Church) (Headmaster, Eastern Christian School, Chozuba) We, the bereaved family of Late Shoselhü Dozo, would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who stood by us physically, emotionally and financially during his prolonged illness until the time of his demise on 24th May 2021.

We would especially like to thank : 1. Chozuba Town Baptist Church 2. Chozuba Town Baptist Church Steward Committee 3. C.Y.E. Chozuba Town Baptist Church 4. Father’s Fellowship Chozuba Town Baptist Church 5. Chozuba Town Police Baptist Fellowship 6. Rikhuba Baptist Church 7. Chakhesang Baptist Church Council 8. Eastern Christian High School Chozuba 9. Thüvopisümi Welfare Union Chozuba Town 10. Thüvopisümi Women Welfare Union Chozuba Town 11. Dozonumi Khel Thüvopisü Village 12. Hon'ble MLA Dr. Chotisüh Sazo 13. KOHIMAS Hospital, Kohima We deeply regret our inability to thank each and every individual, but it is our humble prayer that the Almighty Lord bless you abundantly.

Loving wife, children and relatives DP-2816

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT “If we live, we live for the Lord; if we die, we die for the Lord so, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord” Romans 14:8

Born : 31.12.1956 – Died : 02.06.2021

Dearest Daddy, You were not only an amazing father and husband but also an amazing person with a golden heart. You were not only a man who has been a light to so many lives, but also a man who was a hero to so many and who change so many lives for the better. You were the peace loving person we all know. You're the rarest gem to us. No amount of words could make us feel better after losing you but knowing that you are in a better place bring peace. You will always and forever be in our hearts. We miss you deeplydaddy precious.

Through this column, we, the bereaved family members would like to express our sincere gratitude to each and every individual, churches, organisations, families, friends and well wishers who stood by us during his illness and sad demise of our beloved father Lt. P. Vikishe Awomi, Pastor, Suruhuto Town B/C, Nito Mount. No words seem enough to express our gratitude for the help and support rendered to us physically, spiritually, materially and financially.

We deeply regret our inability to thank each and every individual, however we earnestly pray that our good Lord bless you all abundantly.

Loving wife, sons, daughters, relatives, in-laws and grandchildren DP-2820 K Y M C

nagalandpost.com Poll Q.: Can the state govt launch mass vaccination during Lockdown?

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

A

A B C

B

Yes. No. Can’t Say.

C

47% 47% 6%

Next poll Q: Will there be famine

in Nagaland due to fall armyworm and rain scarcity?  Yes.  No.  Can’t Say.

WEATHER FORECAST June 18

(Temperature in ºC)

Max Min

Agartala An afternoon thunderstorm

28 24

Aizawl

Mostly cloudy with a t-storm 24 20

Guwahati An afternoon thunderstorm Imphal

A couple of thunderstorms

Itanagar A thunderstorm or two

33 25 25 21 31 24

Shillong

A t-storm around in the a.m.

Kohima

Mostly cloudy with a t-storm 25 18

23 18

Dimapur Mostly cloudy with a t-storm 31 24 Mkg

An afternoon t-storm or two

Tuensang A stray afternoon t-storm Wokha

No conclusive evidence Sukhalu holds meet on Zunheboto 2-lane road on plastic rice so far

Staff Reporter/Correspondent

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

A p.m. t-storm in spots

27 19 20 15 26 21

Zunheboto Heavy afternoon thunderstorms 24 17

DBSU new team

D imapur : D i m a p u r Bengali Students Union (DBSU) has appointed new members namely Ankit Das as assistant general secretary, Manoj Barman as joint secretary, Raju Malakar as joint secretary and Debasish Debnath as education and cultural secretary for the tenure 2020-2022.

DIMAPUR/KOHIMA, JUN 17 (NPN): Even as several videos are doing the rounds in social media with individuals claiming that plastic granules were being mixed with rice, there has been no conclusive evidence to suggest anything of this nature.

Sources in State Public Health Laboratory (SPHL), Kohima, the only food laboratory in the State, told Nagaland Post that they had received rice sample on Thursday and initial tests have started. The matter has been taken on priority and the sources hoped that the tests would be completed at the earliest.

Designated officer and Licensing Authority, Food Safety Dimapur, Samuel Zehol also confirmed that a sample of rice has been sent for laboratory analysis to SPHL to ascertain whether the mixture contained plastic granules along with rice.

However, as the lab results were still not out, he said it would it was too early to comment anything.

As per the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, food analyst should give test report within 14 days from the day of receipt of food sample for analysis.

Zehol hoped that due to public pressure, the results could be out early. He also requested everyone not to be misled by such videos and have faith on the lab results.

He said the, Food Safety authorities had received several complaints from people in the past few years alleging plastic rice and plastic eggs.

He, however, termed all such complaints as baseless after

lab tests confirmed these were false allegations.

Meanwhile, commissioner of police (CP) Dimapur, Rothihu Tetseo had told this newspaper that investigation was underway.

He commented that the chances of plastic granules being mixed with rice, as alleged by an individual on social media, were highly unlikely since mixing plastic granules with rice would require complex machines.

CP, however, admitted that there was more likelihood of adulteration by mixing low quality rice with high quality for making profits.

On the other hand, a rice retailer from Dimapur too confirmed that that there was very remote chance of the allegations being true, though he admitted that mixture of two qualities of rice was highly possible.

It may be recalled that after a video went viral in social media, where an individual was seen alleging that a godown at Nahabari, Dimapur had stocked plastic rice mixed with genuine rice, similar videos from other districts with similar claims began doing the rounds, creating panic among the consumers.

NVCO seeks probe

Reacting to the alleged detection of rice mixed with plastic granules in a rice godown located at Naharbari, Dimapur, the Nagaland Voluntary Consumers’ Organisation (NVCO) has appealed to the state government machineries to seriously investigate the case, establish strong evidence to prosecute those responsible and bring an end to “all these kind of illegal trade practices in the state.”

Describing the act as “a serious crime”, the NVCO through its press and media cell appealed to the state government to seriously look into such illegal trade practices taking place in the state especially in the midst of ongoing pandemic. Consumer rights body also appealed to the Dimapur district administration, police, food and civil supplies department and food safety officer to work out what “best could be done” with the support of civil society groups and colony leaders and prosecute those responsible involved in illegal trade practices.

While the food safety & standard authority officials have collected the samples and sent for laboratory analysis, the NVCO said that even if the sample turned out to be negative the case still remained “very serious crime” as certain item has been already mixed. It also said that even the godown appeared to be involving in “numerous illegality” as fresh packaging was being undertaken inside the godown.

Meanwhile, NVCO has urged the consumers to remain informed and alert at all times especially while buying goods and availing services so the unscrupulous traders are prevented from cheating or exploiting them.

Further, NVCO has informed the consumers to avail services of the State Consumer Helpline through a tollfree number 1800–345 – 3701 and seek information, advice or guidance on consumer problems.

DIMAPUR: Advisor for School Education, KT Sukhalu Thursday held a meeting with National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (NHIDCL) officials, Madhucon Company Pvt. Ltd., Sumi Hoho, Zunheboto Two-Lane Construction Monitoring Committee and Sumi Officers Union Zunheboto Thursday at the residence of Deputy Commissioner (DC) Zunheboto.

According to DIPR report, at the meeting, Sukhalu

DIMAPUR: Rengma and Zeliangrong Council Assam (RZCA) has expressed strong resentment over the statement purportedly made by minister, Temjen Imna Along that Naga settlement would be under constitution of India and Indian Union, saying the statement was contradictory to the aspiration of the Naga people as a whole.

In a press release, RZCA convenor, Pauheu Newme and general secretary, G Thongan said with the uniqueness of Naga history and the hope for its nationhood, Nagas have been struggling for many years but the Naga issue and its rights have not been resolved till date. The council stated that the Naga people are victims of the insidious policy to divide the Nagas and crush their long cherished dreams built over the years.

SHILLONG, JUN 17: On a day when the Shillong Lok Sabha member, Vincent Pala of the Congress sought an independent inquiry into the alleged “rice scam”, the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government has refuted the allegation with social welfare minister KyrmenShylla maintaining that the seized rice from Boko, Assam is not the PDS rice meant for general distribution or as Covid relief rice during the pandemic as alleged.

“This rice was allotted by the Social Welfare Department from FCI to the approved manufacturer of food items under the Supplementary Nutrition Programme of the ICDS Scheme, who lifted the allotted quota for the State for processing the same into Micro Nutrient Energy Dense Fortified Food and hence, the allegation of diversion of rice does not arise,” Shylla asserted.

Quoting Government of India’s Guidelines, the Social Welfare Minister said, “State Governments should ensure

strict implementation of the feeding norms while providing Take Home Ration (THR) under ICDS Scheme which consist of a fine mix of all kinds of ingredients including the revised intake of proteins and calories as per the nutritional norms as specified in the Schedule II of the National Food Security Act, 2013 and Supplementary Nutrition Rules, 2017.”

“Supplementary Nutrition is provided as Take Home Ration for children who are in the age group of 6 months to 3 years, pregnant and lactating mothers. Hot cooked meal is provided to children in the age group of 3 to 6 years of age attending the Anganwadi Centres,” Shylla said Noting that beneficiaries of THR are infants in the age group of 6 months to 3 years and pregnant and lactating mothers, the Social Welfare Minister said the government has ensured that there is no compromise in the quality of the foodstuff provided and in consonance with the guidelines for Food Safety and hygiene.

“It is with this objective and as per the existing Rules

of Government of India, the State Government had awarded the supply of THR to approved Manufacturers who complied with FSSAI Registration, Licensing process as laid down

by Government of India,” the minister elaborated.

Further, the Minister said that the Social Welfare department has also engaged the services of 203 Self Help Groups in the procurement and transportation of foodstuff supplied as Hot Cooked Meal under Supplementary Nutrition Programme in the Anganwadi Centres.

He said the State Government is also contemplating to encourage SHGs as Manufacturers in the procurement and supply of Take Home Ration subject to their fulfilment of the eligibility criteria as laid down by the Government of India.

“It is the State Government’s endeavour to promote formation of Self Help Groups at the village level for better economic growth and employment generation. Under POSHAN ABHIYAAN, Self Help Groups are involved in promoting kitchen gardens/

Huge turnout at Iewduh market on final day of vaccination drive

SHILLONG, JUN 17 (AGENCIES): With the second day of the two-day COVID-19 vaccination drive at Iewduh market in Meghalaya’s capital Shillong drawing to a close on Thursday, the East Khasi Hills district administration and traditional heads are ensuring that all the shopkeepers and hawkers of the iconic market get themselves vaccinated.

The special vaccination drive at Iewduh market, also known as Bara Bazaar, aims to mainly cater to people who are involved in business activities in the area.

Speaking with EastMojo, M Kharlukhi, a Myntri (minister) of the Dorbar Hima Mylliem, said that they had witnessed

a huge turnout on the first day on Wednesday. “To ensure that social distancing is maintained, we have given coupons allotting slots so that people don’t come and crowd here unnecessarily,” said Kharlukhi.

Dorbar Hima Mylliem is a traditional court of the Khasi community of Meghalaya.

A total of 245 people were vaccinated on Day 1 on Wednesday. On day 2, as many as 250 coupons were given but the exact figure was yet to be come out till the filing of this report.

Kharlukhi said that they will not force anyone to get the vaccine but are only making an appeal to the people.

Shop-owner Upender, who

In this trying time, RZCA termed the statement of BJP Nagaland unit president, Temjen Imna Along, without understanding the sentiments and aspirations of the Naga people, as unfortunate.

The council advised Iman to deeply understand the Naga political movement and its seriousness adding that as responsible leader it was immature of him to make such statement.

While Naga political issue, the oldest political agenda in the northeast, was in “stalemate”, RZCA said the Central government along with government of Assam giving a green signal for Kabri Anglong autonomous territorial council curving the Rengma Naga Hills in Assam was a total distortion and threat to the historical rights and accounts of the Rengma Nagas

DIMAPUR: Kohima police on June 14 arrested one person from Dimapur airport while trying to flee after stealing cash and personal documents from a residence of a doctor in Kohima.

In a press release, Kohima police PRO informed that after receiving a complaint by a doctor about the theft, the personnel of North Police Station, Kohima swung into action and arrested the accused within an hour of receiving the complaint. Police has identified the accused as Akhlas (22) son of Ajiul Rahman, a resident of Kasaba Dhantala, West Bengal, who was working as a Lab technician in a clinic run by the victim. PRO said the accused was about to board a flight from Dimapur to Kolkata when he was arrested and during investigation a cash amounting to Rs 2,71,700 and stolen documents were recovered from the accused.

backyard poultry in the Anganwadi Centres as well as in the community level to bring about food security, nutritional diversity, behavioural change in food habits to combat all forms of under-nutrition,” the minister maintained.

Shylla said a special drive was conducted in the month of September, 2020 by the State Government for the identification and management of severely and moderately acute malnourished children (SAM and MAM children).

“Around 1788 SAM children and 16,327 MAM children were identified as suffering from Severe and Moderate Acute Malnourishment,” he said, adding that a recovery rate of 93.85 per cent achieved among the SAM children, while recovery rate of 97.53 per cent was achieved among MAM children.

Shylla said the State Government along with the proactive initiatives of Districts and Blocks is working towards improving the nutritional indicators of the State which has been a cause of concern for a long time.

got his jab on Thursday and was waiting in the observation room, told this correspondent that he had got the vaccine administered so that he could protect himself and the others as well.

“I took the vaccine also because I want to be able to carry out my business because I am suffering [because of the pandemic and the lockdown],” said Upender.

Meanwhile, the district administration along with the Syiem (chief) of Hima Mylliem and the chief executive member (CEM) of Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) held discussions on reopening of shops at Iewduh.

for dealing with problems efficiently.

While assuring state government’s assistance in ensuring that no workers of the companies are harassed, Sukhalu asked the companies to ensure quality and efficient work.

Sumi Hoho general secretary, Nikheto Jimomi said the monitoring committee has been cooperating with the district administration and added that the committee was trying to expand the road where there are provi-

sions. Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Zunheboto, Moa Longkumar said 57 compensated areas, without problems, had been marked. However, NGOs are in talks with those area owners whose land are yet to be compensated.

District statistical officer and president, Sumi officers’ Union Zunheboto, Lhokiye Yepthomi said that with the sincere cooperation from all ends, the vision of a developed Zunheboto could be achieved.

of Assam.

Stating that any political solution which includes land and its people should be based on the history of the land, the council said Naga people would not remain silent if any negotiation was affecting the land of Rengma Naga Hills in Assam adding that government of Assam should clearly understand the historical relationship and close association shared between the Rengma Naga and the Ahom since time immemorial.

RZCA then said that Central and Assam government should recognise the legitimate rights of the Rengma people and fulfil their political demand. It strongly stated that the land of Rengma people of Assam, which is not under Karbi Anglong district, should not be affected by any political negotiation for other communities.

Kohima police arrest one for theft Webinar on ‘opportunities

Meghalaya government refutes ‘rice scam’ allegation Correspondent

pointed out that despite Zunheboto being the “heart of the state” still suffers from connectivity issues because of bad roads.Underscoring the importance of good road connectively for the district, he said not only the citizens but legislators representing the district also feel the need for good roads. Acknowledging that there are some “local issues” pertaining to the construction of the two-lane road, Sukhalu appreciated the Deputy Commissioner (DC) Zunheboto and team

RZCA condemns Along’s remark on Naga solution

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Nagaland Post, Dimapur FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 2021

Cop shot double rape-murder accused as he tries to escape Kokrajhar (Assam), Jun 17 (PTI): One of the prime accused in Assam’s recent double rape-murder case was grievously injured after being fired upon by policemen during his escape attempt in Kokrajhar district on Thursday, police said.

One constable was also injured after being attacked by the accused during his bid to flee, a senior officer said.

The incident occurred when the policemen took the man to a forest in Bedlangbari area to recover the mobile phone of one of the two victims.

“While the accused was taken to the spot to recover one of the girls’ mobile phones hidden by them, he suddenly picked up a ‘dao’ (machete) lying there and attacked one of the constables.

“He also attempted to break his handcuff and started running, when police fired two rounds at the accused, injuring him. He was initially taken to the Civil Hospital in Kokrajhar and then shifted to Barpeta Medical College and Hospital. The constable is out of danger but the accused’s condition is serious,” Kokrajahar Superintendent of Police Prateek Thube told reporters.

“Reference alleged Kokrajhar double rape and murder case -- one of the accused tried to escape during a search operation near Bedlangmari, Salbari and police had to fire to prevent him from escaping. He is grievously injured and hospitalised,” Special Director General of Police G P Singh tweeted.

in direct selling in Nagaland’

Pukhayi Sumi

DIMAPUR: Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) organised a webinar on the topic, “opportunities in direct selling” with advisor, food & civil supplies, legal metrology & consumer protection, taxes, Pukhayi Sumi on June 16 as the guest of honour.

In a press release, CII stated that Pukhayi, in his speech, said in a state like Nagaland where the industrialization was yet to gear up, direct selling could open up avenues to one’s entrepreneurial journey. Pukhayi noted that the sector has also empowered women in a significant way right since its inception and that it has been instrumental in employment generation for many Indians who lost their jobs due to the pandemic.

To popularise direct

selling as an employment opportunity in Nagaland a session on “opportunities in direct selling” was also held wherein professor Bejon Misra from International Consumer Policy Expert &honorary professor of National Law University, Odisha emphasised on the need of raising consumer awareness in Nagaland.

At the session, Rajat Banerji, vice president – corporate affairs and Chetan Bharadwaj, general manager, Indian Direct Selling Association threw light on various advantages and the opportunities being offered by direct selling.

Quoting a report of the Indian Direct selling Association during the fiscal year 2019-20, CII said direct sellers of Nagaland most of whom are women numbering around 42,000 collectively generated businesses worth Rs 100 crores.

