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23 Aug 2021

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Nagaland Post www.nagalandpost.com

Vol XXXI No. 258

DIMAPUR, MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021 Pages 12 ` 5.00

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INTERNATIONAL, PAGE 9

Centre asked to be prepared for 23% hospitalisations in 3rd wave

NEW DELHI, AUG 22 (AGENCIES): The Empowered Group 1 headed by NITI Aayog member V K Paul, in their recommendation shared with the government last month, has suggested preparing 23% hospitalisations for every 100 positive cases in a future Covid-19 infection surge. This estimation was d o n e b y E m p owe r e d Group 1 headed by NITI Aayog member V K Paul and is higher than the projection it had come out with in September last year ahead of the COVID-19 second wave, when the calculation suggested that about 20 per cent patients with severe/moderately severe symptoms would require hospitalisation. After the Covid-19 second wave wreaked havoc across the country, the recommendation to set aside a larger number of hospital beds is based on the pattern seen during April-June to this year. Reportedly, during its peak, on June 1 when the active caseload across the country was 18 lakh, 21.74% cases required hospitalisation in the 10 states with the maximum cases,

ATSUM calls for 24-hr bandh in hill districts of Mnp I M P H A L , AU G 2 2 (AGENCIES): All Tribal Students Union, Manipur (ATSUM) has called for a 24-hour total bandh in all hill districts of the state with effect from midnight of August 22, voicing strong resentment against the state government for non-tabling of the Manipur (Hill Areas) Autonomous District Councils Bill 2021 during the ongoing monsoon session of the state assembly. The decision to call the bandh was taken during ATSUM’s special assembly session held at Amity hall Adimjati complex, Imphal, IFP report stated. Briefing the media, ATSUM general secretary Andria said: “The state government must place in the public domain an explanation on why it should not be placed in the ongoing assembly session,” Andria said. The Autonomous District Council bill, if implemented, will be for the peaceful co-existence of people in Manipur and to bring equal development for all, he said.

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"Our leaders are telling Delhi that because of our unique history, we've formed a unique all-party government." K Y M C

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Correspondent

KOHIMA, AUG 22 (NPN): After Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio, deputy chief minister Y. Patton and the State BJP president Temjen Imna Along, were summoned to Delhi by Union Home minister Amit Shah on August 19 for an emergency meeting, the outcome was yet to be disclosed. As reported, chief minister Neiphiu Rio met with Amit Shah on August 21. There has been no information about what was discussed between the two except for the tweet from Rio who described the meeting as “fruitful”. Significantly, the two top Nagaland BJP leaders- deputy chief minister Y. Patton and state the country stood at 18 BJP president and minister lakh, 21.74 per cent cases Temjen Imna Along met the required hospitalisation union home minister. The in the 10 states with the maximum cases and out of them, 2.2 per cent were admitted in ICU. The group in its latest projection is considering a peak of 4-5 lakh cases per day, and has recommended AIZAWL, AUG 22 (PTI): that at least two lakh ICU Mizoram government said beds should be ready by on Sunday that it has filed next month followed by a case against personnel of 1.2 lakh ICU beds with the Assam Police for allegventilators, 7 lakh non-ICU edly “stealing” construction hospital beds (of them 5 materials from a project site lakh oxygen-enabled), and near the border between the 10 lakh Covid isolation two Northeastern states. care beds, as reported by Personnel of the Assam the Indian Express. Police entered Mizoram territory at Zophai near Bairabi town in Kolasib district and allegedly stole some construction materials, includprice of petrol and diesel ing iron rods, from a bridge roughly by 45-50 paise a construction site, Kolasib litre with no major change in deputy commissioner H rupee-dollar exchange rate. Lalthlangliana told PTI. The incident happened If this calculation is applied, retail price of petrol and on Friday when work was diesel should have started underway to construct a falling in India with OMCs bridge to connect the main requiring to bring down rates road with the paddy field by over Rs 1.5-2 per litre in belonging to Mizoram’s first few days or at one go. Chief Minister C Chhunga, Previous for tnight he said. provided opportunity to The area shares border OMCs to cut retail fuel with Assam’s Hailakandi rates, but they chose to wait district. The bridge conand watch as crude was still struction was a government swinging on daily basis, said project, the deputy coman oil sector expert. missioner (More on p-4)

At least two lakh ICU beds to be made ready by next month need hospitalisation, with three requiring ICU care. Of the remaining 80 asymptomatic cases, it was estimated that 50 would need isolation at Corona Care Centres for seven days while the rest could stay at home. However, a source claimed to Indian Express, that the group’s calculations then were based on the utilisation of hospital beds in Covid hospitals and health centres observed till the end of August 2020, during the first wave. On June 1, during its peak, for instance, when the active caseload across

Mizoram govt files case against Assam Police over ‘theft’

Petrol, diesel rates cut by 20 paise a litre D I M A P U R , AU G 2 2 (NPN):The petrol prices were slashed by 15 to 20 paise per litre and diesel rates also decreased by 18 to 20 paise on Sunday across the country. The petrol price was slashed after it remained static for more than a month. After the price revision, the petrol price in the state capital is retailing at Rs 101.12 per litre while that of diesel is Rs 91.96 per litre. In Dimapur, petrol now costs Rs. 100.12 per litre and diesel Rs 91.15 per

litre. However, in districts like Tuensang, Kiphire, Zunheboto and Longleng, there was marginal hike fuel prices. It is to be noted that petrol prices last saw a jump on July 17, 2021, when they rose by 30 paise in the national capital. Global crude oil priced had fallen in last couple of weeks to reach a level close to $65 a barrel from a high of $77 a barrel. As per oil industry experts, every $1 change in crude normally affects retail

RPP asks DC Mon to withdraw contentious order D I M A P U R , AU G 2 2 (NPN): Rising People’s Party (RPP) has demanded withdrawal of deputy commissioner’s (DC) Mon contentious order of August 20 wherein he had reportedly threatened to stop all development activities in Yansa and Yannu villages unless they settled their dispute. The party in a press release observed that instead of acting as role model and a professional in upholding law and order, the DC had proven himself to be an au-

tocrat lacking in administrative skill and wisdom. Instead of resolving the issue between the two villages with deftness and professionalism, RPP regretted that the DC had chosen to handle the matter in a despotic manner. The party accused him of aggravating the matter further by blowing it out of proportion. Instead of trying to impose his delegated powers, the party advised the DC to resolve the issue without resorting to threats and

blackmail. This would not only earn him goodwill at the grassroots, but would also ensure that the State government was not bogged down in village issues, it added. RPP demanded that the chief secretary should clarify on the open “threat” issued to the villages by the DC of stopping all developmental activities, including both Centrally-sponsored schemes (CSS) and State schemes. in the area, besides clarifying as to under which section of the relevant law

SPORTS, PAGE 12

All-party govt: Rio, Patton, Along await Delhi’s nod

Task force recommends preparing for 4-5 lakh daily cases

of them, 2.2% were in the Intensive Care Units (ICU). Being ready for worse, the group is taking into account a peak of four-five lakh cases per day and has made a suggestion- two lakh ICU beds should be readied by next month- including 1.2 lakh ICU beds with ventilators, 7 lakh non-ICU hospital beds (of them 5 lakh oxygen-enabled), and 10 lakh Covid isolation care beds. In Se ptember last year, months ahead of the second wave, the group had estimated that of 100 positive cases, 20 would

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the DC was allowed to issue such a threat. Asser ting that the threat was not only unwarranted and inhuman, but also an attack on the autonomy of Naga village institution itself, RPP likened the “unprecedented order” to village “grouping” of the 1950s and 1860s, which were an awful experience and “whose scars refuse to be healed even today”. The party insisted that the DC should withdraw his order.

fact that Shah met Rio separately, then later Patton and Imna Along, was not lost on those following the recent political developments. Repor ts emanating from Delhi speculated that the central BJP leaders summoned Rio, Patton and Along over formation of an all-party government with NPF. The reports said BJP was not keen on being on the same boat with the NPF because the latter had rejected continuance of DAN alliance for the 2018 assembly election. The reports also said the BJP leaders were of the firm opinion that since all parties were together under Core Committee for Naga political issue, the need to form an all-party united government for the same issue (Naga political issue) did not arise nor was it a

virus mutates. “Current antibodies may work against some but not all variants,” said researcher Michael S. Diamond from the Washington University in St. Louis in the US. “The virus will likely continue to evolve over time and space. Having broadly neutralizing, effective antibodies that work individually and can be paired to make new combinations will likely prevent resistance,” Diamond added. To find neutralising antibodies that work against a wide range

of variants, the researchers began by immunising mice with a key part of the spike protein known as the receptor-binding domain. Then, they extracted antibody-producing cells and obtained 43 antibodies from them that recognize the receptor-binding domain. The researchers screened the 43 antibodies by measuring how well they prevented the original variant of SARS-CoV-2 from infecting cells in a dish. Nine of the most potent neutralizing antibodies were then

tested in mice to see whether they could protect animals infected with the original SARS-CoV-2 from disease. Multiple antibodies passed both tests, with varying degrees of potency. The researchers selected the two antibodies that were most effective at protecting mice from disease and tested them against a panel of viral variants. The panel comprised viruses with spike proteins representing all four variants of concern (alpha, beta, gamma and delta), two vari-

BJP leaders will officially react to the all-party government. However, there seems to be little space for the BJP since the prospect of having to go it alone in the next assembly election is going to be a herculean task. This may be seen from how the BJP needs the crutch of regional parties to establish itself in states where it has no considerable presence. According to sources here, the state BJP unit, after much dilly dally eventually signed the resolution with the NDPP, NPF and two Independent MLAs and agreed in principle for an all-party government under the nomenclature “Nagaland United Government”, formalising a move to work together towards “achieving a common goal” for an early solution.

NPCC demands independent pricing panel headed by HC judge D I M A P U R , AU G 2 2 (NPN): Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has reiterated its demand submitted to the governor on July 16 for an Independent Pricing Commission headed by a high court judge. Reacting to news report of a local trader being found by SIT of NSCN (IM) tampering price tags of hardware goods, Pradesh Congress president K Therie in a press release pointed out that such crimes were punishable under laid down laws. Insisting that crimes should be reported to the district administration and police for justice as per the law, he said issuing quit notice was also not acceptable. Such act went beyond the prescribed political negotiations and also against the freedom of citizens to reside and settle. District administration should intervene immediately and

ensure peace, he demanded. According to Therie, it was the duty of the State gover nment to control prices under the Essential Commodities Act. But, he alleged that the government had completely failed to controlling prices. He said multi-government illegal taxes were added on all items, for which the common people were ultimately the sufferers. He demanded that the State government should intervene without any bias and enforce the law to ensure consumers were protected. It may be mentioned that the NPCC, in the memorandum submitted to the governor on July 16, had accused the State government of abdicating its responsibility vis-à-vis checking price rise ever since it decided to “actively facilitate and support” collection of illegal taxes by Naga national workers that, it added, was “no less than starving its

State logs 35 fresh Covid cases, 1 death

Taliban mocks America with iconic World War II photo

D I M A P U R , AU G 2 2 (NPN): Nagaland on Sunday recorded 35 fresh Covid-19 positive cases while one more patient succumbed to the infection. Of the fresh cases, 12 were from Dimapur, 10 each in Kohima and Mokokchung and one each in Kiphire, Mon and Phek, taking the total caseload to 29589. Meanwhile, One more patient succumbed to the virus in Dimapur, push- NEW DELHI, AUG 22 (IANS): The Taliban has ing the death toll to 610. released a photo in which a number of the group’s forces, under the guise of US troops, are mocking a famous image of US troops ants of interest (kappa and in World War II during the iota), and several unnamed battle of Iwo Jima in 1945. In a photo that rufvariants that are being monifled many feathers, mostly tored as potential threats. One antibody, SARS2- among American conser38, easily neutralized all the vatives, members of the variants. Moreover, a hu- Taliban’s commando unit manized version of SARS2- Badri 313 are seen donning 38 protected mice against full camouflage and tactical disease caused by two vari- gear, including night-vision ants -- kappa and a virus goggles – seemingly recreatcontaining the spike protein ing an iconic WWII photo from the beta variant. The of American troops raising beta variant is notoriously the US flag atop Mount resistant to antibodies, so its Suribachi during the Battle inability to resist SARS2-38 of Iwo Jima in 1945. Much of the outrage is particularly remarkable, and indignation was dithe researchers noted.

Antibody protects against broad range of Covid variants: Study NEW YORK, AUG 22 (IANS): A team of researchers has identified an antibody that is highly protective at low doses against a wide range of viral Covid-19 variants. Moreover, the antibody attaches to a part of the virus that differs little across the variants, meaning that it is unlikely for resistance to arise at this spot. The findings, published in the journal Immunity, could be a step toward developing new antibody-based therapies that are less likely to lose their potency as the

necessity. The state unit of the BJP were placed in a quandary after NPF agreed to the call for an all-party government. According to reports, BJP sources felt that the development was aimed to check mate it and ensure that it had no more space for political maneuvering. On the other hand, there had been wide speculations of NPF willing to revive DAN alliance with BJP to replace the NDPP. Eventually, the coming around of both NDPP and NPF leaders on the need to come together has strengthened Rio’s hand. Though sources had earlier informed Nagaland Post that the party’s central leadership might give its nod to the new political arrangement on the condition that the present ministry was not disturbed, it remains to be seen as to what the central

people to fund terrorism”. NPCC alleged that hundreds of associations were collecting money everyday under the very nose of government authorities, which were all leading to rise in prices of essential commodities and construction materials. “This amounts to total breakdown of constitutional machinery as the law of the land does not exist anymore in the State under regional party government,” it added. Pointing out that unemployment was at its peak and lack of opportunities in employment was driving the society towards hunger and frustration, NPCC warned that all this was leading the State into a “danger zone”, even as the political issue remained unresolved. The party demanded rollback of Centre Excise Duty, State VAT, LPG price and SK oil to the 2014 benchmark.

rected personally at the US President Joe Biden, who has faced mounting criticism over the past week for the chaotic withdrawal that put American and allies’ lives in danger. According to some estimates, the Taliban may now be in possession of more than 2,000 US Humvees and other armoured vehicles, and as many as 40 aircraft – including Black Hawks, scout attack helicopters, and military drones. It may also take advantage of the vast arsenal of 600,000 M16 assault rifles and other infantry weapons, some 162,000 pieces of communications equipment and 16,000 night-vision goggles, gifted by the Pentagon to Afghan forces since 2003. K Y M C


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GSKS celebrates ‘30th Bhasha Diwas’

Members of GSKS at the ‘30th Bhasha Diwas’ celebration.

DIMAPUR: Marking the recognition day of Nepali language, Gorkha Sahitya Kala Sanstha (GSKS) Kohima under the aegis of Gorkha Public Panchayat Kohima (GPPK)celebrated “30th Bhasha Diwas” on August 20 at GPPK Hall, Chandmari Kohima. In a press release, GSKS stated that during the programme, GPPK president Santu Thapare called the sacrifices of those visionary Gorkhas who tirelessly pursued

for recognition of Nepali language, especially the then member of parliament from Sikkim, Dil Kumari Bhandari. While thanking the government of India for including Nepali language in the 8th Schedule of Indian Constitution, Thapa said it was time for Gorkha students to take Nepali education in different level and avail benefits of constitutionally recognised language. Expressing concern on difficulties faced during

COVID-19 pandemic, Thapa called upon all concerned Nepali/Gorkhali people to continuously maintain C OV I D a p p r o p r i a t e behaviours and follow SOPs at all times. The programme was chaired by GSKS cultural secretary Bharat Barailly, welcome speech was delivered by GSKS president Chandra Kumar Lama and significance of Bhasa was shared by GSKS assistant cultural secretary, Vinod Mothey.

3 arrested for bike theft

STATE

NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

AR conduct various activities across the state

DIMAPUR: Battalions of Assam Rifles under the aegis of HQ IGAR (N) conducted various activities across the state for the welfare of the public. Talent hunt competition, craft training: Ghaspani and Jalukie battalions of Assam Rifles under the aegis of Headquarters of Inspector General of Assam Rifles (North) organised a talent competition and training respectively. Ghaspani battalion conducted talent hunt competition under the theme, “Today’s Youth Tomorrow’s Future” on August 21 at Molvam village, Jotsoma village, Nihokhu and Piphema. The battalion said the event was organised to encourage youths to come forward and show cast their talents. Jalukie battalion in collaboration with State Bank of India (SBI) Rural Self Employment Training Institute, Jalukie carried out bamboo and cane craft training from August 9-21. The battalion said the training was aimed to uplift the lives of local populace. Meanwhile, the battalion, in collaboration with RSETI facilitated enrolment of 24 youth from far flung villages in Peren to generate selfemployment opportunities. World Senior Citizen Day: Mokokchung battalion reached out to

AR felicitates Yaongpa Konyak at Aboi.

Medical camp in progress.

AR celebrates Raksha Bandhan.

AR clearing the road blocked by landslide.

the elders on the occasion of World Senior Citizen Day on August 21 at Mon, Longleng and Mokokchung districts and acknowledged the role of elders. The elders expressed their gratitude a n d t h e c iv i l s o c i e t y appreciated the noble gesture carried out by the Assam Rifles. Medical camp-cumvaccination drive: Jalukie battalion in collaboration w i t h P H C, A t h i b u n g

August 22. On the occasion, Tasile Zeliang, a renowned author and ascetic of Heraka community, along with other sisters expressed gratitude to the security forces for their relentless service and dedication with a song. Landslide assistance: Kiphire battalion assisted Pokhpur village in clearing of multiple road blockades due to landslides on the

conducted a medical campcum-vaccination drive at Old Beisumpui village, Peren on August 22. A total of 119 individuals (39 males, 58 females and 22 children) received medical benefits from the camp. Raksha Bandhan celebrated: Jalukie battalion celebrated Raksha Bandhan with the visit of sisters from Heraka community at Heningkunglwa village and Tening town, Peren on

A book titled ‘In Finite Days to Come’ released

Arrested persons with the recovered motorbikes. (NP)

Correspondent MOKOKCHUNG, AUG 22 (NPN): Mokokchung police on Sunday arrested three bike thieves and recovered six motorbikes from from Zunheboto district in connection with a case registered at Police Station-II, Mokokchung. According to SP Mokokchung, the

three have been identified as Kakito Yeptho (27), Inapu Kiba (21) and Hito Awomi (30) all from Keltomi village of Zunheboto district. Yahama R15; Pulsar RS 200; KTM Duke; TVS Apache RTR 200; Pulsar 1509 DTS-I and Discover 125 were recovered , SP said. The motorbikes were recovered from Zunheboto and Tuensang districts.

Acknowledgement

k-1603

We the bereaved family members of Late Thaknei Wangshu would like to express our profound gratitude to all who stood by us during his prolong illness till death. We thank each and everyone who support us physically, morally, financially, materially and through unconditional prayers at the demise of our beloved father. Loving wife, children, family members and relatives

BORN : 4th FEB 1956 – DIED : 13th AUG 2021

DIMAPUR: Joining the list of PenThrill authors, D r. S u s m a S h a r m a Gur umayum, a poet and gold medallist from Imphal, Sunday became the second author from Manipur to be published by PenThrill Publication House. Her book titled “In Finite Days to Come” was formally released by Pooja Elangbam, Founder, Book Club Imphal &editor, Heeden Da Chumthang in a google meet held on Sunday afternoon. Launching the book, Pooja Elangbam, said that

“poetry allows us that space to reflect and think, and just take time away from this crazy race for success.” She said the newly released book reflected the journey in the poet’s own life including the cruelties of life as well as the joys. In the book, Dr. Gurumayum recalled the poems she has written in the past decade, some of which have been published in journals, magazines and anthologies, in print and online mediums,

nationally and internationally. Dr. Susma Sharma Gurumayum has a PhD in History and is currently serving as Assistant Professor in History under the Government of Manipur, presently posted at Tamenglong College. The 184-paged book will be available at www.ilandlo.com, CROSSWORD Kohima, The Common Room Kohima, Bible House Kohima, Fusion Store Dimapur and Ukiyo Bookstore, Imphal.

village road by providing JCB on August 22. Due to incessant rains in the past few days, the road from remote village of Pokhpur to Kiusam junction and further to Pungro and Kiphire was blocked due to landslides at multiple locations. Responding to call of the village council of Pokhpur, the Assam Rifles provided JCB to clear the road.

NSCN (K) cadre arrested for extortion DIMAPUR: Based on a specific information, security forces in a joint operation with state police apprehended a cadre of NSCN (K) cadre of Nikki Sumi faction in general area of Thahekhu, Dimapur on August 20 on charge of extortion. According to PRO (Def) Kohima, Lt Col Sumit K Sharma, the individual was involved in extortion activities. The troops also recovered one point 32 Pistol and two live rounds. The apprehended individual alongwith recovered items have been handed over to Sub Urban Police Station for further investigation.