Earlier, chairperson, CII Nagaland State Council & CEO Faith Hospital, Hokhuli Sema highlighted the various positive features of direct selling. The webinar was moderated by past CII chairman and CEO, Window Media, Dr Aotoshi.

Deepor Beel in Assam to be beautified to attract tourists

Guwahati, Jun 17 (PTI): The Assam government has decided to initiate beautification of the area around Deepor Beel, a Ramsar site on the outskirts of Guwahati city, to attract tourists.

A meeting was held to discuss issues relating to beautification of the permanent freshwater lake, located 10 km south-west from the state capital, on Wednesday evening, officials said.

The Ramsar Convention has listed the lake, famous for its biological and environmental importance, as a Ramsar Site.

Guwahati Development Department Minister Ashok Singhal, Environment and Forest Minister Parimal Suklabaidya, and senior officials discussed issues relating to pollution in some parts of the

wetland and the need to clear the waste. Realignment of the railway track given the eco-sensitivity of the wetland also figured in the meeting, the officials said.

Suklabaidya said a proposal has been sent by his department to the Centre for realignment of the railway line running through the wetland which creates noise pollution and disturbs migratory birds.

Construction of cycling tracks along the road is also being planned to woo tourists, Singhal said.

The wetland with a surface area of of 4,014 hectare also has a bird sanctuary, covering an area of 414 hectare, which shelters over 200 species of birds, including about 70 species of migratory birds.

Amul 10×8 Mumbai

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India can reply to aggression: Rajnath

Kimin (Arunachal), Jun 17 (PTI): In a statement seen as an implicit message to Beijing, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said that though India is a peace loving country, it has the capability of replying to aggression.

Dedicating 12 strategic roads constructed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) to the nation here, Singh described India as a priest of world peace but added any serious disturbance to peace and tranquility in border areas would have adverse implications.

“We seek world peace (but) if someone shows us an aggressive attitude, we will respond,” Singh said, adding the “new roads will help secure international borders.” Singhs statement comes in the backdrop of China continuing to hold on to positions in Hot Springs and Gogra Post on the border, after clashes between the armies of the two Asian giants in the bleak Galwan valley in Ladakh a year ago.

The defence minister said “last year in Galwan Valley, our soldiers displayed exemplary courage and valour in line of duty. I salute all brave soldiers who laid down their lives fighting for the nation.” China also claims most of Arunachal

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during inauguration of Kimin-Potin Road in Assam’s Lakhimpur district. (PTI) Pradesh as its territory and has dubbed it `South Tibet in internal maps. The northern neighbour which fought a bloody border war with India in 1962 when it invaded parts of Arunachal Pradesh including Tawang, often sends border patrols into areas controlled by India.

In September last year, five young Arunachali hunters were allegedly kidnaped by Chinese troops from Sera-7, in Upper Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh. The youth were later released in Anjaw district, around 800 km from

the state capital, after several days in Chinese custody.

With no let up in IndiaChina border tension, the Modi government is now looking to expedite work on border infrastructure, especially on roads leading to forward areas in the frontier state.

Singh said, the 12 strategic roads including 10 in Arunachal Pradesh and one each in Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir, inaugurated during the day, would not only give a boost in connectivity but would facilitate faster movement of troops along

the international border.

“The capability of BRO in constructing world class roads despite challenges, in tough and hilly terrain, (underlines) the mantra of Atma Nirbhar Bharat,” Singh said while lauding the road construction unit for its dedicated work.

He said the road projects are part of the Act East Policy, envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“The budget for BRO has increased manifold since 2013 and today stands at Rs 11,000 crore. The BRO since 2014 had developed a record

4,800 kilometers of border roads in the country,” the Defence Minister said.

He added that the country’s defence sector in the last few years had witnessed major changes including appointment of a Chief of Defence Staff for the first time.

“Our vision is to produce our own weapons and if necessary export them to other countries,” he said.

The defence minister also claimed that development work in Northeast India had picked up pace under the Narendra Modi Government.

The development of the region remained stagnant after independence.

However, after NDA came to power in 2014, the region witnessed accelerated development. There are many challenges due to its close proximity with foreign countries, Singh said.

NE is the right hand of the country and its development will make India strong. Our government is committed to its development, he added.

According to BRO officials, out of the 12 roads inaugurated on the occasion, ten road projects of total 285.32 kilometers, are in Arunachal Pradesh being constructed by the BRO at an estimated cost of Rs 1,228.34 crore.

Meghalaya domestic workers seek Patriarch of ‘largest family in Modi’s intervention on COVID-19 vaccine world’ laid to rest after 4 days

Correspondent

Shillong, Jun 17: Domestic workers under the banner of the All Meghalaya Domestic Workers’ Union (AMDWU) on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking vaccination against COVID-19 on a priority basis.

The AMDWU also staged a poster campaign at IG’s point near the main secretariat to impress on the State government seeking COVID-19 vaccine on priority basis. “As domestic workers are a population at risk, prioritise the COVID-19 vaccination so that they may continue to work without fear and harassment,” AMDWU president, B Kharmudai wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on occasion of 10th anniversary of adoption of the ILO Convention 189, concerning ‘Decent Work for Domestic Workers’ on June 16.

“The majority of domestic workers are women

and also single mothers so this is the only work that provides them with a livelihood, yet they have neither recognition now protection as workers,” the Union wrote to the PM on International Domestic Workers Day. “During this pandemic, which is over 15 months now, they have suffered badly as employers kept them at a distance for fear of the virus. The majority of them lost wages. Those that did permit them to work, demanded more work and paid less while they had to spend more money to get to work as there was no public transport for several weeks.

Living in poor habitation areas, they have had to continue to pay rents and repay loans and have been harassed for not doing so,” the letter narrated and appealed the PM to “pay heed to the protection of vulnerable domestic workers”.

On the other hand, the East Khasi Hills deputy commissioner, Isawanda

Laloo emphasised on the importance of vaccination against Covid-19 during a meeting with representatives of commercial vehicles associations at her office here Thursday, even as ways and means to regulate traffic, seating capacity, pricing and other matters were also discussed.

The meeting, which was attended by district transport officer, other officials and members of different local taxi, auto rickshaw and bus associations, discussed at length the importance of vaccination for drivers who are dealing and interacting with many members of the public on a daily basis, and for the need to safeguard their health and that of their families.

“Clarifications on this matter were also imparted by the district medical and health officer and his team and an interactive session was held to address the concerns regarding vaccination,” an official statement said.

Aizawl, Jun 17 (PTI): Four days after he was declared dead at an Aizawl hospital, Zionnghaka aka Ziona – the patriarch of what is believed to be the world’s largest family -- was finally laid to rest at his village in Mizoram’s Serchhip district on Thursday, a local leader said. The septuagenarian, who lived in a sprawling four- storey home at Chhuanthar in Baktawng village with 39 wives, over 90 children and at least 33 grandchildren, headed the religious sect ‘Lalpa Kohhran Thar’.

The community allows polygamy in men. Ziona’s mortal remains were buried in a specially designed grave near his mansion, village council president Ramzauva told PTI. All funeral rituals were conducted with strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols, Ramzauva said.

Enthangpuia, the priest of the Lalpa Kohhran Thar sect, performed the last rites of Ziona, with some

NFR to restore 72pc train services by mid-July Guwahati, Jun 17 (PTI): Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) plans to restore 72 per cent of its passenger train services by mid-July and the situation is being monitored for the introduction of more trains in consultation with the respective state governments, NFR general manager Anshul Gupta said on Thursday.

Despite COVID-19 related restrictions, NFR is at present running 49 pairs of specials mail or express trains and five pairs of local passenger trains per day for people who are in urgent need of travel, Gupta said at a virtual interaction with media persons.

Running of 21 more pairs of specials mail or express trains have already been notified, the NFR general manager said.

During the second wave of the pandemic, the NFR has taken the initiative to meet the demand of essential and other commodities, by loading 1.480 MT till May this year as compared to 0.802 MT done in the corresponding period last year, registering an increase of 84.5 per cent NF Railway also released 11,659 freight rakes during 2020-21 against 9,731 rakes the previous year,

NFR is at present running 49 pairs of specials express trains and five pairs of passenger trains. registering a growth of 20 per cent while 1,135 rakes were unloaded in May this year against 708 rakes last year recording an increase of 60.31 per cent.

Nineteen new stations were opened for the handling of goods traffic and 12 new stations for the handling of parcel traffic by the NFR which also provided 24X7 loading and unloading facilities in 23 goods-shed to help the economy, avoid scarcity of material and generate income for labourers involved in the process, Gupta said.

In a bid to contain the spread of Covid-19, the NFR is making all-out efforts to supplement the health care initiatives of the state governments, and these include equipping the existing railway hospitals for treatment

of coronavirus patients, installing oxygen plants in hospitals, and organising vaccination drives for its employees, the NFR general manager said.

The NF Railway has provided facilities for the treatment of COVID-19 patients in six of its railway hospitals with a total of 354 beds and each of these special wards has all the basic healthcare facilities and more than 1,250 coronavirus patients have been treated in these hospitals since April 2021.

The NFR is also planning to set up seven oxygen plants in its various hospitals while 19 vaccination centers are in operation all over its jurisdiction.

Nearly 95 per cent of RPF and 72 percent of its

health care workers have received both doses of the vaccine and 64 per cent serving employees have got the first dose, he said.

Seven Oxygen Express trains have already arrived in Assam with 560 MT of liquid medical oxygen (LMO) and the other northeastern states are also being provided with this supply, Gupta said.

The NFR operated 103 Kisan Rails, including 64 incoming trains from other railways, to provide cheaper and faster transportation of agricultural produce to help the farmers of the Northeast so that they can easily send their local produce to bigger markets in the country and abroad.

The NFR transported jackfruits and pineapples of Tripura by trains to Guwahati, Delhi, and Kolkata for bigger markets in the country and abroad, he added.

Gupta also said that the allotment of 5 MHz spectrum to Indian Railways by the Centre will increase the safety and security of train operations in a big way and enable Railways to use the latest indigenous technologies such as Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) and others.

Zionnghaka aka Ziona of his wives making obituary references, the village council president explained.

Camera, mobile phones and other electronic gadgets were prohibited at the funeral, Ramzauva added.

Ziona, who was suffering from hypertension and diabetes, breathed his last on Sunday, but his family members had refused to accept his demise till late on Monday, claiming that his “body was warm and his pulse still beating”.

Over 2,500 people belonging to 433 families form a part of the sect, which was founded by Ziona’s uncle way back in 1942, Ramzauva pointed out.

Tripura govt to recover excess salary from former DGP AGARTALA , JUN 17 (AGENCIES) : The Tripura government has issued an order directing to recover the excess salary withdrawn by the state chief information commissioner and former director-general of police (DGP) Akhil Kumar Shukla since July last year, reports East Mojo.

A notification issued by the deputy secretary of the Tripura government, M Rema, revealed that the former police chief was withdrawing Rs 1,01,500 per month with effect from July 13, last year. “…it is seen that Shri AK Shukla, state chief information commissioner (SCIC), is entitled to get a pay of Rs 2,25,000.00 plus 17% DA (Rs 19,125.00) m i nu s p e n s i o n o f R s 1,12,500, that is, totalling Rs 1,31,625,” the notification reads.

However, according to the notification AK Shukla was drawing Rs 2,33,125 per month since July last year, which means he was drawing Rs 1,01,500 excess of his actual salary every month with three major allowances meant for in-service officers of the state government.

Nagaland Post, Dimapur FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 2021

NE COVID-19 UPDATE

Sikkim logs 90 new COVID-19 cases, 2 fresh fatalities

G A NG TO K , J UN 1 7 (PTI): Sikkim’s COVID19 tally rose to 18,896 on Thursday as 90 more people tested positive for the infection, while two fresh fatalities pushed the Himalayan state’s coronavirus death toll to 287, a health bulletin said.

East Sikkim district

registered the highest number of new cases at 51, followed by 23 in South, 15 in West and one in North Sikkim districts, it said.

The Himalayan state now has 2,907 active cases, while 15,452 people have recovered from the disease and 250 patients have migrated to other states

so far.

The state has thus far tested over 1.53 lakh samples for COVID-19, including 1,957 in the last 24 hours, the bulletin said.

The positivity rate stands at 4.5 per cent, while the recovery rate among the coronavirus patients in the state has improved to 81.7

Manipur reports 495 new COVID-19 cases IMPHAL, JUN 17 : Manipur on Thursday reported 495 new COVID-19 cases, including three personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), and 13 deaths due to coronavirus infection, reports East Mojo With this, the total number cases of COVID-19 cases increased to 62,343 while the cumulative death toll due to coronavirus complications stood at 1,021.

Of the new cases, 20 eaach were found positive for COVID-19 at RIMS and JNIMS, 313 at district hospitals and 142 in other testing centers.

The number of active cases reached 9,102, of which 2,902 persons are in home isolation while the remaining are at COVID-19 hospitals and COVID-19 care facilities.

The 13 persons who succumbed to COVID-19 hailed from Imphal East (6), Imphal West (2), Kangpokpi (2), Bishnupur (1), Kakching (1) and Ukhrul (1) districts.

Of the new COVID-19 cases, 143 were reported from Imphal West, 107 from Imphal East, 54 from Churachandpur, 48 from Bishnupur, 45 from Thoubal, 29 from Tamenglong, 19 each from Kakching and Ukhrul, 10 from Tengnoupal, seven from Pherzawl, six from Kangpokpi, five from Chandel and three from Senapati.

On Thursday, 458 more persons were discharged in the state, of which 375 were in home isolation, five at RIMS, one at JNIMS and the rest 76 were at COVID19 care facilities. The recovery rate now stands at 83.76 per cent.

COVID-19 tally in Mizoram crosses 250 fresh cases take 16,000-mark with 236 new cases Arunachal’s COVIDAIZAWL, JUN 17 (PTI): The COVID-19 tally in Mizoram crossed the 16,000mark on Thursday as 236 more people, including four security personnel and 40 children, tested positive for the disease in the state, an official said.

The fresh infections pushed the coronavirus caseload in the northeastern state to 16,135, he said.

Two more fatalities due to COVID-19 raised the death toll to 74, the official said.

Of the fresh cases, 177 were reported, 25 from Kolasib 12 from Siaha and nine from Lunglei.

The remaining new cases were registered in several other districts.

The fresh cases were detected from 3,021 sample tests, and the single-day infection rate was at 7.81 per cent, he said.

Of the new patients, four have travel history, the official said, adding that 137 have developed COVID-19 symptoms.

Mizoram now has 3,647 active cases, and 12,414 people have recovered from the disease.

The state has conducted 4,42,020 sample tests for COVID-19 till date.

According to state immunisation officer Dr Lalzawmi, 3,35,477 people have been inoculated till Wednesday, with 53,272 of them having received both doses of the vaccine.

Meghalaya reports 478 new Covid cases, 4 deaths

SHILLONG, JUN 17 (PTI): Meghalaya on Thursday recorded 478 new coronavirus cases pushing the tally to 43,732, a senior health department official said. Four more COVID-19 fatalities also took the death toll to 762.

Health Services director Aman War said 329 patients recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cured people to 38,361. The number of active cases in the state now stands at 4,609, he said Of the fresh fatalities, two were reported from East Jaintia Hills district and one each from East Garo Hills district and East Jaintia Hills district respectively.

The state has conducted over 6.38 lakh tests to date, the official said.

Till Wednesday, 5.44 lakh people have been inoculated with over 75,000 of them receiving both doses of the vaccine, War said.

19 tally to 32,188

ITANAGAR, JUN 17 (PTI): At least 250 more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Arunachal Pradesh, pushing the tally in the northeastern state to 32,188, a senior health department official said on Thursday.

The death toll remained at 155 as no new fatality due to the infection was reported in the past 24 hours, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said.

Arunachal Pradesh now has 2,810 active cases, Jampa said.

At least 289 patients were cured of the disease on Wednesday, taking the total number of recoveries in the state to 29,223.

The recover y rate among coronavirus patients in the state stands at 90.79 per cent.

Altogether, 6,94,292 samples have been tested for COVID-19 in the state so far, including 6,219 on Wednesday, and the positivity rate stands at 4.01 per cent.

State Immunisation Officer Dr Dimong Padung said that 4,33,008 people have been inoculated since the beginning of the vaccination drive in January.

Police officer, villagers hurt in inter-village clash in Manipur Correspondent IMPHAL, Jun 17: A police officer and a villager were hospitalised on Thursday after they sustained injuries in a clash between two groups of villagers in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district.

Police report said that an officer of additional SP rank and a villager were injured, two houses were torched and four vehicles burnt as two groups of villagers clashed. However, a report said that as many as 12 villagers were injured, out of which one was critically injured and rushed to a hospital in Imphal along with the injured police officer.

The clash broke out around 9.30 am on Thursday when the two groups of villagers of Pungringluang (Charoi Pandong) under Keithelmanbi police station engaged themselves in pelting stones and slingshots.

To assist the Keithelmanbi police station in controlling the situation, additional police force from Imphal led by a DIG rushed to the spot.

When the police teams reached the village, two houses and four vehicles were already torched in the clash. One of the houses was

Visual of a house set on fire. ( Inside NE) razed after a LPG cylinder exploded. In their effort to take control of the situation, an additional SP sustained injury on his head after slingshots hit him.

He along with a severely injured villager were rushed to a hospital in Imphal. The villager was also injured on his head, apparently by slingshots.

After around an hour of struggle, police took control of the situation.

Tensions over the post of chairmanship of the village authority were running high in the village for a long time. Death of a villager after he was hit by a vehicle in March and efforts to settle the matter by a local joint action committee for restoration of peace and normalcy in the village led to the escalation of the tensions.

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national

Nagaland Post, Dimapur FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 2021

MHA approves Mukul Roy’s Experts term CBSE’s class 12 evaluation Third wave could hit Maha in 2 request to withdraw his security formula ‘time-bound’ but ‘far from fair’ to 4 weeks, officials warn govt

MUMBAI, JUN 17 (AGENCIES): The “Delta plus” variant of Covid-19 could trigger a third wave of the pandemic in Maharashtra, the state’s health department warned during a meeting on Wednesday, PTI reported.

Officials said that the third wave could hit the state as early as the next two to four weeks if people do not follow Covid-appropriate behaviour, according to The Times of India.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Health Minister Rajesh Tope and members of the state’s Covid-19 force attended the meeting.

The Centre on Tuesday officially acknowledged the emergence of another variant of the coronavirus, called AY.1 or B.1.617.2.1.

At a press briefing, VK Paul, chairperson of the National Expert Group on Covid-19 Vaccine Administration, had referred to this new variant as “Delta Plus”.

“Uncontrolled crowds and disregard for Covid norms like wearing of masks and avoiding non-essential movement are worrisome,” an unidentified official said at the meeting. “Even in

PM should seek experts’ help to rebuild India: Rahul

Rahul Gandhi NEW DELHI, JUN 17 (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said rebuilding India will begin once Prime Minister Narendra Modi acknowledges his mistakes and seeks help from experts as living in denial will not solve anything.

He said this while citing a report quoting World Bank’s data on poverty where India has a share of 57.3 per cent in rise in global poverty during the Covid pandemic. “This is the result of GOI’s pandemic mismanagement. But we must look at the future now.

Rebuilding our country will begin when PM acknowledges his mistakes and seeks help from the experts,” he said on Twitter while sharing the report.

“Living in denial will not solve anything,” he added. Gandhi quoted a graph of the report, which claimed that India has contributed most to the rise in global poverty during the pandemic and its share of global change is 57.3 per cent and 59.3 per cent for poor and middle income groups respectively.

Mumbai, with certain time restrictions in place, there is free movement throughout the day.”

The state government is cautiously easing restrictions based on a five-level unlock plan, which was unveiled on June 5. Districts were divided into levels based on the positivity rate and occupancy of oxygen beds. During the meeting on Wednesday, the Maharashtra health department said there were 19 lakh Covid-19 cases in the first wave, and nearly 40 lakh in the second, according to PTI. The health department added that the number of active cases in the state could go up to 8 lakh in the third wave and around 10% of the infections could be among children. “The Delta plus variant could stoke a third

Mukul Roy er. After he had joined the BJP, he was accorded a low category Y+ central security cover of the central paramilitary CRPF which was upgraded to the second top level of ‘Z’ just before the state assembly polls in March-April this year.

He had a contingent of about 22-24 armed CRPF commandos who used to move with him every time he travelled in West Bengal.

The security of his son, which was provided by a small contingent of the CISF, has also been withdrawn.

Roy, once the secondin-command of the TMC, was removed from the post of the party’s national general secretary in February, 2015 after being charged in the Narada tape sting.

He had joined the BJP in November, 2017.

NEW DELHI, JUN 17 (PTI): The evaluation formula decided by CBSE for class 12 students has evoked mixed reaction from experts with some hailing it as an “unbiased and time-bound” method and others terming it “far from being fair”, saying students showing progress over a period of time will be at disadvantage.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) informed the Supreme Court on Thursday that it will be adopting a 30:30:40 formula for evaluation of marks for class 12 students based on results of class 10, 11 and 12 respectively. Thirty per cent marks will be based on class 10 board exam, another 30 per cent from class 11 and 40 per cent marks based on the performance in the unit, mid-term and pre-board tests of class 12.

The exams for class 12 were cancelled by CBSE on June 1 in view of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The proposed methodology may seriously disadvantage students showing progress over a period of time. CBSE, as a system, has never rewarded consistency in performance. It was built on the concept of one high-

stakes exam. “To begin with, that is a wrong system. One cannot try to correct it with this kind of criterion, especially so in a year when the students have gone through so much trauma. The evaluation criteria released by CBSE for class 10 was far superior,” said Manit Jain, Chairman, FICCI ARISE, a collegium of stakeholders aimed at promoting quality education.

According to Vishnu Kartik, CEO of The Heritage schools, the criteria decided by CBSE achieves the limited objective of providing a time-bound implementable framework but it is far from being a fair and accurate methodology.

“The alternative formula for arriving at class 12 board exams is simple to implement and easy to understand. It achieves the limited objective of providing a time-bound implementable framework. But is it a fair and near accurate

methodology? Far from it.

Our past data shows that performance in class 11 or 10 is not a reasonable prediction of performance in class 12. “There is no scientific reason to include the ‘best of three’ class 10 scores as it has no impact on many class 12 subjects,” he said.

The silver lining of this proposed formula is in the hope that it can drive some long-term structural and cultural reforms. For one, the suggested external moderation committee will bring in much-needed accountability in schools to strengthen internal assessment processes and hopefully, students realise the need to learn consistently across grades and not just for the final exams, Kartik said.

Rajat Goel, the Director of MRG School in Rohini said the criterion declared

by CBSE and approved by the Supreme Court raises questions on some very important aspects.

Pashupati Kumar Paras elected LJP prez India targeted through cyber intrusions by RedFoxtrot

PATNA, JUN 17 (IANS): Amid the ongoing tussle between Chirag Paswan and his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras, the latter has been elected as national president of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP).

“I had filed the nomination for the post of president and I have been elected unanimously. There was no other candidate who filed the nomination for the post,” Paras said here. The executive committee of the LJP has 76 members and the majority of them are with Paras, electing him as the president of the LJP. The election was held at the official residence of strongman leader Suraj Bhan Singh in Patna. Singh holds the post of executive president of the party. On Wednesday, Chirag Paswan claimed that the election for the post of party president can be held only in two eventualities.

First -- if the president dies,

Lok Janshakti Party’s Pashupati Kumar Paras being garlanded by supporters after being elected as national president of the party, in Patna, Thursday. (PTI)

and second, if he resigns from the post.

“I am alive and I have not resigned from the post of president. In this case, the election for the post of president is unconstitutional,” Chirag said. Reacting to this, Paras said: “There is no such provision in the democratic system of the party. As per the party constitution, the election can be held every 2 to 3 years. Moreover, the

majority is with me and not with Chirag. Hence, I am the president of the party.”

“I was one of the founding members of the party when my elder brother late Ram Vilas Paswan formed it in 2000... The party members have elected me as president and I have assured them and the people of Bihar to take the party to new heights at the national level,” Paras said.

NEW DELHI, JUN 17 (IANS): Active since 2014, RedFoxtrot predominantly targets aerospace and defense, government, telecommunications, mining, and research organizations in India among other countries.

The other countries are Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, aligning with the operational remit of PLA Unit 69010.

Recorded Future, the world’s largest provider of intelligence for enterprise security, on Thursday, revealed cyber espionage activity attributed to a suspected Chinese state-sponsored threat activity group, named RedFoxtrot by Recorded Future’s threat research arm Insikt Group.

Insikt Group identified specific ties between RedFoxtrot’s activity and the Chinese military intelligence apparatus, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Unit

69010 within the Strategic Support Force (SSF), offering a rare glimpse into SSF operations since the PLA’s restructuring in 2015.

Recorded Future’s large-scale, automated network traffic analytics and expert analysis detected intrusions targeting sectors across bordering Asian countries. Active since 2014, RedFoxtrot predominantly targets aerospace and defense, government, telecommunications, mining, and research organizations in Afghanistan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, aligning with the operational remit of PLA Unit 69010.

RedFoxtrot maintains large amounts of operational infrastructure and has employed both bespoke and publicly available malware families commonly used

by Chinese cyber espionage groups. RedFoxtrot activity overlaps with threat groups

tracked by other security vendors such as Temp.Trident and Nomad Panda.

It is assessed with high confidence that RedFoxtrot is a Chinese state-sponsored threat activity group based on identified links to a specific PLA unit and the use of shared custom capabilities considered unique to Chinese cyber espionage groups. “The recent activity of the People’s Liberation Army has largely been a black box for the intelligence

community. Being able to provide this rare end-to-end glimpse into PLA activity and Chinese military tactics and motivations provides invaluable insight into the global threat landscape. The persistent and pervasive monitoring and collection of intelligence is crucial in order to disrupt adversaries and inform an organization or government’s security posture”, said Christopher Ahlberg, CEO and CoFounder, Recorded Future.

FIR against Ramdev for spreading ‘false information’ on allopathy

RAIPUR, JUN 17 (PTI): Indian Medical Association (IMA), Raipur’s Senior SuPolice in Chhattisgarh’s perintendent of Police Ajay Raipur have registered an Yadav said. Ramdev has been FIR against yoga guru Rambooked under sections 188 dev for allegedly spreading (disobedience to order duly “false” information about promulgated by public serthe medicines being used vant), 269 (negligent act likely by the medical fraternity for to spread infection of disease the treatment of COVIDdangerous to life), 504 (in19, police official said on tentional insult with intent to Thursday. provoke breach of the peace) The case was filed on Baba Ramdev and others of the IPC and Wednesday night against Ramkrishna Yadav alias a complaint filed by the provisions of Disaster ManBaba Ramdev based on Chhattisgarh’s unit of the agement Act, 2005, he said.

Further investigation into the matter is underway, he added. Chairman of Hospital Board IMA (CG) Dr Rakesh Gupta, IMA’s Raipur President and Vikas Agrawal were among doctors who had earlier lodged the complaint. As per the complaint, since over the last one year, Ramdev has been allegedly propagating false information and his threatening statements on social media against medicines being used by medical frater-

NAGALAND UNIVERSITY

No need to replace Yediyurappa as CM, say supporters BENGALURU, JUN 17 (IANS): Voicing the sentiments of the pro-B. S. Yediyurappa camp, Karnataka mines and geology minister Murugesh R. Nirani said on Thursday that there was no need to change the leadership in the state and the on-going meetings by BJP in-charge Arun Singh were not about discussing leadership change in the state.

Nirani told reporters that there was no confusion over the continuation of Yediyurappa as the Chief Minister for the next two years. In response to a question, Nirani said that he had never tried to give an impression that he was the next Chief Minister and person to replace Yediyurappa.

wave in Maharashtra,” an unidentified official said.

“It could spread at double the rate.”

However, Dr Shashank Joshi, a member of Maharashtra’s Covid-19 task force, said children were likely to account for only 3.5% of the total patients in the third wave, according to The Times of India.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra chief minister said the state could be hit by the third wave before it even recovers from the second if adequate precautions are not followed. Thackeray instructed officials to ensure the availability of medicines and hospital beds. “We have learned lessons from the first and second waves,” Thackeray said, according to PTI. “We have been told that Maharashtra would get around 42 crore vaccine vials from August-September.

The officials need to make all necessary preparations,” he said.

Maharashtra reported 10,107 news coronavirus cases on Wednesday, taking the count of infections to 59,34,880 since the pandemic broke out in January last year. The toll rose by 237 to 1,15,390.

NEW DELHI, JUN 17 (PTI): The Z-category VIP security cover of West Bengal politician and MLA Mukul Roy, who recently returned to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) from the BJP, has been withdrawn on his request, official sources said Thursday.

They said the Union Home Ministry has directed the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to recall its detachment deployed with him.

The 67-year-old Roy and his son Subhrangshu, a former MLA, are now being provided security by the state police.

Roy, who was suspended from the TMC in 2017 for alleged anti-party activities, had joined the BJP and was appointed its national vice president ahead of the West Bengal elections.

He and his son returned to the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC last week after the BJP’s drubbing in the polls even though the senior Roy won his Krishnanagar Uttar constituency as a saffron party candidate.

A home ministry source said that Roy had written to the Centre to withdraw the security cov-

(A Central University established by An Act of Parliament 1989)

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY Admission Notification - Academic Session 2021-22 Starting Date for Online Application Last Date for Online Application

: 05th July, 2021 : 13th August, 2021

Applications in the prescribed form are invited for admission to B.Tech degree programme in School of Engineering & Technology, Dimapur in the following five disciplines : 1. Agricultural Engineering & Technology 2. Biotechnology 3. Computer Science & Engineering 4. Electronics & Communication Engineering 5. Information Technology HOW TO APPLY Only Online application will be accepted. Admission brochure can be downloaded from university website http://www.admission.nagalanduniversity.ac.in ADMISSION HELPLINE 9402832852/ 9402992640/ 8731895353/ 9085068097/ 8731826326 Email: set.admin@nagalanduniversity.ac.in Address : Administrative Building, Nagaland University Residential Campus, Land Mark Colony, Dimapur, Nagaland - 797112 For further query, refer the Admission Brochure.

DC-495

nity, Government of India, ICMR and other frontline organisations in treatment of coronavirus infection.

GOVERNMENT OF NAGALAND NAGALAND STATE AIDS CONTROL SOCIETY DIRECTORATE OF HEALTH & FAMILY WELFARE NAGALAND: KOHIMA NO. NSACS/TI-8/Pt/2014-15/1191

/Dated Kohima, the 16th June 2021

ADVERTISEMENT Applications are hereby invited from interested NGOs in the below mentioned area and district for empanelment and selection for implementation of Targeted Interventions (TI) and Link Workers Scheme (LWS) under Nagaland State AIDS Control Society.

Sl. Area of Intervention/ No. of Name of the Project No District Project 1 Targeted Intervention (TI), Injecting Drug Dhansiripar, Dimapur 1 User (IDU) 2 Targeted Intervention (TI), Injecting Drug Tobu, Mon 1 User (IDU) 3 Targeted Intervention (TI), Injecting Drug Pungro, Kiphire 1 User (IDU) 4 Link Workers Scheme (LWS) Kiphire District 1 5 Targeted Intervention (TI), Injecting Drug Kiphire Town 1 User (IDU) & Female Sex Worker (FSW) Core Composite 6 Targeted Intervention (TI), Injecting Drug Akuluto, Zunheboto 1 User (IDU) Applications can be downloaded from nsacs.nagaland.gov.in and may be submitted via mail to nagalandsacs@gmail.com. Applications in the specified format should reach the Office of Project Director, NSACS within 15 (fifteen) days from the date of publication of this advertisement.

Incomplete application in any form will be summarily rejected. Lobbying will not be entertained.

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6

OPINiON/EDITORIAL

Nagaland Post Vol. XXxI NO. 192 Dimapur, FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 2021

State on stick wicket

C

rude oil reserves along the Assam-Nagaland border have unfailingly accompanied the controversial role played by the governmentowned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) which has been acting in a bias and at times, prejudiced manner against the interests of Nagaland. It may be noted that projected oil and gas reserves along the Assam-Nagaland border is estimated at around 500 million tonnes. Oil explorations and extractions etc along the disputed border had ceased since 1994 when ONGC abandoned its activities. It was a surprise that ONGC continued to drill and extract oil within areas claimed by Nagaland as revealed by the order issued to the mega-oil corporation by DC Dimapur sometime in the first week of April. The DC had ordered the shutting down of three ONGC wells at Pihekhu, Tokishe and Nikehe villages under Dimapur district. This is not the first time that ONGC has been doing things that are considered bias against the interests of Nagaland. It may be recalled that, in 1973 the Nagaland government gave ONGC a permit to explore oil and draw a limited amount on a trial basis. However,in 1981, it started full-scale extraction in the villages of Changpang and Old Tssori under Wokha district.As per the terms of the license, ONGC was to draw only a limited quantity of oil on trial basis with the concurrence and approval of the Nagaland Directorate of Geology & Mining. However, ONGC never bothered to inform Nagaland’s DG&M to depute officials while crude was extracted on trial basis. According to rough and conservative estimates, ONGC drew not less than 1.5 million metric tonnes of crude from the oil wells within Wokha district. The Nagaland government was paid only Rs 33 crore as royalty as lumpsum by the ONGC. The estimate of quantity of crude oil extracted from Wokha district ranged from 1.05 to 1.5 million metric tonnes, based on extraction capacity and minimum operational days. It may be recalled, that during the early part of the 90s, ONGC shifted its base office from Dimapur just because some anti-social element threatened the officer for money. In other parts of the north east, ONGC employees are either kidnapped or killed or have office or oil pipes blown up but the corporation has neither shifted its offices nor closed its operations. The Geleki reserve forest which Nagaland claims as per historical records but disputed

by Assam, both states were to maintain a status quo.

However, in order to drill oil wells, ONGC obtained NoC to clear the forest from the Assam government, in violation of the national forest act. ONGC is the only mega oil corporation operating in the entire north east with four offices in Assam and one in Tripura.

Two ONGC offices in Jorhat oversee all operations in Nagaland. For all practical purposes having four major offices in Assam has provided a huge bonus for employing thousands of youthsfrom the state, opening of hospitals, schools, sports academies, stadiums. Though Nagaland is among states in the region with huge estimated oil and gas reserves and ONGC however, has no plans nor inclination to open even a single-room office in Nagaland. On the other hand, ONGC is only interested to extract oil from Nagaland and pay a pittance. It is still extracting oil from Wokha through horizontal extraction technology. All these clearly show that the government and leaders of the state have not comprehended the issue beyond oil royalty.

DailyDevotion Beware of Criticizing Others Judge not, that you be not judged. —Matthew 7:1 Jesus’ instructions with regard to judging others is very simply put; He says, “Don’t.” The average Christian is the most piercingly critical individual known. Criticism is one of the ordinary activities of people, but in the spiritual realm nothing is accomplished by it. The effect of criticism is the dividing up of the strengths of the one being criticized. The Holy Spirit is the only one in the proper position to criticize, and He alone is able to show what is wrong without hurting and wounding. It is impossible to enter into fellowship with God when you are in a critical mood. Criticism serves to make you harsh, vindictive, and cruel, and leaves you with the soothing and flattering idea that you are somehow superior to others. Jesus says that as His disciple you should cultivate a temperament that is never critical.