Heartfelt CondolenCe We the Liangmai Riphenmai Aruang (LRA) expressed our heartfelt sympathy and grief upon the untimely demise of our friend and colleague UBc Huzinthuibo Zeliang, Nagaland police, on 21/08/21. He is a native of Tening Village. may God shower his abundant blessings to the bereaved family to bear the great pain and immense lost of their beloved. Your immeasurable immortal contribution towards the nation and our community will always be remembered in our hearts. We salute you. LIANGMAI RIPHENMAI ARUANG dB-155

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

BORN : 13/03/1926 DIED : 17/08/2021 We the family members of Late Akangtemjen (Khensa) wishes to acknowledge the many expressions of sympathy and gesture of kindness shown to us at the demise of our beloved father on 17th Aug. 2021. We offer our heartfelt gratitude to all our friends, neighbours and well wishers for your immense emotional, spiritual and financial support. We deeply regret our inability to thank each one of you individually, but it is our sincere and humble prayer that our Almighty God bless you all abundantly. Loving wife, children, in-laws and grandchildren mkc-306 K Y M C

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K Y M C


nagalandpost.com Poll Q.: Is the church in Nagaland willing to fight corruption at all spheres? 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

A B C

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NSRLM, CSC Mon distribute fingerprint morpho devices

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A

B

Yes. No. Can’t Say.

C

10% 83% 7%

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Q: Should 33% women res-

ervation in Local bodies (ULBs) be implemented in Nagaland?  Yes.  No.  Can’t Say.

WEATHER FORECAST AUGUST 23

(Temperature in ºC)

Max Min

Agartala Cloudy with a stray t-storm

32 26

Aizawl

Cloudy with a passing shower 26 20

Guwahati A stray morning thunderstorm 32 25 Imphal

Cloudy with a passing shower 27 22

Itanagar A morning t-storm or two

29 23

Shillong

Cloudy with a thunderstorm

22 19

Kohima

Cloudy with a thunderstorm

24 19

Dimapur Morning showers; cloudy

31 24

Cloudy with a thunderstorm

25 30

Tuensang Cloudy with a thunderstorm

20 16

A shower in the a.m.; clouds

25 21

Mkg Wokha

Zunheboto Cloudy, a couple of t-showers 23 18

NSRLM officials and others at the distribution ceremony. DIMAPUR: Nagaland State Rural Livelihood mission (NSRLM) in collaboration with Common Service Centre (CSC) Mon distributed digital fingerprint morpho devices to NSRLM Self Help Group (B.C Sakhi) on August 13 at Resource Centre DRDA, Mon. A press release by NSRLM Mon stated that in a keynote address, project director and DMM, M. TemchenLongchar

thanked NSRLM staff for their relentless service to the community and CSC team for collaborating with the NSRLM to serve the community better. Longchar said digital India would empower citizens through online infrastructure and digital technology. He asked BC Sakhi to make best use of the digital morpho devices. State Program Manager (SPM) CSC, Tongkai also gave a brief introduc-

AJP files complaints against Assam CM, senior BJP leaders

GUWAHATI, AUG 22 (PTI): Opposition Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) on Sunday filed multiple complaints at various police stations against central ministers Sarbananda Sonowal, Rameswar Teli, and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for allegedly violating COVID-19 protocols during BJP’s ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ in Assam. The complaints were also lodged against Assam ministers Bimal Borah and Jogen Mohan, MPs Kamakhya Prasad Tasa, Topon Kumar Gogoi, Dilip Saikia, Pallab Lochan Das, and Queen Oja, BJP state chief Bhabesh Kalita, and Kamr up Metropolitan Deputy Commissioner Biswajit Pegu. The complaints were filed at Dispur, Latasil, and other police stations, police officers said. “...a ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ has been organised by the Assam state BJP

wherein government officials have also participated to welcome Sarbananda Sonowal...wherein more than 200 persons participated in complete violation of the SOPs, “ the complaint read. The AJP alleged that protocols were violated due to the presence of a large number of people at Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Dr. Bhupen Hazarika’s memorial, and other places. It further alleged that the movement of the BJP members from Kamrup Metropolitan district violated the SOPs as no such activity is allowed in the area at present. “We request you to register a case against the persons mentioned above and investigate the matter,” the opposition party urged the police. When contacted, a senior official of the Guwahati Police told PTI that

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STATE/NORTHEAST

NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

they are examining the complaints at present and the case will be registered “only if it has any merit”. According to an order by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority on August 17, 200 persons are allowed to participate in a meeting in an open space and no movement of people to-and-from Kamrup Metropolitan district, which mainly comprises Guwahati city, is allowed. Inter-district movement of people in private vehicles is permitted in other areas of the state. The three-day ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ of the BJP started on Saturday after Union Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal reached Guwahati. Starting from the state capital, the ‘Yatra’ will travel through Morigaon, Kaliabor, and Nagaon on Sunday, and Jorhat and Sivasagar on Monday.

tion of CSC, a programme under Ministry of Electronics and IT, Government of India. He also briefed on the uses and advantages of digital fingerprint devices. Registration and short training were given by the CSC district manager, Methna and team. The programme was attended by DRDA project officer and deputy project officer and blocks of eight AC-FIs and 13 BC Sakhis.

EKUM condemns attack; appeals public movement DIMAPUR: Eastern Konyak Union Myanmar (EKUM) while strongly condemning the grenade attack on August 12 at Chenloisho village has appealed that the movement of innocent public were not restricted in border areas. In a press release, Eastern Konyak Union Myanmar president, S A Khotai and general secretary,K Akham Honwang termed the attack, which injured an innocent civilian, as an act of cowardice. EKUM said such activities in the heart of civilian place was not tolerable and that any political group or individual involved in the activity was only bringing harassment for the west and east Konyak public communities. The union further condemned the act as “brainless and immature” act of behaviour, and appealed all “Naga National leaders” to justify at the earliest. Meanwhile, Eastern Konyak Union Myanmar has further urged Chenloisho village not to restrain or restrict movement of innocent public as these people have to purchase basic needs from the border areas shops.

ATMA Tsaru block, Tuensang conducts various activities

ATMA officials and farmers at the field day-cum- training. DIMAPUR: Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA) Tsaru block Tuensang inaugurated a fishery farm school, organised a field day-cumtraining, conducted a demonstration and formed a new Food Security Group (FSG). A press release by the block stated that the farm school was inaugurated on August 3 at Alisopur village with Bongrangse, a fish farmer, as the farm

school teacher. A f i e l d d ay - c u m training on cruciferous vegetables was also conducted wherein ATM, Khatemenla, highlighted about importance of identification of various cruciferous diseases and their management. Resource person, Thritiba Sangtam carried out a demonstration on package of practices of onion cultivation and encouraged farmers to cultivate onions

as demand and consumption of crop was evidently prevalent in the state. ATM, Tiyongnaro also carried out demonstration on pond management for fisheries where farmers were advised on following certain package of management practices to ensure profitability and productivity in fisheries. The block also opened a FSG under the nomenclature “AMUWA FSG” at Alisopur village.

NORTHEAST Assam CM focuses Firms not spending 2pc of profit in CSR activities on roadmap GUWAHATI, AUG 22 production units in the of their total CSR funds in “The details of the (PTI): Big PSUs, includ- state are not spending the the state. schemes along with their for growth ing Oil India, ONGC, mandatory two per cent “The PSUs and the location and amount spent

G U WA H AT I , A U G 22 (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday focused on preparing a roadmap for the state’s growth at a conference with deputy commissioners (DCs) of all 34 districts. Attending the inaugural day of the two-day meet in Karbi Anglong district, Sarma wrote on Twitter, “In these two days in Diphu, we shall discuss how to achieve speedy growth of the State. Several Ministers, MLAs and key senior officials are here with me.” Various issues regarding implementation of projects and preparing the development roadmap for the state are being discussed, he added. The chief minister further said conferences with DCs and superintendents of police (SPs) will be organised separately as well as jointly every six months, which will be held outside Guwahati.

IOC and Coal India, and private sector entities are not spending the mandatory two per cent of their annual profits in CSR activities in Assam, despite having their production units in the state, an assembly committee has observed. The assembly panel in its report for the Industries Department for 2021-22 suggested that PSUs and private firms with production units outside Assam should spend at least five per cent of their total corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds in the state. “The committee observes with serious note that the performance of corporate social responsibility activities of the PSUs and the private sector industries in the state is very dismal. “... the private sector industries and the PSUs such as OIL, ONGC, IOC, NRL, IOCL(BGR), Coal India Ltd, with their

of their annual profit(s) for gainful purpose,” the Departmentally Related Standing Committee on Development (A) Departments said in its report. The CSR activities undertaken by the companies are mainly concentrated in the nearby areas of their units, while such works were not evenly distributed all over the state, the panel said. “The committee further observes that the PSUs and the private sector industries with their production units outside the state are hardly spending any amount of corporate social responsibility fund(s) in Assam, although the state is lagging far behind in respect of the development indices and the SDG goals,” the report said. After considering the lapses in activities, the panel recommended the firms not having production units in Assam should spend at least five per cent

private sector industries with their production units within the state such as OIL, ONGC, IOC, NRL, IOCL(BGR), Coal India Ltd etc shall mandatorily spend 2 per cent of their annual profits for CSR activities,” it said The entities should “evenly distribute their corporate social responsibility funds all over the state instead of concentrating only on a few nearby districts”, the assembly committee said. The panel suggested the formation of districtlevel committees, comprising deputy commissioners, MLAs and MPs, for selection and proper monitoring of the schemes under the corporate social responsibility.

for each scheme in the state during the last five financial years under CSR fund by both the PSUs and the private sector industries shall be placed before the committee(s) within a period of six months,” it added. According to the Companies Act, 2013, every entity having a net worth of Rs 500 crore or more, or turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or more, or a net profit of Rs 5 crore or more must spend at least two per cent of the average net profits made during the three immediately preceding financial years, giving preference to the local areas around it where it operates. Small firms do not come under the ambit of mandatory

Three dacoits shot dead, bank Rescue center becomes home for orphaned rhinos robbery foiled in Assam: Police

GUWAHATI/ KOKRAJHAR, AUG 22 (PTI): Three suspected dacoits were shot dead as they tried to rob a bank in Assam’s Kokrajhar district in the early hours of Sunday, police said. The police had intelligence input that a gang of dacoits would attempt to rob an Allahabad Bank branch at Bhotgaon near Kokrajhar town, a senior police officer of the district said. A previous attempt of robbing the same branch was foiled three months back, he said. The gang was intercepted at Chengmari near Bhotgaon around 2.30 am, the officer said. They allegedly opened fire on the security personnel on being intercepted, and in retaliatory firing by the police, three dacoits were injured, he said. Other members of the gang managed to escape, the officer said. The injured dacoits were taken to a nearby hospital where they were declared dead, he said. Motorcycles, mobile phones, tools, gas cutters, two pistols along with oxyK Y M C

gen cylinders were recovered from those killed, the officer said. “The operation was on till late night to flush out rest of the dacoits,” Director-General of Police Bhaskarjyoti Mahanta said. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma lauded the efforts of the police in preventing the bank robbery. “A robbery gang was neutralised by Assam Police in Kokrajhar. This prevented a big bank robbery,” he said. Sarma also appreciated the police for nabbing 15 alleged Taliban supporters on Saturday from different parts of the state. “A s s a m h a s t o b e crime-free. Murder, violence, hatred -- these all have to be eliminated from the state. And we will continue to work till we achieve our goal,” he added. The death toll in purported police encounters in the state rose to 20 with this incident, while 31 persons were injured as they allegedly attempted to escape from custody since the new BJP-led government under Sarma assumed charge in May.