This will not happen quickly but must be developed over a span of time. You must constantly beware of anything that causes you to think of yourself as a superior person.

There is no escaping the penetrating search of my life by Jesus. If I see the little speck in your eye, it means that I have a plank of timber in my own (see Matthew 7:3-5). Every wrong thing that I see in you, God finds in me. Every time I judge, I condemn myself (see Romans 2:17-24). Stop having a measuring stick for other people. There is always at least one more fact, which we know nothing about, in every person’s situation. The first thing God does is to give us a thorough spiritual cleaning. After that, there is no possibility of pride remaining in us. I have never met a person I could despair of, or lose all hope for, after discerning what lies in me apart from the grace of God.

Quotes

It doesn’t matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was. ~ Anne Sexton

Nagaland Post, Dimapur FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 2021

Post-mortem

The second wave of epidemic made people miserable F

or more than a year now, the people of India have been living under the shadow of restrictions imposed by the rulers. More than 90 per cent of India’s workers work in the informal, informal sector where there is no permanent employment and no legal protection. This class has been hit the hardest by the Karona restrictions.

Last year’s abrupt shutdown forced millions of workers to take to the streets.

This year, though not at that level, millions of workers have been forced to migrate due to lack of employment, unnecessary, unscientific fears of the spread of the disease. Hundreds of workers were killed on their way to their home provinces last year. In the last one year or so, thousands of victims of poverty, unemployment and starvation have committed suicide.

The second hardest hit by the Corona bans are the semi-laborers and the lower middle class, who make a living from peddlers, rickshaw pullers and small businesses.

The devastation of their work has pushed them to the brink of starvation and is still pushing them.

Where 85 per cent of the country’s population suffers from poverty, unem-

ployment and hunger due to Karona restrictions.

While 85 per cent of the country’s population is destitute due to Karona restrictions, the country’s top capitalists have become and continue to become rich.

As of April 8, 2021, the number of billionaires in the country at the time of the Corona ban had risen to 140 from 102 in 2020. That means 38 new billionaires have joined the club of the country’s billionaires (the richest). India ranks third in the world in the number of billionaires. The total wealth of these billionaires has reached Rs 43 lakh 56 thousand 760 crore (43,56,760) as against Rs 22 lakh 88 thousand, 030 crore (22,88,030) in 2020.

On the one hand, while the grip of domestic and foreign capital on the country’s total resources and treasuries has become stronger, the living conditions of the country’s working people have become more conducive.

Instead of making any concrete arrangements to deal with corona, the Indian government opted for lockdowns or partial bans in many places. Even during the first Corona movement, the oppressive lockdown adversely affected the economic

resources of the working people, and people lost their jobs. After the shutdown, once the pace of work began to pick up, restrictions were imposed in the name of coping with the second wave of corona, once again shutting down the hearths of the working people.

Recently, Mahesh Vyas, Chief Executive Officer, Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), shared some facts about the effects of the ban. According to Berkeley Investment Bank, India is losing Rs 60,000 crore every week in May due to sanctions and the total loss so far has reached Rs 8.5 lakh crore, which is 3.75 per cent of GDP. Recovery is also to be made from the pockets of the general public). Unemployment has risen to 14.73 per cent.

Overall, the unemployment rate in urban India has risen to 17 per cent and in rural areas to 14 per cent. During the lockdown last year, from April to May 2020, the labor participation rate fell and the unemployment rate peaked. During this time, millions lost their jobs. From May onwards, in the months of June-July, the situation started to improve a bit and

by December, the unemployment situation started to

improve significantly. But since then, since January, things have taken a turn for the worse and the figures are beginning to signal a bad time. Unemployment rose again, labor participation fell. This was the time when sanctions were imposed to prevent the second wave of the Corona, and the situation worsened. In April, the unemployment rate stood at 8 per cent and the labor force at 40 per cent. But by May, the unemployment rate had risen to 14.7 per cent.

CMIE In April 2020, 126 million people lost their jobs (compared to the actual figure), of whom 90 million were day laborers, according to the World Bank. When the first lockdown struck, day laborers lost their jobs.

Although some of the unemployed workers got their jobs back after the lockdown, not all of them and even some of those who did get their jobs got raw jobs instead of permanent ones. The trend of contract recruitment has increased. Formal recruitment has increased. There has been a significant increase in the number of unskilled workers due to restrictions.

It threatens workers ‘employment security, reduces savings, forces workers to work for lower wages, and

undermines workers’ legal rights, even in the face of job losses.

The agency, which collects data, says there has been a sharp decline in paid jobs due to the Krona ban. Before Krona, we had about 40.35 crore jobs. In January 2021 this number was reduced to 400 million and today (May 2021) the number is 39 million and this figure is getting lower day by day.

Those who lost their jobs during the lockdown, but for the most part did not get the same job, were cut in paid jobs, which still seems to be the case. Earlier, out of the total jobs, 8.5 crore were salaried jobs, which is now only 7.3-7.4 crore. Due to the lockdown, the share of women in labor has dropped from 9.9% to 6.9%.

There is no doubt that on such occasions the lower, socio-economically disadvantaged groups are always hit the hardest and the lockdown is the hardest hit by the working class, the lower middle class. Women have also suffered greatly.

According to a survey by the same organization, only 3 per cent of the people have increased their income, 55 per cent have seen a qualitative decline in income over the previous year and 42 per

cent have remained the same.

This means that 97 per cent of the population has been pushed into the swamp of poverty more than last year.

According to a March report, 33 million people in India have lost their middle class status and joined the labor force. According to a report, the middle class population in India with a monthly income of Rs 22,000 to Rs 44,000 has declined from 99 million to 66 million.

Talking about the recovery of this situation, Mr. Vyas said that there are signs of further deterioration of the economy, there is little scope for recovery in the near future. Therefore, no relief can be expected for the lives of the working people in the future.

Of course, the root cause of this poverty, unemployment is capitalism, but the Krona restrictions have qualitatively increased the suffering of the working population, who are suffering from poverty and unemployment, and have made their living conditions even worse. If the Corona ban is not lifted soon, the epidemic of poverty and hunger will inevitably knock our rates.

Vijay Garg Retired Principal Malout

The key to survival is Revival Understanding Sustainable Gastronomy

I

f My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14 This well-known verse states God’s requirements for blessing us; it requires humility, prayer, devotion and repentance. While this promise was originally given to King Solomon regarding the people of Israel, it is certainly applicable to all who will call on the Lord in repentance and faith. This verse stands as a high expression of God’s readiness to hear the prayers of a repentant people.

We find similar words in the New Testament – “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you doubleminded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” (James 4:8-10) Let’s take a look at our verse: “If My people” – This is the beginning of the conditions that God is looking to be met before He will act. It is clear that God is issuing a conditional promise to His people – do these things and I will respond. God has an expectation of specific things before He brings revival and these promises are only for those who place their faith in God. We often forget that the work of revival always begins with God’s own people first, why? God must first renew His people before the real work of winning souls for Christ can take place.

“Who are called by my name” – God is the one who calls us out from among the world. Being a Christian means that we are meant to stand out from the rest of the world. We must live differently than the world because we value different things, we value an eternal promise and we value a different lifestyle.

We are called to be a holy priesthood, where every believer carries the responsibility for ministry. We are called to be Christ’s witnesses in this world to share His truth and boldly seek His power.

“Will humble themselves” – The word humble means to be in submission, to live in a state of surrender. When we humble ourselves, we are literally saying to God, you are in control of my life. When we humble ourselves before God we are allowing Him to mold us to His will and once we allow God to do that, we cannot remain the same.

“And pray” – One of the key principles of revival is a determined effort in prayer. When we pray we are bringing our lives to meet with God and in the moment that we meet with the Lord something amazing happens; He pours Himself into our lives. This is why Reader’s note: Articles

prayer is so absolutely essential to experiencing revival.

Prayer is the foundation of a growing relationship with God and without prayer that relationship will never truly grow. We must have a deeper connection to God if we ever want to experience revival in our lives and in our churches. Each day we make a decision to cultivate and grow that relationship with God or to settle for where we are in our relationship with Him. Revival is nothing more than God stepping into His relationship with us and filling it with His presence and power in a fresh way. If we are not developing that relationship with God, we will never experience personal revival, and it takes many with this kind of commitment to have a revival in the church and in our community.

“And seek my face” – To seek something from God means to first have the deep desire to see it happen and then to actively and persistently pursue it.

One of the major reasons why churches sees movement of God is because they don’t want it bad enough. There is a personal price that has to be paid in finding revival. It means that we need to render ourselves to the leading of the Holy Spirit and then obey what the Spirit says. The church today does not see God moving because people have stopped seeking.

God said these words to Jeremiah: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13). We will only truly find God and His reviving power when we earnestly desire that which only He can give us. Once that desire is there, then we must pursue it.

“And turn from their wicked ways” – Revival will never happen in our life until we let go of our sin. Sin is nothing more than pure bondage. When we recognize our wrong doing and confess, we renew our relationship with God and He sets us free.

If we want our churches to see revival, today is the day to seek the Holy Spirit. If we want our community to see a mighty outpouring of His power, today is the day to seek Jesus. If God is tugging at our heart today, we need to humble ourselves, pray and seek God’s face, turn from our wicked ways and we will hear from heaven and God will forgive our sins and heal our lives, families, churches, communities and our country.

And there can be once more a great revival. Time is short; our Lord is coming back soon. To him that overcomes a crown of life shall be given (James 1:12) and with the King of Glory shall those who – ACCEPT (Romans 3:23), BELIEVE (Romans 5:8) and CONFESS (Romans 10:9) – will reign eternally.

L. Daniel Shiu Ev. Living Word Fellowship Middle Point Colony; Dimapur

M

18th June is Sustainable Gastronomy Day

ost of us care about food but in spite of that many of us waste food. Foods are not wasted by poor people as everything matters for them but are wasted by rich people who can afford meals or any food item easily. People who live sometimes without food realize the importance of food. Millennium Development Goals or (MDGs) which started in 2000 had a clear aim to end hunger from the world by 2015 but it could not be achieved. Now, the world is focusing on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Are we also going to fail in achieving SDGs? Projections now show the world is not on track to achieve SDG 2, Zero Hunger by 2030 and, despite some progress; most indicators are also not on track to meet global nutrition targets. The food security and nutritional status of the most vulnerable population groups is likely to deteriorate further due to the health and socioeconomic impacts of the COVID19 pandemic, according to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020 report.

The latest edition of that report, which was published mid2020, estimated that almost 690 million people went hungry in 2019 - up by 10 million from 2018, and by nearly 60 million in five years. High costs and low affordability also mean billions cannot eat healthily or nutritiously. The hungry are most numerous in Asia, but expanding fastest in Africa.

Across the planet, the report forecasted, the COVID-19 pandemic could tip over 130 million more people into chronic hunger by the end of 2020.

There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic is intensifying the vulnerabilities and inadequacies of global food systems - understood as all the activities and processes affecting the production, distribution and consumption of food. It has become a concern around the world and experts and concerned

are already worried about the issue.

Food is at the core of the SDGs, the UN’s development agenda for the 21st century.

For many of our readers there might be a new term which is connected to food and sustainability. Well, have you heard of gastronomy, if yes, it is god for us but let us explore more about gastronomy? Gastronomy is sometimes called the art of food. It can also refer to a style of cooking from a particular region. In other words, gastronomy often refers to local food and cuisine. Sustainability is the idea that something (e.g. agriculture, fishing or even preparation of food) is done in a way that is not wasteful of our natural resources and can be continued into the future without being detrimental to our environment or health.

Sustainable gastronomy, therefore, means cuisine that takes into account where the ingredients are from, how the food is grown and how it gets to our markets and eventually to our plates. FAO estimates that 1/3 of all the food produced in the world is either lost or wasted, amounting to 1.3 billion tons per year. And food isn’t the only thing that is wasted when it goes uneaten: all of the resources (like seeds, water, feed, etc.), money and labour that go into making it are also lost.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the UN General Assembly work to facilitate the observance of Sustainable Gastronomy Day. The UN General Assembly adopted on 21 December 2016 its resolution A/RES/71/246 and designated 18th June as an international observance, Sustainable Gastronomy Day. The decision acknowledges gastronomy as a cultural expression related to the natural and cultural diversity of the world. As the COVID-19 pandemic is still recounting across

the globe, sustainable gastronomy celebrating regular ingredients and producers, preserving wildlife as well as our culinary traditions - is today more relevant than ever.

There are different initiatives and global programmes related to addressing the issue. The UN Secretary-General launched the Zero Hunger Challenge in 2012 during the Rio+20 World Conference on Sustainable Development.

FAO has developed a common vision and an integrated approach to sustainability across agriculture, forestry and fisheries. The World Food Programme (WFP) aims to bring food assistance to more than 80 million people in 80 countries and is continually responding to emergencies. Investment in agriculture and rural development to boost food production and nutrition is a priority for the World Bank Group.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has focused exclusively on rural poverty reduction, working with poor rural populations in developing countries to eliminate poverty, hunger and malnutrition, raise their productivity and incomes, and improve the quality of their lives.

By 2050, the world will have over 9 billion mouths to feed. Yet, 1/3 of all food produced is lost or wasted. It is time for all of us to be innovative and positive. We can support our local farmers by buying from them and supporting their livelihoods. We should try local foods when we are travelling to other parts because it gives insight to local culture and also supports local economies. It is important to keep our culinary traditions alive at any cost. One of the best things we can do is not to waste any food.

We can all take action to achieve healthy diets and a Zero Hunger world by 2030. We can take small steps and make a big difference.

Ranjan K Baruah (With direct inputs from UN publication. Feedback may be sent to bkranjan@gmail.com)

Reader’s Post

Continuous flouting of SOP’s in NL Road, Dimapur Sir,

As we all are grappling and facing a tough time in such crisis. There are some who are still failing to understand the grievance or hardships this pandemic has brought to people’s suffering and flouting the safety norms and rules set by the High Powered Committee of Covid-19 GoN. Many non-essentials business and not permitted establishments are running through backdoor or right in front of police personnel without any checks by the authority. Without any adherence to the SOP issued by the Health & Family Welfare Dept.

In such scenarios, is it just right to continue with the extension of lockdown and if not why no harsh actions have been taken so far for such practises.

Concerned Citizen, Tia. Imchen, PWD Colony, Dimapur. or letters published in any of the columns do not reflect the view of this newspaper nor that of the Editor in any manner.

Manoj Mukund Naravane

of Line of Actual Control -- western (Ladakh), middle (Uttarakhand, Himachal) and eastern (Sikkim, Arunachal) sectors.

A year after the Galwan valley clash in Eastern Ladakh, China is still sitting at the Line of Actual Control and India has geared up for a long grind. Indian and Chinese military delegates had 11 rounds of talks to resolve border disputes at friction points.

During the commanders’ conference meeting, Army top brass discuss how to be better prepared to face Chinese belligerence in Ladakh over the last year as a final resolution seems far

off. India has enhanced military infrastructure, increased troop deployment to 50,000 to 60,000, and constructed better roads connectivity for quick mobilisation.

Last month, General Naravane said that the troops are on high alert at Line of Actual Control and are keeping watch on Chinese People’s Liberation Army activities.

The Indian Army chief stated that India wants the status quo ante of April 2020 to be restored. He also stated that India has made it clear to China that de-escalation will only be considered once disengagement is completed to the mutual satisfaction of both the sides.

He had said that Indian troops are on high alert and deployments have not thinned after the disengagement in Pangong River.

G e n e r a l N a r ava n e said that India is currently concentrating on resolving outstanding problems at other friction points like Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang at Line of Actual Control.

Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal & Asif Iqbal Tanha.

NEW DELHI, JUN 17 (PTI): Student activists Natasha Narwal, DevanganaKalita and Asif Iqbal Tanha walked out of Tihar prison on Thursday, hours after a court here ordered their immediate release in the north-east Delhi riots “conspiracy” case.

The order came two days after the Delhi High Court granted bail to Narwal, Kalita and Tanha, who were arrested in May last year under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Director General (Delhi Prisons) Sandeep Goel confirmed that all three have been released.

A senior jail official said Kalita and Narwal were released around 7 pm and Tanha around 7.30 pm.

The three student activists were not released from the prison on time over

delays in verifying their addresses and sureties.

In its order for the immediate release of the trio, the Delhi court said the delay in the verification process by the police could not be a plausible reason for the accused to be kept imprisoned. After securing bail from the high court, the activists had moved the trial court, seeking immediate release from prison.

When the trial court deferred the order on their plea for Thursday, they moved the Delhi High Court, which ordered the lower court to proceed with the issue with “promptitude and expedition”.

The three student activists were arrested in May 2020 and are accused of being the “masterminds” of the February 2020 violence, which left 53 people dead and more than 200 injured.

LJP feud: Chirag calls national executive meet in Delhi on Sunday

New Delhi, Jun 17 (PTI): Lok Janshakti Party leader Chirag Paswan on Thursday rejected his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras’s election as the party president, saying the meeting organised in Patna was “unconstitutional” and lacked even minimum attendance of its national executive members.

He told PTI that his party has also written to the Election Commission, urging it to stop the Parasheaded faction from using its symbol and flag in its meeting.

LJP’s secretary general Abdul Khaliq said a physi-

cal meeting of its national executive will be held in the national capital on Sunday to reiterate Paswan’s earlier election as its national president amid the split in the organisation after Paras and four other party MPs staged a coup against him.

The party has over 90 sanctioned members in the national executive and barely nine of them were present in the meeting in Patna on Thursday in which Paswan’s paternal uncle Paras was elected as its president in his place, he said.

Paswan added that only he as the party chief or

Chirag Paswan

Khaliq as its secretary general are authorised to hold any such meeting as per the LJP constitution.

Earlier in the day, Paras was elected as the party’s new president at a meeting of the party’s na-

tional executive called by his supporters.

Chirag Paswan, son of party founder Ram Vilas Paswan, is expected to leave for Bihar early next week to galvanise LJP supporters around his cause as both factions engage in a bitter fight to claim the party’s ownership.

Paswan also urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to reconsider his decision to recognise Paras as the leader of the party in the House, saying the LJP constitution authorises its parliamentary board to decide on its leader in Parliament.

“The faction headed

by my uncle can be an independent group but cannot represent LJP,” he said. He said he will try to meet the Speaker over the issue and move the court if the decision is not reversed.

The Paswan-faction also pointed out that while he was removed by the Paras-headed group on the ground of “one man one post” but now Paras has been elected the president despite holding the post of its leader in Lok Sabha and chief of Dalit Sena.

The LJP has six MPs, including Paswan, in Lok Sabha and none in Rajya Sabha.

Kumbh Mela: Case filed EGI demands withdrawal of FIRs against over fake Covid reports scribes who tweeted on Muslim man’s attack

on his mobile phone about his test report coming negative at the Kumbh even though he had not given a sample for it.

After receiving the complaint from the ICMR, the Uttarakhand government asked the Haridwar district magistrate to investigate the matter and a three-member panel was constituted for it.

Preliminary investigations revealed that many private labs roped in by the district Health Department issued fake Covid test reports in the name of random people on the basis of their identity cards and phone numbers.

It is suspected that more than one lakh such test results had been issued by the private labs, sources in the department had said.

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DP-2810

DEHRADUN, JUN 17 (PTI): The Uttarakhand government on Thursday lodged a case against a company and two private labs for fudging coronavirus test reports during the Haridwar Kumbh Mela in April.

The firm, Max Corporate Service, Nalwa Laboratories Private Limited of Hisar and Delhi-based Dr Lalchandani Lab have been accused of issuing fake negative test reports. The Uttarakhand High Court had directed the state government to test 50,000 samples daily to control the spread of Covid during the religious congregation, for which the Health Department awarded the contract to Max Corporate Service, who further hired the two labs.

Confirming the lodging of the case, DGP Ashok Kumar said the complaint was lodged on behalf of Haridwar Chief Medical Officer Shambhu Kumar Jha. He said the company and both labs have been booked under the Epidemic Diseases and the Disaster Management Acts besides Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code.

The matter had come to light after a man complained to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) that he received a message

to wade into such professional calls by journalists and attribute criminality to their actions is destructive of freedom of speech, which is constitutionally protected and is an entrenched feature of the rule of law.”

In a video that went viral on 14 June, 72-year-old Abdul Samad Saifi was seen being thrashed and his beard being chopped off. In another widely-shared video, the man alleged he was forced to chant ‘Jai Shree Ram’. The police said this did not happen and that Saifi’s formal complaint filed on 7 June did not mention this charge.

DP-2812

People participating in Kumbh Mela. (File)

NEW DELHI, JUN 17 (AGENCIES): Editors Guild of India (EGI) condemned the filing of FIRs by the Uttar Pradesh Police against online media publication The Wire and several other journalists, for their tweets on an assault on an elderly Muslim man in Loni, Ghaziabad earlier this month.

In a statement issued Thursday, the guild said, “It is the duty of the journalists to report on the basis of sources and in case facts become contested later on, to report the emerging versions and facets. For police

“Subsequently, there was an alternate version offered by the UP Police claiming that the assault was borne out of a dispute regarding a talisman that the elderly man had sold to some people, which was also reported by these media organizations and journalists,” EGI said.

Demanding immediate withdrawal of the FIRs, the Guild also condemned the “wanton misuse of laws to criminalize reporting and dissent to harass independent media”.

Eyes of 3 children infected with black fungus removed in Mumbai

MUMBAI, JUN 17 (AGENCIES): Three children infected with Black Fungus had to go through surgery to remove an eye each in Mumbai. Mucormycosis or Black Fungus cases in children are a worrying sign, say doctors. The infection targets COVID-19 patients with comorbidities like diabetes and is dangerous, even after one recovers from Covid.

The three children, 4, 6 and 14 years old, were operated upon at two hospitals in Mumbai. The first two children are not diabetic, but the 14-year-old child is. A fourth child, a 16-year-old, became diabetic after recovering from Covid and a part of her stomach was found infected with Black Fungus, doctors have said.

“We saw two girls infected with Black Fungus in the second wave (of Covid).

Both were diabetic. After she came to us (the 14 years old), one of her eyes turned black within 48 hours. The fungus was spreading to the nose too. Luckily, it did not reach the brain. We treated her for six weeks; unfortunately, she lost her

89 nations ahead of India in vaccination: Sibal NEW DELHI, JUN 17 (IANS): Congress leader Kapil Sibal has accused the BJP of doing politics on the issue of vaccination after the ruling party MP opposed discussion in the PAC (Public Accounts Committee) on this issue.

Kapil Sibal in a tweet on Thursday said, “Politics is Everything”.

“Population fully vaccinated: May 24: 75 nations ahead of India; June 1: 81 ahead; June 17: 89 ahead,” he said “Only 3.5 per cent fully vaccinated. In PAC, BJP oppose discussion on vaccination policy!” he further added.

The government on Wednesday informed that the cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has reached more than 26.53 crore (26,53,17,472).

A total of 20,67,085 vaccine doses were administered as first dose and 67,447 vaccine doses given as second dose in the age group 18-44 years on Wednesday.

Cumulatively, 4,72,06,953 persons across 37 States/ UTs have received their first dose and total 9,68,098 have received their second dose since the start of Phase-3 of the vaccination drive.

OFFICE OF THE

ST JOHN BOSCO CHURCH MON P.O. MON TOWN, DIST.: MON, NAGALAND,798621

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The Community of St. John Bosco Church Mon Town would like to express our sincere appreciation and gratitude to the Govt. and Public Organizations, Civil Societies and all individuals for the timely intervention during the brutal attack on Rev. Fr. Sam SDB on 8th June 2021 at Priests’ Presbytery Don Bosco Centre Mon. We as a community are truly grateful to all the individuals and organisations for their moral support in such times of our needs. We would like to convey our special thanks to: 1. Deputy Commissioner Mon 2. S.P. DEF Mon 3. Doctors and nurses DH Mon. 4. KU/KSU/KNSK 5. KBBB 6. Mon Village Union 7. Mon Village Students' Union 8. Mon Town Students' Union 9. Tammong Village Union 10. Tammong Village Students' Union 11. Tobu Area Union Mon Town 12. Wakching Students' Union 13. CAN/NCYM/NCWA 14. KCA/KCYA/KCWA 15. All Nagaland Private School Association Mon 16. Don Bosco Managing Board, staffs and students.

17. Dr. Chingjai 18. Shri. Chingngak ADC 19. Shri. Shingwang Konyak (Rtd. EAC) 20. Shri. Nyamto Konyak (Former Principal KHSS) 21. Gospel Outreach Ministry, Mon L Yeangba Anthony Konyak Secretary St John Bosco Church, Mon

Jerome Nokshei Konyak Catechist St John Bosco Church, Mon

eye,” said Dr JesalSheth, Senior Consultant Paediatrician at Fortis Hospital.

“The 16-year-old child was healthy a month ago. She had recovered from Covid.

She was not diabetic. But she came to us with diabetes suddenly. Her intestines started bleeding. We did an angiography and found that Black Fungus had infected blood vessels near her stomach,” Dr Sheth said.

The younger children, who were not diabetic, were admitted to Mumbai’s KBH Bachooali Ophthalmic and ENT Hospital. Both had Covid.

“Black Fungus was spreading in their eyes and if we had not removed the eyes, their life would have been in danger. They were already blind in one eye and it was hurting them badly.

One child came to us in December last year. The second case came during the second wave,” said Dr Prithesh Shetty, Oculoplasty, Ocular Oncology and Ocular Prosthetic at the hospital.

Black Fungus infection needs to be caught early as it is aggressive and dead tissue has to be scraped away. Surgeons have had to remove patients’ nose, eyes or even their jaw to stop it getting to the brain. With coronavirus and other conditions, a dangerous phenomenon called a cytokine storm can occur where the immune system goes into overdrive, damaging organs, so doctors have been prescribing steroids to reduce immune response. But this weakens the body’s defences and increases sugar levels, which funguses thrive off.

Written thrice to PM to withdraw Dhankhar as gov, says Mamata KOLKATA, JUN 17 (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday took a dig at Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar’s New Delhi visit as she said a “child can be cajoled into silence” but not an elderly man, noting that she has thrice written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to withdraw him from the state.

Calling the governor a “Centre’s man”, Banerjee refrained from commenting much on his meeting with President Ram Nath Kovind and several other union ministers in Delhi. “What can I say? A child can be cajoled into silence. In this case, speech is silver; silence is golden,” she said.

Asked about media reports suggesting that the governor might be removed, Banerjee said she is not aware of any such development.

“How do I know?

When a governor is appointed, the state government is consulted. That, however, was not done in this case... I have written twice or thrice to the Prime Minister seeking his withdrawal from the state,” she said. Dhankhar,

Mamata Banerjee

who has shared a strained relationship with the TMC government since taking charge as the governor of the state in 2019, is in the national capital on a fourday trip. He has not specified any reason for the visit.

The gover nor met Union ministers Prahlad Joshi and Prahlad Singh Patel on Wednesday.

He also held a meeting with President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan earlier in the day.

Dhankhar is scheduled to meet HM Amit Shah later in the day. The chief minister, when enquired if Raj Bhavan appointing several ‘officers on special duty’ has mounted pressure on the state exchequer, maintained that she wouldn’t have the details offhand.

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NEW DELHI, JUN 17 (IANS): Amidst border standoff with China, the Indian Army holds a commanders’ conference led by General Manoj Mukund Naravane from Thursday to review the operational situation at the border with China and Pakistan. Indian Army Commanders’ Conference is an apex level biannual event, which formulates important policy decisions through collegiate deliberations.

The conference is attended by senior officers of the Army including the vice chief of the army staff, all commanders, principal staff officers (PSOs) of the Army Headquarters and other senior officers.

In the two-day conference, the Army top brass will discuss the current position of Chinese People’s Liberation Army positions in disputed areas at Gogra, Hot Springs, Demchok and Depsang at Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh.

China has enhanced troops, artillery and armour deployment in three sectors

Delhi riots: 3 student activists released on bail

LOTHA BAPTIST CHURCHES ASSOCIATION VANKHOSÜNG WOKHA, NAGALAND

OBITUARY Rev. Dr. Ellis Murry was a humble servant of God who committed his life in the service our living God. At the beginning of his career, the Lotha Baptist Churches Association trustfully appointed him in various capacities such as Youth Director from 1963-1970 and KBES Co-ordinator from 1990-1996.

He was the Founder and Member of the Christian Medical Centre Managing Board and served in the Standing Committees of the Lotha Baptist Churches Association. He was also the Founder and the first General Secretary of Nagaland Mission Movement which continue to function to this day under Nagaland Baptist Church Council.

At his departure for glory, the Lotha Baptist Churches Association is awestricken. While extending the Association‘s sincere condolences to the beareaved family members, we pray that the Almighty God will rest the soul of the departed servant of God in eternal peace.

WC-119

Army top brass discuss threats from China, Pak

7

national

Nagaland Post, Dimapur FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 2021

(Rev. Dr. L. TSANSO) Executive Secretary LBCA

(Rev. O. THUNGBEN KIKON) President LBCA

8

business

Nagaland Post, Dimapur FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 2021

Google Cloud VMware Govt slashes tariff value for edible oil CII pegs India’s FY22 Engine now available in India import, may lead to lower domestic prices GDP growth at 9.5% NEW DELHI, JUN 17 (IANS): Industry body CII on Thursday pegged India’s GDP growth rate for 202122 at 9.5 per cent.

“Ultra-high frequency indicators strongly presage growth recovery following the second wave of the pandemic,” said T.V. Narendran, CEO and Managing Director of Tata Steel, who took charge as President CII on May 31, 2021.

“With recent uptick in mobility indicators, traffic congestion index and daily railway passenger movement, we believe that 9.5 per cent growth rate can be achieved this year.”

According to Narendran, growth needs to pick up to 9 per cent by 2024-25 with public expenditure, reforms and vaccination as key levers.

“The cumulative impact of the two waves on incomes and consumer sentiment, coupled with the increase in household medical expenses in the second wave, is likely to affect consumer

demand for some time.”

“As the economy reopens post the second wave, a dual-pronged Government strategy is required to boost consumption and support industry till demand is wellentrenched.”

Besides, he called for a strong fiscal stimulus and government’s expenditure programme.

“CII estimates that there is fiscal headroom of up to Rs 3 lakh crore and this amount can be channelised towards direct cash transfers to the vulnerable people, higher allocation

for ‘MNREGA, short-term GST’ rate cuts and lower excise duty on fuel.”

Furthermore, he said that demand can be revitalised through a time bound tax concession of interest rate subvention for home buyers, a LTC cash voucher scheme as done last year and extending the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana till March 31, 2022.

Additionally, CII urged for expansion in the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) balance sheet to meet the demand exigencies of the pandemic.

New Delhi, Jun 17 (IANS): Google Cloud VMware Engine is now available in India for enterprises looking to migrate their VMware environments to the cloud and advance their digital transformation journeys, the company announced on Thursday.

Wi t h t h i s s e r v i c e, customers can migrate or extend their on-premises workloads to Google Cloud in a jiffy by connecting to a dedicated VMware environment directly through the Google Cloud Console.

R u n n i n g V M wa r e workloads on Google Cloud, reduces operational burden while benefiting from scale and agility, and maintains continuity with the organization’s existing tools, policies, and processes, the tech giant said in a statement.

“We look forward to working with VMware to empower organizations to adapt to changing times and digitally transform themselves with the power of the cloud,” said Bikram Bedi, Managing Director, Google Cloud India.

Enterprises can also

modernise existing IT investments and leverage ondemand self-service provisioning of VMware private clouds with integrated connectivity to Google Cloud services such as BigQuery, Cloud Operations, Cloud Storage, Kubernetes, and Cloud AI. “With this partnership our customers can now deploy Google Cloud VMware Engine and seamlessly migrate their existing VMware-based applications to Google Cloud without refactoring or rewriting them,” said Pradeep Nair, Vice President and Managing Director, VMware India.

In addition to its native capabilities, VMware users value the platform for its rich third-party ecosystem for disaster recovery, backup, monitoring, security — or any other imaginable IT needs.

“Google Cloud VMware engine will complement our overall technology and business strategy to scale our infrastructure as well as optimise costs,” said Ashu Kakkar, Vice President, HCL Technologies.

New Delhi, Jun 17 (PTI): The government has reduced the tariff value for import of edible oil, including palm oil, by up to USD 112 per tonne, a move which experts said can lead to lower domestic prices.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), through a notification, has cut the tariff import value of crude palm oil by USD 86 per tonne, and of RBD and crude palmolein by USD 112 per tonne each.

It also reduced the base import price of crude soyabean oil by USD 37 per tonne.

The changes in tariff value of edible oil are effective from Thursday (June 17).

Tax experts said the reduction in tariff value could result in softening of edible oil prices in the domestic market as customs duty payable on the base import price would come down.

AMRG & Associates Senior Partner Rajat Mohan said there is a big gap between domestic production

and consumption of edible oils in India, which leads to massive imports and last few months have seen the retail prices rising.

“The ripple effect of this slashing of base import price could be seen in the retail prices, provided the entire supply chain, including the manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, are ready to pass on this benefit to the ultimate consumer,” Mohan added.

Domestic edible oil prices have more than doubled in the past year.

India meets about twothirds of its edible oil demand through imports.

EY Tax Partner Abhishek Jain said tariff value is a deemed value fixed

by the government for the purposes of payment of customs duty. This is to say that irrespective of the transaction value, customs duty will have to be paid on the tariff value so fixed.

“This reduction in the tariff value of edible oils by the government will imply a lower Customs duty payment, thereby entailing a reduction in cost for the importers and end users/ consumers,” Jain added.

The government had on Wednesday said edible oil prices have started falling in the past one month and it is working on a series of mid- and long-term measures to make the country self-sufficient in the segment.

Flipkart, Amazon challenge India’s online casual gaming segment to grow at 29% CAGR court order on CCI probe: Report

Su doku

KAKURO

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graphics took to online gaming as a means to connect with family and friends, with the supply side also playing its part, in terms of multiple titles getting multiplayer features, with a social layer to them, to encourage group consumption, the report said.

With India experiencing a second wave of the

Jindal Stainless sends 150 ventilators to Odisha, Haryana

New Delhi, Jun 17 (IANS): India’s largest stainless steel manufacturer, Jindal Stainless has facilitated the supply of 150 ventilators to the Haryana and Odisha governments, in continuation to steps taken by it to combat and minimise the spread and impact of Covid-19.

As states gear up in anticipation of an impending third wave, officials of the company shipped 75 ventilators each, along with accessories for medical use, to both the states on Thursday, the company said in a statement.

Jindal Stainless Managing Director Abhyuday Jindal said: “We’ve been fighting corona as extended arms of the Indian government from Day one. With each step we take, we are trying to strengthen the

health infrastructure in every way possible. We fought the second wave with an uninterrupted LMO supply to several states from both our units, establishing the operational emergency Covid hospital in Hisar, and successful inoculation drives for our employees and their families. We are now ensuring better preparedness, if and before the third wave hits us.”

So far, Jindal Stainless has supplied nearly 5,400 MT Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) to various hospitals and oxygen filling centres.

Through its units in Hisar and Jajpur, it is supplying over 50 tonnes of oxygen per day to over 50 medical facilities in Haryana, Delhi-NCR, and Odisha.