GUWAHATI, AUG 22 (PTI): A four-month-old Ganga had lost her mother to surging waters of the Brahmaputra nearly two decades back, but she has now found her home on the banks of another river and is a healthy mother of four young ones. Orphaned by the floods in Assam’s famed Kaziranga National Park, Ganga had found a refuge on the periphery of the Park where she was raised before setting out to live on her own in her natural habitat. Ganga was the second rhino to be rescued by the Center for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) in Kaziranga in 2003, along with another rhino calf, Rathin Barman of Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) told PTI. Hand-raised by the staff of the CWRC, the pair was translocated to Manas National Park (MNP), about 300 km away from their birthplace, four years later where they have thrived over the years. Named Ganga-Jamuna for their bonding by the frontline staff of MNP, they were the second lot

of rhinos sent to the Park with the first being Mainou (Lakhsmi in local Bodo language) preceding them by a year to Manas, also from the CWRC. While Ganga gave birth to her fourth calf in the last week of July this year, Jamuna has three calves of her own and Mainou had also become mother to three calves over the years before dying of natural causes a couple of years back, Barman said. The Center was established by Government of Assam, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), with the support of Government of India, in 2002. It is located at the periphery of the Kaziranga National Park and attends to wildlife displacements originating mainly from the Park and adjoining DibruSaikhowa National Park. The Center has been engaging in rescue of wildlife that stray out of their natural habitats and rhinos of KNP have been among such animals that have found a new lease of life in its premise. It has handled

101 rhino cases since its inception. There are close to 3,000 rhinos in Assam, with the major numbers present in Kaziranga National Park. “The CWRC annually rescues two to four rhino calves during floods in the KNP. In 2016, we rescued as many as nine rhino calves,” he said. The rescued rhino calves from KNP have been mostly translocated to the MNP, while two were ‘experimentally’ released in KNP itself and two sent to the state zoo’s breeding facility at Guwahati, Barman said. The CWRC has four rhino calves rescued during the 2019 floods at its establishment at Kaziranga currently, Dr Bhaskar Choudhury, veterinarian at the Center said. He said the calves are kept at the Center till they are about one-and-a-half to two years of age, after which they are released back in the wild. The rhinos are generally not released back into KNP due to high tiger concentration which leads to high predation and high rhino density in the Park,

he added. “We bring the rhinos to the Center only if they are too young or ailing. Else, along with the Forest personnel, we try to send them back into their original habitat,” Choudhury said. Since the inception of CWRC and its satellite facilities, altogether 7,532 numbers of wildlife cases, belonging to 258 species of mammals, birds and reptiles, have been attended to by the Center in the state till July 2021.

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NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

Tensions resurface at Assam- Mizoram border Pandemic has opened our eyes: Arunachal CM MIZORAM SAYS CASE FILED AGAINST ASSAM POLICE OVER ‘THEFT’ OF CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

AIZAWL/ GUWAHATI, AUG 22 (PTI): The Mizoram government said on Sunday that it has filed a case against personnel of the Assam Police for allegedly “stealing” construction materials from a project site near the border between the two Northeastern states. Personnel of the Assam Police entered Mizoram territory at Zophai near Bairabi town in Kolasib district and allegedly stole some construction materials, including iron rods, from a bridge construction site, Kolasib deputy commissioner H Lalthlangliana told PTI. The incident happened on Friday when work was underway to construct a bridge to connect the main road with the paddy field belonging to Mizoram’s first Chief Minister C Chhunga, he said. The area shares border with Assam’s Hailakandi district. The bridge construction was a government project, the deputy commissioner said. “A police case over theft of construction materials was filed against them (Assam Police) at Bairabi police station in connection with the incident,” he said. Lalthlangliana also wrote

to his Hailakandi deputy commissioner on Saturday over the incident, urging him to take necessary action. In his letter, Lalthlangliana said the incident or bridge construction should not be linked to the boundary issue as it was undertaken by the government just to connect an existing road within Mizoram’s territory. “However, government servant committing an act that can be interpreted as theft towards government property is very disappointing and considered very serious, “ the letter said. Bairabi’s Zophai area is one of the flashpoints of border dispute between Mizoram and Assam. Violence broke out in March 2018 when functionaries of Mizoram’s apex student body Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) attempted to construct a wooden resting shed in the area. More than 60 people, including seven journalists from Mizoram, were injured as the Assam Police allegedly baton-charged and opened fire to disperse the crowd. Mizoram’s three districts -Aizawl, Kolasib and Mamit -share 164.6 km boundary with Assam’s Hailakandi, Cachar and Karimganj districts.

NE COVID-19 UPATE 9 fall to COVID on Sunday in Meghalaya SHILLONG, AUG 22: Meghalaya recorded 9 COVID-19 related deaths on Sunday, pushing the death toll in the state to 1,278. According to Director of Health Services (MI) Dr Aman War, 6 deaths were reported from East Khasi Hills district, 2 from West Khasi Hills district and 1 South West Khasi Hills district. Dr War said the state has also detected 317 new COVID-19 cases. These include 184 in East Khasi Hills, 51 West Khasi Hills, 12 West Garo Hills, 24 Ri Bhoi, 33 West Jaintia Hills, 0 East Garo Hills, 2 North Garo Hills, 0 East Jaintia Hills, 2 South Garo Hills, 6 South West Khasi Hills and 3 South West Garo Hills. Dr War also informed that 382 persons have recovered from the viral infection. Of these, 143 are from East Khasi Hills, 40 West Garo Hills, 22 West Jaintia Hills, 81 West Khasi Hills, 4 East Garo Hills, 4 North Garo Hills, 10 South Garo Hills, 4 South West Garo Hills, 7 East Jaintia Hills, 39 Ri Bhoi and 28 South West Khasi Hills. So far, a total of 73,765 COVID-19 cases have been detected in the state out of which 3062 are active cases, 69,425 recovered while there have been 1,278 deaths. With 1,476 active COVID-19 cases, East Khasi Hills, that includes state capital Shillong, is the worst affected district in the state, followed by West Jaintia Hills with 397 cases and Ri Bhoi with 354. There are 330 in West Khasi Hills, 232 West Garo Hills, 132 South West Khasi Hills, 39 East Jaintia Hills, 23 North Garo Hills, 25 East Garo Hills, 24 South West Garo Hills and 30 South Garo Hills. (Correspondent)

121 new COVID-19 cases push Arunachal Pradesh’s tally to 52,165

ITANAGAR, AUG 22 (PTI): Arunachal Pradesh’s COVID-19 tally rose to 52,165 as 121 more people tested positive for the virus, a senior health department official said here on Sunday. The COVID-19 death toll in the frontier state remained at 257, as no new fatality due to the infection was reported in the past 24 hours, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said. The Capital Complex Region recorded the highest number of fresh cases at 34, followed by West Kameng (28), Lower Subansiri (9), Upper Subansiri (7), Tawang (6). Fresh cases were also reported from Changlang, Kamle, Leparada, East Siang, Lower Dibang Valley, Shi-Yomi, Upper Siang, West Siang, Lower Siang, Papumpare, Dibang Valley, Lohit, Pakke Kessang and Namsai districts, the official said. Of the fresh cases, 114 were detected through rapid antigen tests, 5 through RT-PCR and 2 through TrueNAT method, the SSO said, adding that 52 people have developed symptoms of COVID-19. Arunachal Pradesh currently has 1,382 active COVID-19 cases, while 50,526 people have recovered from the disease, including 209 patients on Saturday, Jampa said. The COVID-19 recovery rate in the state is 96.86 per cent while the active percentage stands at 2.65 and the positivity rate is 2.74 per cent, the official said. The Capital Complex Region - comprising Itanagar, Naharlagun, Nirjuli and Banderdewa areas - has the highest number of active cases at 335, followed by Lower Subansiri (138), Papumpare (113), West Kameng (103) and Upper Siang with 89 cases.

Mizoram reports 576 new COVID cases

AIZAWL, AUG 22 (PTI): Mizoram reported 576 fresh COVID-19 cases on Sunday, raising the tally to 52,180, a health department official said. The death toll in the northeastern state rose to 194 with two more fatalities, he said, adding, the new infections include at least 97 children and four security forces’ personnel. Mizoram now has 6,568 active cases, while 45,418 people have recovered from the disease so far. The official said Aizawl district reported the highest number of 300 cases, followed by Kolasib (71) and Mamit (57). The recovery rate in the state is at 87 per cent and the death rate at 0.37 per cent. It has tested more than 7.89 lakh samples for COVID-19 thus far.

Assam returns seized construction materials; tension eases

Assam’s Hailakandi district administration has returned seized construction materials to Mizoram’s Kolasib administration. (Photo - EPS) Mizoram’s Kolasib District Magistrate H Lalthlangliana confirmed the construction materials were returned by the Hailakandi district administration, reports Indian Express. “Hailakandi DM returned all construction materials, taken away by Assam Police on Friday, at 6 pm today (Sunday),” Lalthlangliana said. He said the case registered against the Assam Police would be withdrawn. “They had come to our side and taken away about five quintals of rod

La. Ganesan appointed as new governor of Mnp

La. Ganesan NEW DELHI, AUG 22 (PTI): Senior BJP leader from Tamil Nadu La. Ganesan was on Sunday appointed as the new governor of Manipur. The post of the governor had fallen vacant after the retirement of Najma Heptulla earlier this month. A communique from the Rashtrapati Bhavan said Ganesan will be the new “Governor of Manipur with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office”. Heptulla had demitted office on August 10 and on the same day the charge was given to Sikkim Governor Ganga Prasad.

Parks, religious places in Shillong to re-open Correspondent SHILLONG, AUG 22: Parks in this mountainous state capital of Meghalaya will re-open from Monday to the local residents, who are 18 years and above and vaccinated against COVID-19, the government has notified, even as religious places have opened on Sunday. “Public parks like Ward’s Lake, Lady Hydari Park, etc., are permitted to re-open for vaccinated persons, subject to compliance to protocols. Other Parks privately owned are also permitted to re-open for vaccinated persons,” East Khasi Hills District Magistrate, Isawanda Laloo said in her order. “Entry of tourists is not permitted and all tourist spots in East Khasi Hills shall remain closed,” the order specified. Religious places and places of worship have also been permitted to re-open, subject to strict compliance with the SOP issued by the Home (Political) Department, the order said, adding that night curfew will be promulgated in the district from 7 pm to 5 am on a daily basis as part of containment measures because of the ongoing pandemic.

in a pickup vehicle from a place where a bridge is being constructed to connect the paddy fields of our first Chief Minister, C Chhunga with the main road,” the DM said. Kolasib Superintendent of Police Vanlalfaka Ralte said Mizoram had withdrawn the cops from the site following the return of construction materials by Assam. During his telephonic conversations with Hailakandi DM Rohan Jha earlier in the day, Lalthlangliana had stressed on the withdrawal of the Assam police

personnel and the return of the materials. Hailakandi SP Gaurav Upadhyay said when some Mizoram workers were found trying to build a bridge at Kachurtal on the Assam side of the border on Friday, the Assam Police personnel rushed to the area and stopped the construction work. The incident comes less than a month after the July 26 violence on the interstate border in which six Assam police personnel were killed and scores of others, including an SP, were injured.

ITANAGAR, AUG 22 (PTI): Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Sunday admitted that the pandemic has been an “eye-opener” for the state government prompting it to revamp the health sector in the last 18 months which it could not do in decades. The government has “learnt the lesson the hard way” due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and is developing the sector through the creation of infrastructure. “It was this pandemic that enabled us to ‘right’ the ‘wrong’ and revamp the health sector in the last one and half years that we couldn’t do in decades,” the chief minister said. Khandu said this while laying the foundation stone of a 200-bedded speciality unit of the Ramakrishna Hospital here. “Being the chief minister even I was not aware of the status of our health facilities, especially at the ground level. Due to the pandemic, we repeated reviews, consultations, and meetings at all levels, which subsequently revealed the poor condition of our health infrastructure. I “We are completely overhauling infrastructure

Pema Khandu and facilities of all the district hospitals. We have recruited and will continue recruiting sufficient doctors, including specialists, nurses of all categories, paramedics, and other sanitary and assisting staff as required,” he said. Khandu also informed that the government has decided to select and develop one hospital each in every assembly constituency with all facilities. Applauding the role of Ramakrishna Mission Hospital here in the fight against COVID-19, the chief minister said doctors, nurses, paramedics, and all staff of the facility had done everything possible for taking care of the sick and needy during the pandemic. People of the state, particularly residents of Itanagar, remain indebted

to the R K Mission, he said. Khandu also dedicated the newly installed Siemens Magnetom 1.3 Tesla MRI machine of the hospital to the people. Acknowledging the contribution of the R K Mission in the health and education sectors, the chief minister said it was ‘payback’ time for the state government. “Therefore, we decided that the proposed 200 bedded multi-specialty hospital should be established as part of the R K Mission Hospital,” Khandu said. The chief minister requested the management to set a target of two years for completion of the project so that it can start serving people at the earliest. He suggested that the upcoming hospital building should be environmentfriendly and be constructed keeping in mind the natural ambience. Remembering his late father and former chief minister, Dorjee Khandu’s close association with the hospital (the facility has a ward named after Dorjee Khandu), the chief minister assured the state government’s support to it in the years to come.

Mnp CM’s COVID-19 Affected Livelihood Support Scheme launched Correspondent IMPHAL, AUG 22: Disintegration of Manipur will not be possible even in the dream, said Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh, in his speech at the launching function of Chief Minister’s COVID-19 Affected Livelihood Support Scheme on Sunday. Singh launched the scheme aimed at extending financial assistance to the people whose livelihood have been severely affected by the COVID-19 curb measures at a function held at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat today. The distribution of a total amount of Rs 1.56 crore to 6,276 beneficiaries of the scheme at the rate of Rs 2500 per beneficiary marked the launch function. As revealed by the chief minister, applications were invited for the scheme through proper survey at the district levels and a total of 22,336 applications were received so far including 13,651 from street vendors, 4,890 from transport drivers, 3,680 from van drivers and 145 artists.

Launching function of Chief Minister’s COVID-19 Affected Livelihood Support Scheme in Imphal on Sunday. Out of the applications received, 7,943 had been verified and of this first installment of Rs 2500 each was distributed to 6,276 applicants. The total amount was around Rs 1.56 crore. The second installment for the same would be disbursed within September this year, Singh informed. The chief minister said the state government was always ready to extend help to the people who were sincerely seeking loans to start an activity for earning their livelihood, without guarantors. To assist those seeking loans, an officer of the social

Assam MP lists ‘failures’ of Himanta govt’s 100 days

Ripun Bora GUWAHATI, AUG 22 (PTI): Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora has slammed the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led Assam government for the alleged slow pace of vaccination in the state and “jeopardising” age-old social harmony by bringing in a cattle preservation law. Making an analysis of the 100 days performance of the BJP-led government in Assam, Bora also alleged that the inter-state border disputes have escalated during the new dispensation and it has gone back on the promise of waiving off the micro finance loan of women. The Congress leader said in a statement that Sarma’s government has made tall claims about success in various fields but “practically there is

nothing to show as achievements”. Out of Assam’s 3.35 crore population, just 20 lakh were fully vaccinated till now while 1.28 crore people got just single dose and 1.07 crore people of the age of above 18 years did not get even a single dose of vaccine, which is very alarming, he said. Bora claimed that there were 35 encounters between police and drugs peddlers in the first 100 days of the BJP government in the state, which is a serious threat to human rights and against a Supreme Court ruling. Even the chief minister has provoked the police to shoot the accused, he claimed. The former president of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee said the Cattle Preservation Bill 2021 will “jeopardise” the long-lasting peace and tranquility between the Hindu, Muslim and Christians in Assam. “Under this Act selling of beef is banned within 5 km radius of any religious place. But Assam is such a state where almost all villages or areas, Hindus, Muslims and Christians have been living together since time immemorial.

welfare department would be deputed to Manipur State Co-operative Bank (MSCB) Ltd. Those who were seeking loans to start an activity for earning their livelihood could meet the officer stationed at the bank and avail loan without requiring any guarantor, he said. Singh said that the Chief Minister’s COVID-19 Affected Livelihood Support Scheme was introduced considering economic dislocations, which had severely affected the livelihood of a large percentage of the population leading to inability to maintain a

basic minimum standard of living. He asked the people to avail the benefits of the scheme while making an appeal to the public to be sincere and to abstain from making any false document to get the benefit while applying for any schemes or scholarships so that the benefit could reach the targeted and eligible beneficiaries. Stating that the role of sincere and dedicated leaders was very necessary in taking the state towards progress, he appealed to the public to elect leaders who aimed to work for their welfare, as their representatives. Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the chief minister said that the pandemic must be one of the consequences of human activities that had destroyed the balance of nature for the last many years. He appealed to the people to know the importance of nature and contribute in preserving it by planting trees so as to minimize occurrence of certain disasters in future. The chief minister appreciated the deputy com-

missioners, superintendent of police, officials of different districts, medical staff, civil society organizations and others for their tireless efforts in controlling the spread of the virus. On the occasion, the chief minister also informed that around 6,000 applicants had been identified for Start Up Scheme, which was put on hold for some period due to the pandemic, for which interviews were going on. He added that the loan amount under the scheme would also be disbursed very soon. Meeyamgi Numit and Hill Leaders’ Day which remained suspended owing to the COVID-19 pandemic would be revived soon with the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic improved, he said. State education minister Sorokhaibam Rajen who attended the function maintained that the state had shown much improvement in many sectors, whether law and order, education, health infrastructure, water supply and others, under the leadership of chief minister N Biren Singh.

Assam: Fire at OIL pipeline near Dehing-Patkai National Park

Fire at Dehing Patkai Courtesy- The Northeast Today DIBRUGARH, AUG 22 (AGENCIES): An Oil India Limited (OIL) pipeline caught fire on the DigboiDuliajan road near the Dehing-Patkai National Park in Dibrugarh on Saturday, reports The Northeast Today. After receiving the news, the OIL officials reached the spot and managed to bring it under control. The pipeline is connected to the nearby Jurajan Oil Collecting Station inside the newly notified Dehing-Patkai National Park. Devojit Moran, a local environmentalist of

the area, shot the video of the fire and subsequently, alerted the residents and OIL officials. “The Dehing-Patkai National Park had faced serious threat due to such leakages on many occasions in the past. The gas and condensate from the pipeline pose a serious threat to the biodiversity of the national park,” Moran said. Moran added that OIL has started drilling around a small river inside the Dehing-Patkai National Park, thus posing a serious threat to the surrounding area which is frequented by elephants.

“The elephants have stopped coming to the site after the drilling started,” alleged Moran. According to sources, oil theft is a major issue in the Tinsukia district and thieves often damage oil pipelines and steal condensate oil. Only recently, over 200 gallons of condensate were seized by Tinsukia police from the area. “Security is a major issue in Dehing-Patkai National Park. The Oil India Limited, Tinsukia Police, and forest officials should look after the matter to stop such nefarious activities,” said a source.