Additionally, the company is supplying LMO to the 500-bed Covid Hospital set

Sensex drops over 300 pts in early trade; Nifty slips below 15,700

Mumbai, Jun 17 (PTI): Equity benchmark Sensex tumbled over 300 points in early trade on Thursday, tracking losses in indexheavyweights HDFC twins, ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries amid a largely negative trend in global equities.

The 30-share BSE index was trading 302.80 points or 0.58 per cent lower at 52,199.18 in initial deals. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty declined 93.70 points or 0.59 per cent to 15,673.85.

Tech Mahindra was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 1 per cent,

followed by PowerGrid, HDFC, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank.

On the other hand, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, UltraTech Cement and HCL Tech were among the gainers. In the previous session, Sensex ended 271.07 points or 0.51 per cent lower at 52,501.98, and Nifty retreated from a record and declined 101.70 points or 0.64 per cent to 15,767.55.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 870.29 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional exchange data.

up in the premises of OP Jindal Modern School in Hisar.

The company also organised vaccination camps at its various office locations to help employees and their family members get vaccinated. Apart from this, Jindal Stainless announced a policy to extend all-round support to immediate family members of all its employees, who lost their lives to the current pandemic.

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accounting for 17 per cent of the global mobile game downloads.

Further, the monthly active users for the top 100 mobile games and the time spent on online gaming, are higher by 10-15 per cent post lockdown 2020, indicating the establishment of a new normal.

Gamers across demo-

Covid-19 pandemic currently, it is envisaged that the consumption of online casual gaming is likely to continue being robust, helped by the robust digital infrastructure that India has, and the continued investments by Indian and global developers and publishers in making world class games available to the Indian gamer.

Satya Easwaran, Partner and Head of Technology, Media & Telecom, KPMG In India said: “Having seen rapid growth in the last five years on account of the growth in digital infrastructure in the country coupled with the availability of leading titles, India’s online gaming segment is now a serious business with India’s gaming market being overwhelmingly mobile first.”

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week ruled it could resume, having dismissed arguments that the CCI lacked evidence.

The fresh appeal from Flipkart filed on June 16, argues that decision by the Karnataka court to allow the probe to resume was erroneous and must be put on hold, the report said.

“Irreparable injury will be caused to the appellant if the investigation was to continue pending the present appeal,” the Flipkart filing, as per the report said. It also urged the court to quash the initial CCI order for the

investigation.

Amazon has mounted a similar challenge, the report said. Both are likely to be heard by a two-judge panel this week.

The report said that the CCI planned to speed up the investigation as it increases its scrutiny of bigtech firms. The CCI plans to demand information from Flipkart and Amazon on the accusations “as quickly as possible”, one source said.

Such investigations usually run several months.

Both Amazon and Flipkart are currently battling accusations from offline retailers that their complex business structures let them circumvent foreign investment rules for e-commerce.

of the Indian gamer in terms of consumer spends The online gaming segment has grown at a rapid pace in the last 3-4 years and is now competing with traditional forms of entertainment for the share of time spent on media and entertainment in a day.

While the Covid-19 induced lockdowns had an adverse impact on the economy and traditional segments of the M&E industry, online gaming as a segment got a leg up in terms of both consumption and partly, monetisation.

This is evident from the fact that India had the highest game downloads in the casual mobile gaming sub-segment in the world (excluding China) in 2020, with Q1-Q3 2020 downloads standing at 7.3 billion,

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New Delhi, Jun 17 (IANS): Walmart Incs Flipkart and Amazon.com Inc have filed legal challenges against the resumption of an antitrust investigation into their business practices, a global news wire reported.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) launched an investigation in January last year after a complaint accused Flipkart and Amazon of promoting select sellers on their e-commerce platforms and using deep discounts to stifle competition.

The companies have denied wrongdoing and near-immediate legal challenges from the pair stalled the investigation for more than a year until a court last

New Delhi, Jun 17 (IANS): The online casual gaming segment in India is projected to grow at 29 per cent Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) during FY21-25 to reach Rs 169 billion, according to a report

by KPMG in India.

Currently, the segment stands at Rs 60 billion in FY21, accounting for 44 per cent of the total online gaming revenues.

Titled ‘Beyond the tipping point - A primer on Casual gaming in India’, the report said that by FY25, online casual gaming would be the largest sub-segment amongst the online gaming segment in India, contributing 58 per cent to the overall revenues. Growth would be led by a continued increase in consumption, robust brand interest and maturity

Delta variant cases doubling in 11 days in Eng

LONDON, JUN 17 (PTI): The number of people infected with the coronavirus is increasing rapidly in England, doubling every 11 days, which coincides with the Delta variant of Covid19 becoming dominant in the country, a new study reports on Thursday.

The Imperial College London led Real-time Assessment of Community Transmission (REACT-1) analysis, based on over 100,000 home swab tests taken between May 20 and June 7, estimates that 0.15 per cent of people have the deadly virus, or roughly 1 in 670.

It found that the link between infections, hospitalisations and deaths had been weakening since February, but since late April, the trend has been reversing for hospitalisations. “ We fo und str o ng evidence for exponential growth in infection from late May to early June in the REACT-1 study, with a doubling time of 11 days

10 infected people would pass the virus on to 14 others on average.

on average for England,” said Professor Paul Elliott, director of the REACT programme from Imperial’s School of Public Health.

“These data coincide with the Delta variant becoming dominant and show the importance of continuing to monitor infection rates and variants of concern in the community,” he

said. The findings come days after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a month-long delay to an end to lockdown restrictions, citing the rising number of cases of the Delta variant – first identified in India.

“These findings highlight the stark context in which we took the difficult decision to delay Step 4 of

Wildfire in US state forces evacuation of hundreds

Afghan army men killed in clashes with Taliban

The blaze, ignited on Sunday, exploded Tuesday, due to very dry, windy and changing conditions.

WASHINGTON, JUN 17 (IANS): A wildfire, dubbed Robertson Draw Fire, is raging near Red Lodge, a small town in the US state of Montana with over 2,000 residents, forcing 450 of them to be evacuated.

Billy Chapman, fire information officer from Custer Gallatin National Forest, was quoted by the Montana Public Radio (MTPR) as saying on Wednesday that he could not confirm any losses or damage, reports Xinhua news agency.

The blaze, ignited on Sunday, exploded Tuesday, due to very dry, windy and changing conditions.

It was estimated at 2,000 acres Tuesday, and by 6 a.m. Wednesday, i tgrew to 21,000 acres.

Photos posted online showed the fire burning actively eclipsed a mountain ridge, making the flames visible from Red Lodge at midnight.

“It was pretty scary.

Mt. Maurice is very visible

from downtown. I’m sure a lot of people have seen the pictures but it was a really intense fire, really high flames, absolutely torching the trees.

It was intense for a few minutes,” Chapman said.

Extreme fire behaviour made it nearly impossible to fight the flames safely on the ground on Tuesday, Chapman said, explaining that air resources were also grounded for a few hours due to high winds, preventing retardant and water drops.

The cooler temperatures, higher relative humidity and significantly less wind on Wednesday helped crew make progress in placing dozer line and securing the fire’s edge.

InciWeb, an interstate incident information system, also indicated Wednesday that evacuations and evacuation warnings were in place for multiple areas near the Robertson Draw Fire, adding 200 firefighters focusing their efforts on structure protection and containment.

KABUL, JUN 17 (IANS): At least 23 members of an Afghan Armys special unit were killed during fierce clash with the Taliban in the northern province of Faryab, a security official said on Thursday.

The clash took place in Dawlat Abad district after the commandos and local troops launched a clearing operation, TOLO News quoted the official as saying, adding that six policemen were also injured in the violence. The security forces have retreated from the centre of the district following the heavy clashes are now stationed in Qaramqol district, the official said.

The centre of Dawlat Abad district fell to the Taliban a week ago following heavy clashes. Violence remains high in the country amidst a stalled peace process. Official sources on Wednesday reported fighting between Afghan security forces and the Taliban in at least 80 districts in a day.

According to the sources, over 100 Taliban fighters and 90 security force members were killed during this period. Neither the Taliban nor the government have provided the exact number of casualties. Data collected

by TOLO News reveal that centres of at least 30 districts have fallen to the Taliban since the beginning of the official withdrawal of the US and other NATO troops on May 1.

the roadmap out of lockdown,” said UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

“Cases are now rising, but thanks to our incredible vaccination programme and enhanced response package including surge testing, we have the tools to curb the spread of this virus. We all must hold our nerve that little bit longer as our vaccine rollout continues and I urge everyone to keep observing hands, face, space and fresh air, and make sure you receive both doses of the vaccine for the best possible protection,” he said.

The Imperial study scientists estimate that the reproduction number, or R number, of the deadly virus is now well above one at 1.44, meaning 10 infected people would pass the virus on to 14 others on average, resulting in fast growth of the epidemic.

Most infections are happening in children and young adults, but they are rising in older people too, increasing at a similar rate

in the over 50s and the under 50s.

“Even though we are seeing the highest infection prevalence in younger people who are less susceptible to COVID-19, if this growth continues it will drive up infections in older, more vulnerable people, as the vaccines are not 100 per cent effective and not everyone has been fully vaccinated,” said Professor Steven Riley, Professor of Infectious Disease Dynamics at Imperial.

“This would lead to more hospitalisations and deaths, and risks straining the NHS, which is why it’s vital that people take up their vaccine offer and continue to stick to the rules,” he said.

The REACT-1 study is an ongoing pandemic study, led by Imperial and carried out in partnership with Ipsos MORI, tracking current coronavirus infections in the community by testing randomly selected people each month over roughly a two-week period.

London, Jun 17 (PTI): There is evidence of China’s increasing use of “aggressive” means to “coerce” states to back their position or their candidates towards a steady acquisition of key official positions in multiple multilateral organisations, a report by an influential UK parliamentary panel warned on Thursday.

The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) said its evidence spoke of an increasingly “bullying” stance of China in its dealing with organisations such as the United Nations and World Health Organisation (WHO).

In its ‘In the room: the UK’s role in multilateral diplomacy’ report, the committee calls upon the UK to take a more proactive role in combating the influence of countries who seek to manipulate and undermine multilateral organisations and mobilise the soft power of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to strengthen democracies.

“The report found evidence of China’s increasing use of aggressive means, including exploiting bilateral economic leverage, to coerce states to back their position or their candidates and then using the organi-

S.Korean nuke envoy to meet US, Japanese counterparts talks in Seoul with Takehiro Funakoshi, the directorgeneral for Asian and Oceanian affairs of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, as well as the trilateral talks with the US and Japanese diplomats on June 21.

It would come after the US administration recently completed the review of its policy towards North Korea.

After the first in-person summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Washington on May 21, US President Joe Biden stressed the willingness to engage diplomatically with Pyongyang to take pragmatic steps toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

China launches 1st crewed station for space station

Nepal flood: 1 Indian, 2 Chinese workers killed

It is China’s seventh crewed mission to space and the first during the construction of China’s space station.

run CGTN-TV. In few minutes of the launch, the mission control announced that the launch was a complete success.

It is China’s seventh crewed mission to space and the first during the construction of China’s space station, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). It is also the first in nearly five years after the country’s last manned mission in 2016.

The three astronauts are commander Nie Haisheng, a 56-year-old veteran who participated in the Shenzhou-6 and Shenzhou10 missions, Liu Boming, 54, who was part of the Shenzhou-7 mission, and Tang Hongbo, 45, who is in his first space mission.

They are expected to set a new record for China’s manned space mission duration, exceeding the 33 days spent by the Shenzhou-11

Guterres calls for full respect of Israel-Hamas ceasefire

UNITED NATIONS, JUN 17 (IANS): United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for the full respect of the ceasefire agreed between Israel and the Islamic Hamas movement which brought an end to the 11-day bloodshed in Gaza Strip late last month.

Responding to a question about the SecretaryGeneral’s reaction to Tuesday’s escalating violence, Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for Guterres, said at a regular press briefing on Wednesday that the UN chief “expresses concern over the most recent round of violence”, reports Xinhua news agency.

Haq added that Guterres “would like to see the cessation of hostilities be maintained and solidified in order to give space for the relevant parties to work out arrangements to stabilize the situation”.

The Israeli army said on Wednesday that it had

Antonio Guterres

carried out the first airstrike in the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire which came into effect on May 21.

In the overnight attack, Israeli war jets struck military compounds belonging to Hamas in the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, the military said in a statement.

The statement accused Hamas of being responsible “for all events transpiring in the Gaza Strip” and warned that the group “will bear

the consequences for its actions”.

“The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) is prepared for any scenario, including a resumption of hostilities, in the face of continuing terror activities from the Gaza Strip,” the statement read.

Hundreds of Israeli ultra-nationalists marched on Tuesday in East Jerusalem, waving Israeli flags.

Some of them chanted “Death to Arabs” and other anti-Arab slurs.

UK Parl panel warns of China ‘bullying’ in international arena

Seoul, Jun 17 (IANS): South Korea’s top nuclear envoy will hold talks in Seoul next week with US and Japanese counterparts over the Korean Peninsula issues, the Foreign Ministry here said on Thursday.

Noh Kyu-duk, South Korea’s special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, will talk bilaterally on June 21 with Sung Kim, the newly appointed US special representative for North Korean policy, reports Xinhua news agency. The US envoy will embark on a five-day trip to Seoul which will last until June 23 for the first since he took office on May 21.

Noh will hold bilateral

Beijing, Jun 17 (PTI): China on Thursday successfully launched its crewed spacecraft, sending three astronauts to its space station’s core module Tianhe for a three-month mission.

The Shenzhou-12 spacecraft, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China’s Gobi Desert. The launch was telecast live by the state-

9

international

Nagaland Post, Dimapur FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 2021

crew in 2016.

In 2016, two male astronauts -- Chen Dong and Jing Haipeng -- were sent via the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft to Tiangong-2, a prototype of the space station where they later stayed for about a month.

After entering orbit, the Shenzhou-12 spaceship will dock with the in-orbit space station core module Tianhe, forming a complex with Tianhe and the cargo craft Tianzhou-2. The astronauts will be stationed in the core module. Their work will be more complicated and challenging than the previous crewed missions, according to Hao Chun, director of the CMSA. The Shenzhou-12 crew will complete four major tasks in orbit, said Ji Qiming, assistant to the CMSA director, on Wednesday.

The crew will operate and manage the complex, including the in-orbit test of the Tianhe module, verification of the recycling and life support system, testing and operation training of the robotic arm, as well as management of materials and waste.

Kathmandu, Jun 17 (PTI): An Indian and two Chinese workers were killed after being swept away by the flood in central Nepal’s Sindhupalchok district, an official said on Thursday.

The body of the Indian worker was found in Sunkoshi river in Sindhuli on Thursday, whereas two Chinese were found dead in Sindhupalchok, Chief District Officer Arun Pokharel said. The victims used to work for the Melamchi Water Supply Project.

Meanwhile, two Indian and one Chinese workers were still missing, another official said.

Altogether 17 people were missing in the flood and landslide triggered by incessant rain in the district. Torrential rains battered Nepal this week, causing widespread flood and damage to critical infrastructure. The worstaffected district due to the heavy rains was Sindhupalchok, 65 km from capital Kathmandu, where the Melamchi river flooded.

sations to shift policies away from the cooperation the organisations were created to promote,” the FAC notes.

“The use of aggressive diplomacy by China, or ‘bullying’, can be seen in operation at the United Nations Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) as well as the World Health Organisation (WHO). The report found that threats from multilateral organisations can come in more subtle forms.

For example, the steady acquisition of key

official positions in multiple multilateral organisations by the Chinese government,” it said.

“The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) should take a leading role in maintaining strong and effective engagement with multilaterals. Disengagement only creates a vacuum, which allows authoritarian states greater influence and control. The new Biden administration represents a positive shift towards increased engagement and the potential for joint action with the US,” it adds.

The central warning of the inquiry by the cross-

party group is against autocratic states attempting to seize control of strategically important organisations, to weaponise them, and to fundamentally redefine universally agreed principles on which they are based and that “democracies are doing too little to defend their interests.”

“There is a very real risk that democratic states will lose multilateral organisations to authoritarian states. The influence of state actors with alternative understandings of individual rights, a key principle upon which the modern international system is based, is increasing,” it warns.

Apple Daily editors arrested under Hong Kong security law Hong Kong, Jun 17 (AP): Hong Kong police used a sweeping national security law against a prodemocracy newspaper for the first time Thursday, arresting five editors and executives on charges of collusion with foreign powers.

Police said they had strong evidence that more than 30 articles published by Apple Daily played a “crucial part” in a conspiracy with foreign countries to impose sanctions against China and Hong Kong, in response to a crackdown on civil liberties in the semiautonomous Chinese city.

Apple Daily has often criticised the Chinese and

Hong Kong governments for tightening control over the city and walking back on promises by Beijing that the territory could retain its freedoms when it was handed over from Britain in 1997.

Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai is currently serving a 20-month prison sentence for his role in unauthorised assemblies in 2019, during a period when Hong Kong saw massive antigovernment protest calling for universal suffrage and democratic freedoms.

Police also froze USD 18 million Hong Kong dollars (USD 2.3 million) worth of assets belonging to three companies linked to Apple

13 workers killed in iron mine accident in China

A rescue team comprising 1,084 people worked for six straight days.

Beijing, Jun 17 (PTI): All 13 workers, who were trapped in an iron mine in north China’s Shanxi Province, have been confirmed dead, according to the local authorities.

The bodies of the workers were lifted out of the well that flooded the Dahongcai iron mine in Daixian County on June 10.

A rescue team comprising 1,084 people worked for six straight days. The DNA confirmation has been completed, according to the local rescue headquarters.

Police have detained 13 suspects. An investiga-

tion into the cause of the accident is underway, the staterun Xinhua news agency reported on late Wednesday night.

Chinese coal mines are one of the deadliest in the world. In 2009, China had the most mining accident fatalities in the world, with a total of 2,631 coal miners dying in accidents, according to an official figure released

by State Administration of Work Safety.

Most accidents are blamed on a failure to follow safety regulations, including adequate ventilation and available fire control equipment.

Daily, said Li Kwai-wah, a senior superintendent at Hong Kong’s National Security Department.

More than 200 police officers were involved in the search of Apple Daily’s offices, and the government said a warrant was obtained to look for evidence of a suspected violation of the national security law.

Those arrested included Apple Daily’s chief editor Ryan Law, Next Digital CEO Cheung Kim-hung, the publisher’s chief operating officer and two other editors, according to Apple Daily, the South China Morning Post and other local media.

German hunt for gunman who killed 2

ESPELKAMP, JUN 17 (AGENCIES): Two people – a man and a woman – have been killed in a shooting spree in the centre of the north-western German town of Espelkamp, the newspaper Bild reports, citing police.

The newspaper quoted police as saying the situation appeared to be a case of someone “running amok”, with the shooter still on the loose, reports the News daily. But DW reports that police no longer believe the shootings are part of a larger killing spree.

Espelkamp, a town of some 20,000 people, is in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, about 370 kilometres west of the capital Berlin.

Police said one of the two had been killed inside a house and the other just outside it, adding that an initial investigation did not point to a terrorist attack.

“As things stand it looks like it was a crime rather than terrorism,” a police official said.

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World’s first bionic vulture created

A

wild vulture recently had surgery in Vienna to implant a bionic leg.

While still a nestling, Mia suffered a major injury to her right leg. Her parents had used sheep wool to hold the nest together, and some of the fibers became tangled around the young vulture’s ankle. With her strangled foot starved for oxygen, her toes began to die.

Fortunately for Mia, a team of veterinarians treated her injury. However, the foot was beyond repair; an amputation left her with a right leg ending in a stump.

For a bearded vulture, lacking a foot is a death sentence, because the bird won’t be able to feed itself.

With an 8.5-foot (2.6 meters) wingspan, these rare birds, listed as “near threat-

Diana Ross announces her first new album in 15 yrs

ened” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, are some of the largest predatory birds native to Europe, Africa and Asia. These vultures need strong legs to lift their own body weight and seize prey. “It was clear that the rare bird could not survive long in its current condition,” Dr. Oskar Aszmann, a reconstructive surgeon with MedUni Vienna who specializes in building prosthetics for humans, said in a statement.

A team of veterinarians, led by Sarah Hochgeschurz of the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, contacted Aszmann for help. Aszmann is an expert in limb reconstruction, but such a procedure had never been performed on a bird.

Designing a prosthetic limb for a predatory bird presented a number of unique challenges. A detachable prosthetic would not have been durable enough to withstand the daily punishment a raptor would subject it to. Any prosthesis would have to be able to not only grip prey but also withstand the shock of such a big bird landing.

So the team designed Mia a custom implant that would be mounted directly into the leg bone.

Using a technique called osseointegration, the surgeons installed a metal anchor into Mia’s leg bone where her ankle used to attach. Over time, the bone grows into the metal threads on the anchor, “integrating” the metal rod into Mia’s skeleton.

The team then attached her prosthesis to the anchor.

Instead of being shaped like an artificial bird foot, the vulture’s bionic leg is a black rubber cylinder that makes Mia look like she accidentally stepped on a sushi roll. It’s designed to allow Mia to grip both surfaces and prey but also to act as a shock absorber for softer landings.

(Live Science)

Priyanka Chopra will be the new face of Victoria’s Secret with multiple other activists and athletes.

A

ctor Priyanka Chopra, football star Megan Rapinoe and five other women have joined Victoria Secret as it makes a stark change to its image. The lingerie brand is ditching its supermodels (or Angels as they were called), to focus on women empowerment, giving a platform to female athletes, activists and entrepreneurs.

Introducing Priyanka Chopra and the other new members, Victoria’s Secret posted on their In-

stagram page, “We are proud to announce an exciting new partnership platform, #TheVSCollective, designed to shape the future of Victoria’s Secret. These extraordinary partners, with their unique backgrounds, interests and passions will collaborate with us to create revolutionary product collections, compelling and inspiring content, new internal associate programs and rally support for causes vital to women.”

“When the world was

Jujutsu Kaisen is now officially on Hiatus

G

ege Akutami’s original manga series has been running in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump since 2018, and began making its way to international territories the year after. With the debut of the series’ first anime adaptation, however, even more attention is being paid to the manga than ever as sales of K Y M C

Nagaland Post, Dimapur FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 2021

Maya Rudolph opens up on her role in ‘Luca’

Covid can activate dormant bacterial infection, TB: Study

T

A

ctress Maya Rudolph, who features in the voice cast of the upcoming animated film “Luca”, says an experience from motherhood in real life helped her bring alive her role.

Rudolph voices Daniela, mother of the titular Luca in the film. She says she used a maxim she follows with her own children to understand and bring alive the nuances of her role.

“I’ve definitely seen my mama bear come out when necessary with my children, so that was a pretty easy element of Daniela to relate to. When your children are pushing boundaries, you want to show them that

Priyanka Chopra joins Victoria’s Secret as lingerie brand ditches Angels for women empowerment

D

iana Ross has announced her first new solo album in 15 years.

The forthcoming record, which follows on from 2006’s ‘I Love You’, will also be the singer’s first new album of original material in 22 years, with the last being 1999’s ‘Every Day Is a New Day’.

Ro s s ’ n ew a l b u m , ‘Thank You’, was written during lockdown with the likes of Jack Antonoff, Jimmy Napes, Tayla Parx and Spike Stent, and is now set for release on September 10 via Decca.

“This collection of songs is my gift to you with appreciation and love. I am eternally grateful that I had the opportunity to record this glorious music at this time,” Ross said in a statement. “I dedicate this songbook of love to all of you, the listeners. As you hear my voice you hear my heart.” The title track from Diana Ross’ ‘Thank You’ is set for release later today (June 17). Pre-order of Ross’ forthcoming new album is (NME) available here.

Infotainment

the manga’s volumes have exploded to wild new levels.

But even with all of this popularity, it doesn’t change the demands of a weekly production schedule for the manga. These demands have caught up with the creator, and now the series is being put on hold for a bit.

As announced by Shueisha’s editorial depart-

ment, Jujutsu Kaisen is now on an indefinite hiatus as series creator Gege Akutami focuses on his health and recovery.

Beginning with the release of the truncated Chapter 152 of the series, the manga will now be on hold for a while with current estimates ranging for about a month. (comicbook)

changing, we were too slow to respond,” said Martin Waters, chief executive of the brand, in an interview to The New York Times. “We needed to stop being about what men want and to be about what women want.”

As per the NYT report, Priyanka Chopra and the six others will model for the products, advise the brand, and promote it on social media. The brand has long been criticised for its hyper-sexualised annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. In it, supermodels such as Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid, Lily Aldridge and Alessandra Ambrosio among others.

Priyanka said about her new role, “A new era always brings a sense of freedom, and the opportunity to play a part in shaping the evolution and future success of a heritage brand like Victoria’s Secret is so exciting to me. As we work together to chart the path forward in a new and impactful way, I’m not only looking forward to developing future collections that are inclusive of all people, but I am most excited for new customers and for those who have always been a customer of Victoria’s Secret to feel represented and like they belong.”

(Hindustan Times)

you love them but you’re serious. That can be an incredibly difficult balance, but one that every parent understands. Daniela has a very sweet, recurring mantra with Luca, saying, ‘You know I love you, right?’ I think that’s really important for her character because she is not embarrassed to show how strong she is, and she’s not embarrassed to show how much she loves her son,” says Rudolph.

Directed by Enrico Casarosa the film features the voices of Jacob Tremblay, Jack Dylan Grazer, and Jim Gaffigan amongst others.

‘Luca’ releases on Disney+ Hotstar Premium today.

(IANS)

h e S A R S - C o V- 2 vir us that causes Covid-19, may have the ability to reactivate dormant tuberculosis (TB), according to study that is an alarming news for countries like India, which accounts for an estimated 40 per cent of the population with dormant or latent TB. The study, led by researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, and University of Massachusetts, showed that infection with a specific coronavirus strain reactivated dormant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) in mice.

The results, detailed in the The American Journal of Pathology, may pave the way for new vaccines against the infectious disease and avoid a potential global TB epidemic.

“The finding of TB reactivation in a stem cellmediated Mtb dormancy mouse model during MHV-1 coronavirus infection indicates that in the long-term, post-pandemic, the SARS-CoV-2 vir us might activate dormant bacterial infections. This is a significant finding considering the current coronavirus pandemic, where many individuals in India and

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

2 Timothy 4:7

other developing countries with dormant TB infection may see an increase in active TB cases post Covid19,” explained lead investigator Bikul Das, from Department of Stem Cell and Infectious Diseases, KaviKrishna Laboratory, IIT-Guwahati.

“There is an urgent need to study the association of Covid-19 with dormant TB reactivation to avoid a potential global TB pandemic,” Das added.

For the study, the team studied the coronavirus strain murine hepatitis virus-1 (MHV-1) infection in the lung in a mouse model (dMtb) of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-mediated MTB dormancy. This showed 20-fold lower viral loads than the dMtb-free control mice by the third week of viral infection and a six-fold increase of

altruistic stem cells (ASCs), thereby enhancing the defense.

TB was reactivated in the dMtb mice, suggesting that dormant TB bacteria hijack these ASCs to replicate in the lung to cause pulmonary TB. Results suggest that these ASCs are transient (they expand for two weeks and then undergo apoptosis or cellular suicide) and exhibit antiviral activities against MHV-1 by secreting soluble factors.

“It is important to understand the host defence mechanism against this disease to develop a better vaccine and/or treatment.

We therefore postulated that, similar to bacteria, adult stem cells may also exhibit an altruistic defence mechanism to protect their niche against external threat,” Das said. (IANS)

CONDOLENCE MESSAGE Shri Kahoto Jimomi, Hd GB Ghotovi Village, Ex Chairman Area Council Niuland, expresses grief at the ultimate demise of Lt Er. Khehovi Sumi, retired SE PHED. He was a self-sacrificing officer for the public especially water supply to 98 villages under Niuland Sub-Division, Dimapur. His demise will be deeply felt. Prayers and fond memories are what we have to remember our dearly departed. My most heartfelt condolence.

DP-2811

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

LATE ZAKIVIL SACHÜ 15/05/1952 – 15/06/2021 We, the family of Late Zakivil Sachü wishes to acknowledge the many expressions of sympathy and gestures of kindness shown to us following our sad loss.

We offer our heartfelt thanks to all the friends, neighbors and well wishers who visited our home, attended the wake, service and burial and who provided emotional and practical support for us at this difficult time.

A special word of thanks to : 1. Dr. Manong Chohwanglim, Nephrologist, his dialysis team, doctors and nurses of Zion Hospital.

2. Dr. Sezo Rote, SMO, Medziphema, Dimapur 3. Dr. Kekhrüngol Angami, MO, NHAK, ICU 4. Dr. Krosakhol Pucho, Senior Consultant, ED CIHSR 5. Rev. K. N. Kele Angami, Director CRMT (ABCC) 6. Phevima Baptist Church Kacharigaon, Dimapur 7. Kidima Baptist Fellowship Dimapur 8. Kacharigaon Phevima Village Council 9. Kidima Baptist Fellowship Kohima 10. Baptist Church Kidima To those who helped in any way, your contribution made our loss more bearable. As it would be impossible to thank everyone individually, please accept this acknowledgement as an expression of our deepest gratitude.

May the Good Lord bless each and everyone of you graciously and abundantly.

Always and forever in our hearts.

From, Loving wife, children and relatives DP-2813

GB, Ikishe Village Born on 3/01/1953 – Died on 23/05/2021

A great Father, Husband and Grandfather

We, the bereaved family members of Late Luheto Awomi who left for his eternal home, would like to thank all the churches, family members, friends and well wishers who stood with us morally, physically, spiritually and financially during the brief illness and sad demise of our beloved father.

We regret our inability to thank each and everyone individually, but we pray that the good Lord bless you abundantly.

DP-2815

Loving Wife, Children, In-laws & Grandchildren

NOTE OF GRATITUDE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We, the bereaved family members, sincerely thank and appreciate each and every individual who supported us morally, physically, financially, emotionally and through constant prayers at the sudden demise of our beloved Late K. Mhalo Tsopoe on 08/06/2021.

We also extend our special thanks to: 1. Dr. L. Wobemo Yanthan LT. K. MHALO TSOPOE 10/11/1945 – 08/06/2021 (Ortho), Civil Hospital, Wokha 2. Yihamo & Yamatson Humtsoe, Vungojü, Wokha 3. Tsabemo Ezung, Vungojü, Wokha 4. Renthungo & Mhabeni Humtsoe, Saron, Wokha 5. Medical Team, Civil Hospital, Wokha 6. Samyan Baptist Church, Vungojü, Wokha 7. Mother Church, Vungojü, Wokha 8. Vungoju Council, Wokha 9. Wokha Town Pongidong Tsopoe Ekhüng 10. Pensioners Okho, Vungojü, Wokha 11. Horti Eloe Ekhüng, Vungojü, Wokha 12. Opvü-Oyo Randan Okho, Vungojü, Wokha 13. Eloe Ekhüng, Vungojü, Wokha 14. Sumpvüro Randan Okho, Vungojü, Wokha Your noble deeds will hold a special place in our hearts.

May God bless you all.

– Loving Husband, Children & Grandchildren WC-116

LATE LUHETO AWOMI

"You have fought the good fight, and finish the race, you kept the faith" WE ARE TRULY BLESSED BY THE OUTPOURING OF LOVE AND SUPPORT DURING OUR MOMENT OF SORROW AND GRIEF, THE SUDDEN DEMISE OF DEAREST SMT. THEMKHONENG GANGTE, RECIPIENT OF NATIONAL FLORENCE NIGHTANGALE AWARD 2015 ON THE 12TH OF JUNE 2021.

WE, THE BEREAVED FAMILY MEMBERS WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS OUR HUMBLE G R AT I T U D E T O E A C H A N D E V E RY INDIVIDUAL AND ORGANISATIONS WHO STOOD WITH US. IT IS OUR PRAYER THAT GOD ALMIGHTY BLESS YOU ALL ABUNDANTLY. SPECIAL THANKS TO :1. KUKI INPI NAGALAND (PRESIDENT & COLLEAGUES 2. KUKI BAPTIST CHURCH AHTHIBUNG TOWN, WOMEN DEPT KBC AHTHIBUNG & BYE 3. PRIMARY HEALTH CENTRE AHTHIBUNG STAFF (DOCTORS & NURSES) 4. H E A LT H A N D FA M I LY W E L FA R E DEPARTMENT (MEDICAL FRATERNITY) 5. G.B UNION AHTHIBUNG AREA 6. AHTHIBUNG TOWN GBs, TOWN COMMITTEE 7. ELIYAH PRAYER CENTRE, AHTHIBUNG 8. AHTHIBUNG YOUTH AND STUDENTS' UNION 9. KUKI INPI MEGHALAYA DP-2814

Loving husband, son, daughters and grand children K Y M C

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sports

Nagaland Post, Dimapur FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 2021

fixtures: Man City start Japan to ease state of emergency ahead of Oly EPL title defence away to Spurs

TOKYO, JUN 17 (AGENCIES): Japan said on Thursday it would ease emergency coronavirus curbs in nine prefectures including Tokyo while keeping some measures, including limiting spectator numbers at big events, amid fears that next month’s Olympics could trigger a surge in infections.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga called on the Japanese public to watch the Olympics on TV to avoid spreading the virus, saying it was crucial to avoid any rebound in COVID-19 cases at the Games, due to start on July 23 after being postponed last year.

“The important thing is to continue with our policies with a sense of urgency to prevent the spread of infections. At the same time we must keep up our vaccination efforts to prevent the collapse of the medical system,” he told a news conference.

Earlier, Suga said authorities were lifting the state of emergency for nine areas but would maintain “quasi-emergency” mea-

A general view of the Olympic Stadium (National Stadium) in Tokyo, Japan June 17. (Reuters)

sures in seven of them, including Tokyo, until July 11. The state of emergency had been set to expire on Sunday.

Under the “quasi emergency” measures, bars and restaurants, which are now barred from serving alcohol, will be allowed to do so until 7 p.m. provided they maintain COVID precautions. But local authorities can choose to keep the

ban if they think it is necessary. Restaurants will still be asked to shut by 8 p.m.

“It’s impor tant to hold safe and secure Tokyo Games, curb the spread of infections during the period and prevent the spread of infections after the Games,” said Suga. “I would like to ask everyone to support the athletes at home, such as by watching television,” Suga said.

Japanese media have reported that the government, which has barred f o r e i g n s p e c t a t o r s, i s considering allowing up to 10,000 domestic fans into stadiums during the Games, in line with a plan endorsed by health experts on Wednesday for events.

Polls have shown most Japanese people remain wary about the possibility that the Games will spread

infections, particularly as vaccination rates are still lower than in other wealthy countries. Suga said on Thursday that the vaccination of over-65s was likely to be completed by the end of July.

IOC HAS ‘FINAL SAY’ With the pace of decline in new infections in Tokyo slowing in recent days, some experts have warned of a likely rebound and stressed the need to respond quickly through further curbs or even the reinstatement of a state of emergency in the capital, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said earlier.

Asked whether the government would ask the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to cancel or postpone the Games even after they have started if there was a threat to public health and lives, Nishimura said: “The IOC has the final say.”

“Our top priority is to protect life and health. We will do our utmost to control infection and secure hospital beds.”