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NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

BJP flag over tri colour at Kalyan 400 Indians evacuated from Afghanistan Singh’s prayer meet triggers row

NEW DELHI, AUG 22 (PTI): India on Sunday brought back nearly 400 people, including 329 of its nationals and two Afghan lawmakers, in three different flights as part of its efforts to evacuate its citizens from Kabul in the backdrop of the deteriorating situation in the city after its takeover by the Taliban. A total of 168 people including 107 Indians and 23 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, were flown from Kabul to the Hindon airbase near Delhi in a C-17 heavylift military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF). Another group of 87 Indians and two Nepalese nationals were brought back in a special Air India flight from Dushanbe, a day after they were evacuated to the Tajikistan capital in an IAF aircraft, officials said. Separately, a group of 135 Indians, who were evacuated from Kabul to Doha in the last few days by the US and NATO aircraft, were flown back from Doha to Delhi on a special flight, they said.

People who were stranded in crisis-hit Afghanistan arrive by a special repatriation flight of IAF at the Hindan Air Force Station, in Ghaziabad, Sunday. (PTI)

India carried out the evacuation missions in coordination with the US, Qatar, Tajikistan and several other friendly countries. The g roup of 168 people, who were evacuated from Kabul, included Afghan lawmakers Anarkali Honaryar and Narender Singh Khalsa and their families, people familiar with the evacuation mission said. “Evacuation continues! IAF special repatriation flight with 168 passengers on board, including 107 Indian nationals, is on its

way to Delhi from Kabul,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted hours before the plane landed at Hindon. It is learnt that the I n d i a n s e va c u a t e d t o Doha from Kabul were employees of a number of foreign companies that were operating in Afghanistan. “Bringing Indians home from Afghanistan! AI 1956 carrying 87 Indians departs from Tajikistan for New Delhi. Two Nepalese nationals also evacuated.Assisted and supported by our Embassy

@IndEmbDushanbe. More evacuation flights to follow,” Bagchi tweeted at around 1:20 am. India evacuated 200 people including the Indian envoy and other staffers of its embassy in Kabul in two C-17 heavy-lift transport aircraft of the IAF after the Taliban seized control of Kabul. The first evacuation flight brought back over 40 people, mostly staffers at the Indian embassy, on Monday last. The second C-17 aircraft evacuated around 150 people including

Indian diplomats, officials, security personnel and some stranded Indians from Kabul on Tuesday. The Taliban swept across Afghanistan this month, seizing control of almost all key towns and cities including Kabul in the backdrop of the withdrawal of the US forces. Following the evacuation, the MEA said the focus now would be to ensure the safe return of all Indian nationals from the Afghan capital. The MEA said the immediate priority for the government is to obtain accurate information about all Indian nationals currently staying in Afghanistan. It also requested the Indians as well as their employers to urgently share the relevant details with the special Afghanistan cell. According to a rough estimate last week, the number of Indians stranded in Afghanistan could be around 400 and India has been looking at ways to evacuate them including by coordinating with the US and other friendly countries.

N E W D E L H I , AU G 22 (AGENCIES): A photograph of the tribute ceremony to former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh is rapidly becoming the eye of the storm on social media. Kalyan Singh -- the BJP veteran under whose watch the Babri Masjid was demolished -- died yesterday at the age of 89. Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Lucknow to pay his respects. Kalyan Singh was a valuable personality and a capable leader who became a “symbol of faith” for the common people, he had said. But later in the day, there was apparently some rearrangement of the bier. Its photo, tweeted by the BJP, shows Kalyan Singh’s body lying in state, draped by the national flag. But half of it was seen to be covered up by the party flag of the BJP. “Is it ok to place party flag over Indian flag in New India?” questioned Srivivas

J.P. Nadda pays his last respects to former U.P. CM and Senior BJP leader Kalyan Singh, in Lucknow, Sunday. (PTI)

BV, the chief of the Youth Congress. “India will not tolerate the insult to the national flag,” the Youth Congress tweeted in Hindi from its official handle. “ P a r t y a b o ve t h e Nation.Flag above the Tricolor. BJP as usual : no regret, no repentance, n o s o r r ow, n o g r i e f ,” tweeted Samajwadi Party spokesperson Ghanshyam Tiwari. Section 2 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act says, “Insults to Indian National

Flag and Constitution of India”, says: “Whoever in any public place or in any other place within public view bur ns, mutilates, defaces, defiles, disfigures, destroys, tramples upon or otherwise shows disrespect to or brings into contempt (whether by words, either spoken or written, or by acts) the Indian National Flag or the Constitution of India or any part thereof, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.”

Union minister Hardeep Puri cites Anil Vij admitted to Sanjay Raut likens India’s partition Afghan situation to justify CAA Chandigarh’s PGIMER to situation in Afghanistan

NEW DELHI, AUG A few hundred 2 2 ( AG E N C I E S ) : Indians, including Union minister many Hindus and Hardeep Singh Puri has S i k h s, h av e b e e n cited the developments evacuated from in Afghanistan to Afghanistan since the stress the need for a current turmoil began. law like the Citizenship The CAA allows Amendment Act persecuted minorities (CAA), reports The belonging to the Hindu, Times of India. Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Singh tweeted, Parsi, and Christian “Recent developments c o m mu n i t i e s f r o m in our volatile Pakistan, Bangladesh, neighbourhood and the and Afghanistan Hardeep Singh Puri way Sikhs and Hindus to avail of Indian a re g oing throug h citizenship. a harrowing time are precisely why it According to the provisions of the was necessary to enact the Citizenship act, people belonging to these communities Amendment Act.” who arrived in India till December 31, The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan 2014, due to religious persecution in has triggered an exodus, especially of these three countries will not be treated as foreigners, religious and sectarian minorities. illegal migrants but will be provided with The insurgents, during their 1996-2001 rule Indian citizenship. President Ram Nath of the country were notorious for abuse and Kovind gave his assent to the legislation on persecution of Afghanistan’s minorities. December 12, 2019.

CHANDIGARH, AUG 22 (PTI): Haryana’s Home and Health Minister Anil Vij was on Sunday admitted to the PGIMER here as his oxygen levels dipped. The 68-year-old Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader earlier could not attend the state Assembly’s monsoon session on health grounds. He was admitted to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here on Sunday evening, hospital sources said. The sources said Vij is under the supervision of doctors led by a pulmonary and respiratory medicine specialist. Vij had last week gone to Rohtak to attend the cremation of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s younger brother.

Anil Vij

He had returned with the chief minister in a chopper and due to high altitude, his oxygen levels had dipped and have been fluctuating since, sources said. Vij had last year contracted Covid and was hospitalised for nearly a month. On November 20, Vij had offered to be the first volunteer in the phase 3 trials for anti-Covid vaccine Covaxin.

MUMBAI, AUG 22 (PTI): Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday likened India’s partition to the present situation in Afghanistan and said it reminds people of the pain of destruction of a country’s existence and sovereignty. In his weekly column ‘Rokhthok’ in the Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, Raut also said if Nathuram Godse had killed Jinnah, “who was responsible for creating Pakistan”, instead of Mahatma Gandhi, the partition could have been avoided and there would have been no need for obser ving August 14 as ‘Partition Horrors Remembrance Day’. “The situation in Afghanistan reminds us of what is the pain of

said.

Sanjay Raut

destruction of a country’s existence and sovereignty,” the Marathi daily’s executive editor said. Raut compared India’s partition to the current situation in Afghanistan where, he said, its troops “ran away”. How can the pain of partition be eased unless the part which was broken away is included back? There will be no peace of mind, he

“Even though we feel an ‘Akhand Hindustan’ should happen, it doesn’t look possible. But, hope is eternal. If PM Narendra Modi wants an ‘Akhand Hindustan, he is welcome. He should also speak about what he plans to do about 11 crore Muslims from Pakistan,” Raut said. T h e a dvo c a t e s o f ‘Akhand Hindustan’ had accepted the idea of the Muslim League and twonation theory and did not fight against it, he said while quoting Marathi writer Narhar Kurundkar on the issue. Raut said Mahatma Gandhi was not in active politics when a system of separate Muslim electorate was introduced by the British.

PM Modi pays tributes to ex-UP CM Kalyan Singh, says he was symbol of ‘trust’ Modi, after reaching the residence of Singh here, paid tributes to him and placed a wreath at his body. He was accompanied by BJP chief J P Nadda, UP Governor Anandiben Patel, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also paid tributes to the former UP chief minister.

Speaking to reporters, Rajnath Singh said, “We used to tell him (Kalyan) that we are ‘bhootpoorv’ (former) chief minister, you are ‘abhootpoor v’ (unprecedented) chief minister, on which he used to laugh. I have seen him as an elder brother.” BSP chief Mayawati also paid homage to the departed leader. S i n g h ’s b o d y wa s taken to UP Vidhan Bhavan

from his residence in the afternoon. From there, it was taken to the office of the state BJP, party leaders said. On Sunday evening, the body is scheduled to be taken to Aligarh, where it will be kept in a stadium. On Monday morning, it will be taken to Atrauli -- his “kar mabhoomi” and “janmabhoomi”, Adityanath had said on Saturday. dp-3897

his life, he made efforts for public welfare. Whatever responsibility he had got, be it as an MLA, any post in the government, or as a governor, he had been a centre of inspiration for everyone. He became a symbol of trust for the public,” Modi added. “I pray to Bhagvan Prabhu Shriram to give Kalyan Singh ji a space at his feet. May Prabhu Ram give strength to his family in the hour of sadness to bear the loss. May Prabhu Ram give consolation to people in the country who believe in his values, ideals, culture and traditions,” the prime minister said.

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do maximum hard work for his ideals, his promises and leave no effort in achieving his dreams,” Modi told reporters after paying his last respects to the BJP leader. He said Singh lived true to his name given to him by his parents. “He lived his entire life for public welfare. He made ‘jan kalyan’ as the mantra of his life, and dedicated his life for the BJP, Bharatiya Jana Sangh family, for an ideology and for the bright future of the country,” Modi said. He hailed Singh as a committed decision maker who symbolised “trust” across the country. “For the most part of

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LU C K N OW, AU G 2 2 (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday paid tributes here to former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh, calling the BJP veteran a capable leader who became a “symbol of trust” for the common people. The prime minister said Singh made public welfare the main aim of his life.Singh died at the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) in Lucknow on Saturday night. He was 89. “The country has lost a valuable personality and a capable leader. To fulfill the void left by him, we should

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OPINION/EDITORIAL

Nagaland Post VOL. XXXI NO. 258 DIMAPUR, MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

Indecision is decision

N

o decision has been made after the August 18 consultative meeting held between the all-party government (comprising of PDA and erstwhile opposition NPF) with CNTC,ENPO and TPO. The issues that were deliberated included – implementation of the Register of Indigenous Inhabitant of Nagaland(RIIN), 33% Women Reservation in ULBs, Demarcation of Dimapur-Peren district boundary, Naga Tribunal and Institution of GBs. These issues have been discussed at several consultative meetings in the past especially RIIN and Women Reservation in ULBs. The other two- codification of Naga customary laws for constitution of Naga Tribunal and Institution of GBs in Urban areas etc were also discussed at various government levels. All these issues have been discussed since quite sometime ago and therefore, it is time that some decisions should have been taken. It appears that since 2003, political parties, seem to be finding themselves lost in being unable to make decisions on many crucial issues. For instance, the Register of Indigenous Inhabitant of Nagaland(RIIN) was formed by the state government on July 10,2019 after a series of meetings since 2018 with various organizations which have been demanding implementation of Inner Line Permit(ILP) under the BEFR Act 1973 to check illegal immigrants notably from Bangladesh. On July 28,2019 the state government, to project that it is pro-people, constituted the RIIN Commission headed by retired chief secretary Banuo Z.Jamir along with several other members to recommend procedures for identifying an indigenous inhabitant of Nagaland. The Commission had visited various parts of Nagaland and held a series of meetings with tribe hohos and other CSOs on the issue. The Commission also received numerous submissions from various apex organizations. The Commission then submitted its recommendations to the state cabinet by end of 2019. The state chief secretary then issued a notification on December 9,2019, extending the Inner Line Permit(ILP) regulation over entire Dimapur district. This came 40 years after an earlier notification was issued on November 21,1979, that declared then Dimapur subdivision as a tribal belt. While the RIIN Commission had recommended December 1,1963 as cut-off date and year for the purpose of indentifying an indigenous inhabitant, the December 9,2019 notification on the other hand, queered the pitch for November 21,1979 as cut of date and year. The cabinet neither distributed the RIIN report to the legislators nor even discussed about the issue despite vociferous demands from various tribe organisations to make its content known to public. Even at the April 16,2021 consultative meeting with some selected tribe hohos, the government did not distribute the RIIN report but only read out a gist of the recommendations. The meeting not unexpectedly, decided again, to form more committees such as Joint Consultative Committee(JCC) at the state level and Subcommittees at the district levels. The government eventually laid the RIIN report to the assembly on August 5 on the last day’s sitting where no discussion could be held because there was no opposition to protest why such a burning issue was sidelined. This newspaper had in the past, commented that the government’s favourite pastime of holding consultative meetings with various organisations has become a culture to eventually avoid making decisions. Those holding offices through people’s mandate are obligated to govern and should not be too inclined to populism and rhetoric by trying to suggest these are qualities of responsible leaders of the people.

DailyDevotion “I Indeed. . . But He”

I indeed baptize you with water…but He…will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. —Matthew 3:11 Have I ever come to the point in my life where I can say, “I indeed…but He…”? Until that moment comes, I will never know what the baptism of the Holy Spirit means. I indeed am at the end, and I cannot do anything more— but Hebegins right there— He does the things that no one else can ever do. Am I prepared for His coming? Jesus cannot come and do His work in me as long as there is anything blocking the way, whether it is something good or bad. When He comes to me, am I prepared for Him to drag every wrong thing I have ever done into the light? That is exactly where He comes. Wherever I know I am unclean is where He will put His feet and stand, and wherever I think I am clean is where He will remove His feet and walk away. Repentance does not cause a sense of sin— it causes a sense of inexpressible unworthiness. When I repent, I realize that I am absolutely helpless, and I know that through and through I am not worthy even to carry His sandals. Have I repented like that, or do I have a lingering thought of possibly trying to defend my actions? The reason God cannot come into my life is that I am not at the point of complete repentance. “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” John is not speaking here of the baptism of the Holy Spirit as an experience, but as a work performed by Jesus Christ. “He will baptize you….” The only experience that those who are baptized with the Holy Spirit are ever conscious of is the experience of sensing their absolute unworthiness. “I indeed” was this in the past, “but He” came and something miraculous happened. Get to the end of yourself where you can do nothing, but where He does everything.

Quotes

It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness. ~ Leo Tolstoy

NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

Afghan maze – India needs deft handling to play the game T he murky Afghan situation has raised serious concern for India. It was never a strong player but was able to make a niche among Afghanis with its humanitarian aid and $ 3 billion investments since 2001 US blitzkrieg for rebuilding a devastated country. The geo politics is to have repercussions on the subcontinent not only in trade terms but overall security. Rightly India avoided US prodding to be a military ally, possibly learning from the Sri Lanka peacekeeping experiment. The stakes were always high at this melting pot. But what can India do now? India has been investing in a relationship in unstable regime and Afghans coming for training have always acknowledged the warm gestures. Indian diplomacy played a critical role of emotional security, cultural ties and whatever level of trade and rebuilding mechanism it could provide. Thousands of Afghans are in India for work, training, re-skilling, education and medical treatment. Over 2,200 students of Afghanorigin studying in India on scholarship stare at an uncertain future. The Indian Council of Cultural Relations would continue to extend the help. Though not unex-

pected India is hurt that the 20-year US war against terrorism led by Taliban offshoots leading to killing of Osama bin Laden and its top hierarchy strangely ‘ends’ in replacing Taliban with Taliban. It surprises India that Saudi Arabia or Qatar despite having good relations are supporting and Turkey taking a strong position with resurgent religious feelings. Pakistan that was feeling run down by the US for giving preference to India would now not miss an opportunity to embarrass India. In the melee whatever the reason, the country got distanced with Iran, a friend for decades, loses rupee-petro deals and despite significant involvement in developing Chabahar port, a gateway to Central Asia, is now virtually left in the lurch. Iran even has its embassy open in Kabul along with Russia and China. Iran cannot be faulted. Now Taliban is a concern for it and Iran has to protect its interests. It would be a natural endeavour for India to reconnect with Iran. The relationships continued despite US sanctions. Sudden withdrawal by India was surprising for Iran too. India has to make efforts to renew the relationship. It would be useful for geopolitics as well as practical

economic considerations. A better with Iran would help continue the access to Central Asia with which its business relations are strengthening. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited five countries in the region – Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan – last year. An additional $ 1 billion line of credit to widen connectivity and energy sectors was issued and a business council was formed. At Shivaji present, India’s commercial presence in Central Asia is led by public sector entities— Punjab National Bank and ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) have operations in Kazakhstan. Private investments include the Sun Group, which operates the Yubileinoye gold mine in Kazakhstan, and companies such as KEC International Limited and Cosmopolitan Builders and Hoteliers Limited, which have executed projects in Tajikistan. The present flight detours and difficult land travels might affect the ties and business deals might become expensive. That India is not friendless is testified by the safe passage it could arrange for its envoy diplomats and Indian nationals. Still it is a foreign policy

setback and national security concern. An immediate concern is whether its borders with Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir would require mover investments to secure it or not as J&K remains high on mujahideen agenda. Taliban raiding the embassy in Kabul and consul office in Herat speaks volumes. India has to find out a balancing approach in dealing with Taliban as ostpolitic could not be an answer nor perhaps it Sarkar getting involved in anti-Taliban western groupings as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has already called for. Even distancing from it would not be easy as India has deeper financial and trade interests with the West. The Afghan failure of the US is reflecting also on dollar. This is adding to global inflation and it would create further troubles for India. Rising petrol prices, RBI pressure to reduce taxes on petroleum products and government revenue conundrum add to the crisis. The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan will bear an adverse impact on India’s bilateral trade with it, according to the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT). Trade between the

two nations amounted to $1.4 billion in 2020-21 and $1.52 billion in 2019-20. It has hit the Afghan traders also. Their exports for now are thawed and restoration depends on how situations normalize. Confederation of All India Traders says that prices of some commodities may also go up in the Indian markets due to uncertainty over bilateral trade and relations with Afghanistan. Exports from India stood at $826 million whereas imports amounted to $510 million in 2020-21. The not so large volume of trade may not look monetarily important but strategically these help both the countries. India’s significant contribution in its rebuilding and investments in Afghanistan too would be missed there. The fundamentalist regime is still poised against India as the ransacking of consular premises and kidnapping of many Indians from near the airport indicates. For now it is not an easy task to continue the operations. India had an ambitious plan with the initiative of International North-South Corridor spanning Iran, central Asia and Eurasia. It is supposed to emerge as a a major connector with Modi’s concept linking the corridor to Kazakhstan-

Turkemnistan-iran rail link, now operational. It is also supposed to be linked to Chabahar and dedicated freight corridor having special economic zones on its fland being built by India. The ChabaharSistan-Baluchistan-Central Asia/Afghanistan route till recently was considered less risky than the high-risk provinces of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan. With changing political scenario this too is likely to become difficult. Is China outsmarting India with its “one belt, one road” move? Its continued consular presence in Afghanistan speaks volumes. China is becoming a tough contender not only at the borders but also at the international business arena. China is now the largest trade partner of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, the second-largest trade partner of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, and the thirdlargest trade partner of Tajikistan. In 2013, Kyrgyzstan threw a spanner against sale of oilfields to OVL. India has to work deftly to reestablish itself and outdo its rivals in and around Afhganistan to carry on its business and diplomacy in a tough world where even the world bodies remain as mere spectators.

Post-mortem

Elders bear the brunt of lack of ‘humanity’ in children’s education!

W

hatever aspect you think about the welfare of the society, you will find that it starts with education. Education is being worked in three ways and these three methods do not make a man a better person. Some people certainly break all the barriers and become good human beings, but all these forms of education have no contribution in this. There is a form of education which we and you can call non-formal education. Often a human child learns a lot from the environment around him. There is a gharana in Jaipur which is earning a lot of name in Geet music. Their young children sing terrific classical songs. Now this is the effect of the surrounding environment, if you get a little training then you can easily emerge a better artist. The farmer’s child cultivates, while the children of families who do other skills learn those special skills. This education does not require any special effort. With the rise of religion, institutions of religious education were also formed. Gurukul, Om and Convent are the schools of this category. Here all efforts are made to make a child religious. When the convent changed its traditional form, a group of religious who cursed it also sent their children there. If Gurukul and Madarsa are not able to change with the times, they are fighting for their existence. A third and most popular form of schools are those built by governments based on modern science, technology and philosophy. They are secular in nature, although in a country like India, attempts are being made to pierce this form of secularism, this is done under a special political outlook. In front of the modern society, the biggest responsibility is to make this third form useful. Many philosophers have given great thought and suggestions on how this can be made useful, but

some very important points can be pointed out here. In today’s education system, the emotional development of children is very much neglected. We are making good doctors, but sometimes he becomes a pimp of pharmaceutical companies for money and sometimes kills someone for money only. Similar examples can be taken for other professions as well. The parents who unite day and night to shape the future of their child, spend their whole life in grooming two children, the same parents are neglected in old age by the same children and spend their days crying. Is it not a matter of thinking that how the children became like this, but when it is considered then often all the blame is either on the children or on the parents and their values. The family is a small unit of society and society is the mold in which the personality of a child is shaped. How can it be that the idol or the sculptor is cursed for a bad image but the mold is not even looked at? The aspect that connects human to human is completely absent in our education system. Every human being is a world in himself, which he wants to preserve by keeping it separate from the rest of the world. Now this may not be successful, but this effort definitely distorts the human society. In fact, whenever we talk about our education system or other systems, we talk as if it has no relation with other systems. For example, there are hundreds of philosophies to improve the education system, but the society as it is, its education system or any other system will be suited to it. As such, no one system can be reformed or changed unless the entire social fabric is changed. For example, educational institutions have been made in such a way that the education system which is meant for the rich can never be achieved by the poor.