LONDON, JUN 17 (IANS): Premier League champions Manchester City will start their title defence away to Tottenham Hotspurs on August 14, it was announced on Wednesday.

The Premier League published its fixtures for the coming season two months before the start of the new campaign and with Tottenham still to confirm their first team coach in the wake of Jose Mourinho’s sacking.

There are home games

for all three teams promoted from the Championship, with Norwich City taking on Liverpool, Brentford clashing with Arsenal in a London derby and Watford facing Aston Villa, reports Xinhua.

One of the standout ties in the opening round sees Manchester United take on Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United in a game between two traditional rivals.

Other games in the first weekend see Burnley play a home game against

Brighton, who are currently closing in on a club-record signing of Stuttgart’s Nicolas Gonzalez.

Champions League winners Chelsea play at home against Crystal Palace in a south-London derby, while Everton take on Southampton.

Other big dates in the fixture see Arsenal play Chelsea on August 21, while Chelsea take on Liverpool a week later. The first Manchester derby will be at Old Trafford on November 6.

Lakers’ James blames heavy AFC Asian Cup: 22 teams qualify for final qualifying round schedule for rash of injuries

LeBron James

LOS ANGELES, JUN 17 (AGENCIES): Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James has blamed the rash of injuries to top players on the NBA’s condensed schedule.

The season kicked off on Dec. 22, 71 days after the Lakers won last season’s Finals at Walt Disney World, marking the shortest offseason in league history. James’

comments come after LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard was on Wednesday ruled out indefinitely after suffering an ACL injury to his right knee.

Leonard will be the eighth All Star to miss a playoff game this year after injuries to Lakers’ Anthony Davis, Brooklyn Nets duo James Harden and Kyrie Irving, Utah Jazz pair Dono-

van Mitchell and Mike Conley, Boston Celtic’s Jaylen Brown and Joel Embiid of Philadelphia 76ers.

“They all didn’t wanna listen to me about the start of the season. I knew exactly what would happen,” James tweeted.

He said he had tried to raise awareness about the potential risks of starting back so quickly and that the lack of rest was a factor in the injuries.

Reuters has requested comment from the NBA. James played all six games of the Lakers’ firstround playoff loss to the Phoenix Suns but missed 26 of their final 30 regularseason games due to an ankle injury.

“This is the best time of the year for our league and fans but missing a ton of our fav players. It’s insane,” he added.

K UA L A L U M P U R , JUN 17 (IANS): India are among the 22 teams out of 24 teams that have advanced to the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 qualifiers final round, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced on Wednesday.

Following the conclusion of the preliminary joint qualifiers Round 2, 13 teams, including AFC Asian Cup 2023 host China and FIFA World Cup 2022 host and reigning Asian champions Qatar have sealed their places for the main competition scheduled to take place India football team squad for AFC Asian Cup China 2023.

from June 16-July 16, 2023.

Therefore, three of the lowest ranked second-placed teams, all eight third and fourth-placed teams across Groups A to H, as well as three best fifth-placed teams -- 22 teams in total -- have qualified for the 24-team AFC Asian Cup China 2023 qualifiers final round.

The remaining four participating teams, ranked 36 to 39, will compete in the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 qualifiers play-offs, which will be played over two legs on September 7 and October 12, with the draw to be held on June 24.

FIRST DEATH ANNIVERSARY OF LT. KHALOPOTO LADU 18-06-2020

A dear precious soul, one year today, closed your weary eyes and passed on To lose someone we loved so much brings pain beyond belief.

There are no words to ease our sadness and grief.

You’re missed so much more than you could ever know.

Although you have left this world, you’ll be living within our hearts guiding us like an angle even though we are apart, For love is everlasting and so are memories Your legacy that’s always there to light the way for us.

Till we meet again, the memories you left, live on brightly inside.

Loving wife & family members

K-1060

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT DP-2817

“And the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it”.

ECCLESIASTES 12:7

1ST DEATH ANNIVERSARY OF LATE R. LIMANUNGSANG

K-1063

K Y M C

Today we mark a year of your passing, and you are always missed. Though you are not present here with all of us but your memory is stored in our hearts. Death reminds us that nothing is permanent in this world, but your love, courage to face the trials and ardent will to persevere in life are lessons we hold dearly. May you rest in peace in the loving arms of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

(John 14:1-2) Loving Children and grandchildren MKC-164

March 3rd 1960 to May 26th 2021 We are really grateful for the sympathetic aid and comfort during our great bereavement in the loss of our Beloved Father, VIKHOL RHETSO. We express our deepest appreciation and heartfelt gratitude to every individual who stood by us in our hours of sorrow and assisted us through prayers, physically, financially and with immense love.

May God’s richest blessings rest upon each and everyone is our prayer.

K-1062

Loving Wife, Sons and Daughter.

K Y M C

12

sports

Nagaland Post, Dimapur FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 2021

EURO 2020: Belgium, Italy into round of 16; Ukraine earn first win Italy 3-0 Switzerland

Italy became the first side to enter knockout stages of Euro 2020 thanks to a 3-0 win over Switzerland here late on Wednesday. The result means they will now fight for the top spot in Group A in their final league game against Wales, who beat Turkey earlier in the day. Manuel Locatelli was Italy’s hero with two goals as Roberto Mancini’s side displayed assured and attacking football, Xinhua reports.

In Group A’s other match at the Olympic Stadium in Baku, Aaron Ramsey and Connor Roberts scored a goal each for Wales as they won 2-0 against Turkey.

Both sides traded attacks in the first half, but Wales looked more dangerous in front of the goal and scored the opener in the 42nd minute when Ramsey chested down Gareth Bale’s chip into the box before tapping the ball past Turkey goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir. Turkey’s Burak Yilmaz should have restored parity early in the second half, but the captain wasted a golden chance from close range following a corner.

At the hour mark, Wales were awarded a penalty but Bale put the spot-kick over the bar. Bale had a hand in Wales’s second goal though, as the striker danced through Turkey’s penalty box before squaring to Connor Roberts, who sealed the deal in the dying seconds of injury time.

Ukraine 2-1 North Macedonia

(L-R) Denmark’s Yussuf Poulsen and Belgium’s Jan Vertonghen jump for the ball. Ukraine’s Andriy Yarmolenko takes a shot. (AP/PTI)

Tributes were paid to Denmark’s talismanic number 10 before and during the game, with play stopped in the 10th minute as players, officials and supporters joined together for a minute’s applause. That came after Yussuf Poulsen gave the hosts a dream start just one minute and 39 seconds into the game, slotting in after a mistake in the Belgium defence. De Bruyne was sent on at the start of the second half and the Manchester City midfielder changed the

game. He played a part in the equaliser, receiving a pass from Romelu Lukaku before superbly finding Thorgan Hazard to fire home, and then drove in the winner with 20 minutes remaining after a brilliant move started

by Lukaku.

Martin Braithwaite went close to a late equaliser for Denmark but his header skimmed the top of the bar.

Victory means Belgium are top of Group B with six points from two games while Denmark are bottom

of the standings with zero points. Denmark were making their return to the Parken Stadium for the first time since those shocking scenes of Eriksen collapsing on the pitch at the weekend.

Both sets of fans showed their support for the player with messages to him on banners in the stands, while the conclusion of the Danish national anthem was greeted with a huge roar, one that was surpassed barely two minutes later when Denmark took the lead after

Nadal pulls out of Wimbledon, Olympics to prolong career

Brazil drop Neymar from Olympic squad

Ramos surprised at lack of offer from Real after tearful farewell

C O P E N H AG E N / B U CHAREST/ ROME, JUN 17 (AGENCIES): Kevin de Bruyne inspired Belgium to a comeback win against Denmark that secured their place in the last 16 of Euro 2020 as fans and players paid tribute to Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen, who is recovering after suffering cardiac arrest.

Eriksen is recovering in hospital after he collapsed on the pitch at the Parken Stadium during Saturday’s game against Finland.

RIO DE JANEIRO, JUN 17 (IANS): Star forward Neymar was on Thursday dropped from the Brazilian team named for the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games. Another big name missing is Marquinhos, who was part of the goldwinning Brazilian team medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

However, coach Andre Jardine picked 38-yearold Daniel Alves. Also selected were 31-year-old goalkeeper Santos of AthleticoParanaense and 28year-old defender Diego Rafael Nadal Carlos of Sevilla. However, Paris Saint-Germain forM A D R I D, J U N 1 7 right decision.”

Nadal, a 20-times ward Neymar, the world’s ( AG E N C I E S ) : R a f a el Nadal pulled out of G r a n d S l a m w i n n e r, most expensive footballer, Wimbledon and the Tokyo played at the Monte Carlo wasn’t picked.

Olympics on Thursday, Masters, Barcelona, Masaying he took the decision drid Masters and Rome after consultations with his Masters before the French team in a bid to prolong his Open.

Nadal, a record 13career.

The 35-year-old Span- times champion at Roland iard said the two-week gap Garros, made a run to this L O N D O N, J U N 1 7 between the French Open year’s semi-finals and was (AGENCIES): Wimbleand Wimbledon -- which knocked out by eventual don organisers have been starts on June 28 -- was not champion Novak Djokovic in contact with women’s enough time for him to in a four-set thriller -- only world number two Naomi recuperate after a demand- his third loss on the Pari- Osaka and other players ing claycourt season where sian claywhere he has won about the tournament’s he played in five tourna- 105 matches. media operations this year, “The fact that there chief executive Sally Bolments.

“I have decided not has only been two weeks ton said on Thursday. to participate at this year’s between RG (Roland GarFour-times Grand Championships at Wim- ros) and Wimbledon, didn’t Slam champion Naomi bledon and the Olympic make it easier on my body Osaka withdrew from the Games in Tokyo,” Nadal, to recuperate after the al- French Open before the twice a Wimbledon cham- ways demanding clay court second round in the wake pion, said on Twitter. season,” he added. of the controversy caused “It’s never an easy “They have been two by her decision to skip decision to take but after months of great effort and mandator y post-match listening to my body and the decision I take is fo- news conferences at the discussing it with my team cused looking at the mid tournament.

I understand that it is the and long-term.”

She revealed that she

MADRID, JUN 17 (AGENCIES): Sergio Ramos burst into tears as he said farewell to Real Madrid on Thursday after 16 years but left with a parting shot, saying he was surprised that the club decided to withdraw a oneyear contract offer to him by claiming it had expired.

Ramos, who made 671 appearances for Real and scored 101 goals including netting in two Champions League finals, ran down his contract with the 13-times European champions and was unable to agree a new deal with the club. He said he was offered a one-year contract on a 10% reduction to his previous salary but was holding out for a two-year deal “so my family

an error in Belgian defence.

A poor clearance by Jason Denayer was pounced upon

by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who quickly found Poulsen and the Denmark forward slotted home.

Belgium, who had brushed aside Russia 3-0 in their group opener, just could not get going as the occasion seemed to overwhelm them.

But the introduction of De Bruyne for the start of the second half changed all that as he provided a brilliant cameo performance.

Sergio Ramos

Wimbledon organisers contact Naomi Osaka over media operations

Naomi Osaka

had been suffering bouts of anxiety and depression since bursting into the limelight by winning the U.S. Open in 2018, the first of her four Grand Slams.

“We have spoken to her (Osaka’s) team in the

last few weeks,” Bolton told BBC. “So yes, we’re certainly remaining engaged with Naomi’s team, as we are with all players.

“We have started a consultation. Of course, that consultation needs to include not just the players, but the media and all of those engaged in that space.”

Earlier on Wednesday, tournament director Jamie Baker said he informed Osaka’s team that organisers were “completely open for any discussions” in case of any issues.

Wimbledon is due to begin on June 28.

India end Day 2 on 187/5 in reply to Eng 396/9 declared BRISTOL, JUN 17 (PTI): Shefali Verma hit a brilliant 96 on debut, while Smriti Mandhana made 78 before five quick wickets derailed India Women as the visitors slumped to 187 for 5 in their first innings in reply to England’s 396 for 9 declared at stumps on the second day of the one-off Test here on Thursday. Verma and Mandhana shared a solid 167 runs off 48.5 overs for the opening stand before both departed in quick time as the collapse started for India.

If that was not enough, Shikha Pandey, skipper Mithali Raj and Punam Raut too got out in quick succession as India lost five wickets in a span of just 16 runs to hand England the upperhand.

At the close of play, Harmanpreet Kaur was batting on 4 in the company of

England’s Anya Shrubsole celebrates with teammates after taking a wicket from India’s Shafali Verma, during day two of the Women’s International Test cricket match. (AP/PTI)

Deepti Sharma with India Earlier resuming at the Brunt (8) and Sophie Ecclestill trailing England by 209 overnight score of 269 for stone (17) in the morning runs. six, England lost Katherine session but Sophia Dunkley

Andrey Yarmolenko and Roman Yaremchuk scored the goals as Ukraine beat major tournament debutants North Macedonia 2-1 and book their first win in Group C of the Euro 2020 at the Arena Nationala in Bucharest on Thursday.

Both the West Ham United striker and the KAA Gent attacker scored their second tournament goals in a duel dominated by their colours in the first half before North Macedonia intensified their efforts, reports Xinhua.

Leeds United forward Ezgjan Alioski pulled one back in the 57 minute. Ruslan Malinovskyi missed a penalty for Ukraine before the final whistle.

With the win, Ukraine kept their hopes alive of reaching the last-16 round while North Macedonia face an early group exit with no points after two rounds.

North Macedonia will face the Netherlands in their third next Monday while Ukraine will set a clash with Austria on that same day.

FRIDAY’S MATCHES Sweden Vs Slovakia – 6:30 pm Croatia Vs Czech Republic – 9:30 pm England Vs Scotland – 12:20 am (Saturday)

continued to frustrate the visitors, remaining unbeaten on 74. England added 127 runs to their overnight score.

Dunkley and Anya Shrubsole (47) shared valuable 70 runs for the ninth wicket. Debutant off-spinner Sneh Rana was the pick of the bowlers for India with figures of 4/131, while Deepti Sharma (3/65) too impressed with the ball.

India are playing their first Test in nearly seven years.

Brief Scores: E n g l a n d Wo m e n : 396/9 decl in 121.2 overs. (H Knight 95, Sophia Dunkley 74 not out, Tammy Beaumont 66; Sneh Rana 4/131, Deepti Sharma 3/65).

India Women: 187 for 5 in 60 overs (Shefali Verma 96, Smriti Mandhana 78; Heather Knight 2/1).

could have continuity and tranquillity”, only to find out the previous offer had been withdrawn. “I said ‘ok’ but they told me the offer that was on the table had expired. I respect their decision but it was a surprise,” he told a news conference.

“I didn’t realise the offer had an expiry date. There will be many opinions about me but I’d prefer people to know the full story first and the president and club know it wasn’t about money, they offered me one year and I wanted two.” Ramos, 35, acknowledged “there were some calls” when he entered the final six months of his contract in January but stressed “leaving Real Madrid was never on my mind”.

But he added: “Life goes on, an era has finished and a new one is starting. Now is not the moment to talk about other clubs but we’ll find the right one for me.” A venture abroad to either Paris St Germain in Ligue 1 or the Premier League look like his most likely destinations due to his high salary, and he dismissed suggestions he could return to boyhood club Sevilla. “Sevilla is another club close to my heart and I had a marvellous time there but today I’m not contemplating that option and neither are they,” he said.

He also laughed off a question on whether he could join Real’s eternal rivals Barcelona, saying “it’s a resounding no”.

India eye greatest title in cricket

Indian cricket team players along with staff pose for photographs ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) final match against New Zealand in Southampton. (PTI)

AGEAS BOWL (HAMPSHIRE), JUN 17 (IANS): India have announced their playing XI for the inaugural World Test Championship final against New Zealand beginning here on Friday on expected lines.

The team will comprise five specialist batsmen, wicketkeeper Rishab Pant at number six, followed by two spin bowling all-rounders and three fast bowlers.

The line-up covers, as captain Virat Kohli put it in a press conference minutes before the announcement, “all bases”. It takes into account the contingencies such as the metamorphosis of the wicket over five days and the fickle English weather.

India enjoy an edge over opponents New Zealand in the batting department.

India enjoy an edge with the willow. Captain Virat Kohli had conclusively proved himself against deviation in the air and off the wicket three summers back, CheteshwarPujara and Ajinkya Rahane have scored runs over the last two

tours, while Rohit Sharma was the batting star of the World Cup two years ago, albeit against the batsmanfriendly white ball.

The red Duke, with its pronounced seam, will change its course much more, especially if there’s grass on the strip. And then there’s the explosive Rishab Pant with an exceptional eye and left-hand variety.

Three quicker bowlers in a line-up is a non-brainer in England. Generally, experience best combats pressure. So, Mohammed Shami hitting the seam, Ishant Sharma producing his in-swing and JaspritBumrah generating his velocity and unorthodoxy have got the nod. They need to make the new ball talk though, for reverse swing in England’s lush environment is not a bankable factor.

Ravichandran Ashwin had testified two years ago that he is capable of beating the batsmen in the air.

Ravindra Jadeja, who will turn it the other way and be economical, is a genuine all-rounder and a matchwinning fielder.

Although county

matches at the Rose Bowl this season have unsurprisingly been unhelpful to slow bowlers, if there’s a chink in the New Zealand batting, it’s against spin.

Moreover, the wicket will turn at some point, as it has lately experienced a heatwave.

Since the maiden Test match between the inventors of the game, England and Australia, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1877, there have been in phases undisputed champions in the format, but never has any team been officially crowned.

N o w, a t w o - y e a r league has culminated in a knockout final between India and New Zealand, who emerged with the highest points.

Therefore, the World Test Championship final from Friday at the Ageas Bowl in the Hampshire countryside near England’s southern coast is arguably the most significant cricket contest in history -- for it will at long last throw up the unquestionable champion at the highest and most testing level of the sport.

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