It is not a mere coincidence if only children from Dalit and minority communities are left in government schools. This and similar inequality of different levels exists in our society as well. In a society in which there is so much inequality in the standard of living, the dream of equal education will never be fulfilled. If there are people who give divinity to inequality in the society, then they will never allow equality in education, and if such people are getting power again and again, then it will be audacious to dream of an egalitarian society. If you want your child to be accountable to you and to the society, then not only education, but the whole society has to be changed. In a society with diverse gaps of inequality, discrimination and richpoverty, neither you can improve any one system, nor can any attempt to make ordinary children better human beings from this whole structure can succeed. If you think that without changing this casteist, violent, religious intolerance and inequality-feeding society, there can be a way to make youngsters become good human beings just by working on the education system, then definitely tell us. Parents raise their children better to the best of their ability, teach them all the skills to live, try their best to make their children stand firm on their feet before their legs become weak. Girls are married and sent to the homes of others, and the girls of others are married and made daughter-in-law. While doing this, the parents get old, if they are in job then they also retire. Now they become a burden for daughter-in-law and son. The society or the government has no arrangement for the elderly. No one is responsible for the safety and health of the elderly. Often the parents are also the basis of the fight between the daughter-inlaw and the son.

If there are more than one brother, then the fight to run away from the responsibility of the parents is also a different issue. Often this question is very disturbing that are elders really a burden to their children? Do the children who are unable to tolerate the separation of their parents for a while, do they really become helpless with the same parents? How does a daughter-in-law who cries for the same condition of her parents become cruel to her husband’s parents? Are parents really useless, unproductive for the family? Will consider these questions and would like you to share your views too! We cannot acce pt this, but the truth is that economic security is the guarantee of all kinds of security. You must have seen that the elderly who get pension have a slightly better position in the family as compared to the elderly who do not have any income. That is, the respect

that the elderly are getting here is because of their money and not because of any sacrament type thing. Today every family adds a single penny, often people do not have houses, if there are, then every corner is calculated. Even the provision of a room for the elderly is seen as an additional expense. In many cases, the elderly bay-yarrow helpers are in the village and the son works in the city. That is, the economic condition determines what will be the condition of the elderly in a family. Religion, society, morality all inspire for the service of the elderly, but service or mistreatment is decided by the power of money. Even for the rich, parents are a burden because time and money are spent on them. As a daughter-inlaw, a woman despises the parents, then as a daughter, respect and service, how can a woman live in these two forms? Children are usually

very safe in homes where there are elderly people. Not only this, children act as a tonic for the elderly. I am saying this from my experience, your experience may be different. When it comes to children, there is a little discussion on the aspect that not only the elderly but also children are unsafe in the society. In families where both parents work, there is no such system in which the child can be brought up well. The alternatives made by the capitalist society for this are not love and compassion, whatever the convenience, whereas a loving environment for children is more important than any other facility. One last thing, yesterday we were children, so tomorrow we will be old too. There is no basis to expect better tomorrow than what children and old people are getting today, Vijay Garg EX PEAS-1, Retired Principal, Educationist

Reader’s Post

Sir,

CAG Report vis-à-vis Department of Justice and Law, Nagaland

The CAG Report tabled on the floor of the house during the 8th session of the 13th Nagaland Legislative Assembly speaks volumes about the financial mismanagement and irregularities being committed by various Departments in Nagaland. In respect of the Department of Justice and Law, the mismanagement and irregularities are so overwhelming that all developmental activities under the Department are in a mess as can be seen from the ongoing constructions of District Courts, Staff Quarters and even the monumental Nagaland High Court Complex. Logically, the quality and pace of these construction works apparently point to some sort of deductions, maybe even at source. If such is the case, then not only will the contractors suffer but the work quality will also get affected beyond redemption, and therefore, those responsible should be probed and booked as per the law of the land. This is more pressing since the CBI probe into the mismanagement and irregularities in respect of the Nagaland High Court Complex construction also appears to have been lost in thin air with no effective result. Interestingly, the Governor of Nagaland has taken suo moto cognizance of the CAG report and has advised the State Government to act upon it which is indeed very encouraging and well appreciated. Likewise, the CAG report is a fit case for a CBI probe or a suo moto PIL if citizens of the State want the truth to be revealed. In the meantime, it is hoped that the State Government will act upon the Governor’s counsel in all earnestness if it is what it should be: to serve the people they govern. Tsenbemo Ngullie, Wokha, Nagaland

Reader’s note: Articles or letters published in any of the columns do not reflect the view of this newspaper nor that of the Editor in any manner.


Delhi gears up for 3rd wave

BJP minister in WB arrested on MAKESHIFT HOSPITALS TO REMAIN IN STANDBY MODE graft charge

by the public works department (PWD) in Sarita Vihar, Shalimar Bagh, Sultanpuri, Kirari, Raghubir Nagar, GTB hospital, and Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya. The makeshift Covid-19 facility attached to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital at Ramleela Maidan started operations with 250 ICU beds during the second wave. Dr Ritu Saxena, Media Cell Chief, says that the makeshift Co-

NEW DELHI, AUG 22 (PTI): The Quad countries -- India, the US, Australia and Japan -- will conduct the next edition of the highvoltage Malabar naval exercise from August 26 to 29 off the coast of Guam in the face of China’s growing military muscle-flexing in the Indo-Pacific. Indian stealth frigate INS Shivalik and anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kadmatt arrived in Guam, an island territory of the US in the Western Pacific, on Saturday to take part in the exercise that will feature an array of complex drills, Indian Navy officials said on Sunday. “The Malabar-21 would witness high-tempo exercises among destroyers, frigates, corvettes, submarines, helicopters and long-range maritime patrol aircraft of the participating navies,” Indian Navy spokesperson Commander Vivek Madhwal said. “Complex surface, sub-surface and air operations including live weapon firing drills, anti-surface,

anti-air and anti-submarine warfare drills, and joint manoeuvres and tactical exercises will be conducted during the exercise,” he said. Commander Madhwal said the conduct of the exercises despite the coronavirus restrictions is a “testimony of synergy” among the participating navies and their commitment to safer seas. Following India’s invitation, Australia participated in the Malabar exercise last year that effectively made it a drill by all four

member nations of the Quad. China has been suspicious about the purpose of the Malabar exercise as it feels that the annual war game is an effort to contain its influence in the IndoPacific region. The Malabar exercise started in 1992 as a bilateral drill between the Indian Navy and the US Navy in the Indian Ocean. Japan became a permanent member of the exercise in 2015. This annual exercise was conducted off the coast of Guam in 2018 and off the coast of Japan in 2019.

TN to launch 24x7 Covid vaccine camps Punjab CM warns Sidhu’s advisors over remarks for those who want to travel to other states on an urgent basis.According to the statement, the department has constituted a special team to conduct the camps and schedules and working arrangements would be provided to them. In Chennai, all the major government hospitals will have such camps from Monday onwards as also in all the district hospitals across the state. The health department has already directed the officials to conduct local awareness about the functioning of the camps and to insert advertisements on the same to get more people to reach

the facility for taking the jab. A person can walk into the camp with the Aadhaar card and get registered and can take the vaccination, according to the statement from the health minister’s office. Ma Subramanian told IANS, “The camps to be conducted 24x7 across the state are the first of its kind in the country. We have conducted proper study and have decided to open these camps for the benefit of the people of the state. We have directed officials to give this more publicity among the local population so that all those who are in need make use of this and get themselves inoculated.”

CHANDIGARH, AUG 22 (AGENCIES): Taking strong exception to the recent statements by two of Navjot Singh Sidhu’s advisors on matters related to Kashmir and Pakistan, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday (August 22, 2021) warned them against such atrocious and ill-conceived comments that were potentially dangerous to the peace and stability of the state and the country. The Chief Minister was reacting to reported remarks by Dr Pyare Lal Garg and Malwinder Singh Mali and advised them to stick to

giving advice to the newly appointed PPCC president Sidhu. “Kashmir was and is an inalienable part of India,” asserted the Chief Minister, adding that with his proclamation to the contrary, Mali had effectively and inexplicably toed Islamabad’s line. “This is totally antinational,” he said, also slamming Mali for failing to withdraw his statement despite the widespread condemnation it had evoked not only from other parties but also from within the Congress. Captain Amarinder expressed shock at their

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar to meet with PM on caste census

PATNA, AUG 21 (PTI): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday disclosed he would be heading an 11-member delegation, comprising one representative each from political parties in the state, at the forthcoming meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of a caste census. Talking to reporters here upon return from a survey of flood-hit areas of Samastipur district, Kumar also said he would be leaving for New Delhi on Sunday night. The meeting is scheduled in the first half of Monday. Those who will be joining him include leader of the opposition Tejashwi Yadav. He also sought to make light of queries about the BJP, his alliance partner, choosing a Dalit minister to join the delegation though both his deputies seemed to fit the bill as they belong to the backward classes. “It is not an issue. Every party could nominate one person

the borders at the hands of Pak-backed forces,” pointed out the Chief Minister, dubbing Garg’s remarks as irrational and unjustified. The CM remarked that they clearly they had little or no knowledge, and no understanding of the implications of their comments. Both of them were recently appointed by Sidhu as his advisors.

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Nitish Kumar

who also happens to be a member of either House of the legislature. So all parties sent names accordingly. Besides me there would be 10 delegates, all representing their respective parties”, Kumar said when asked about the saffron party picking up Janak Ram as a member of the delegation. This has led to murmurs within both the ruling NDA and the opposition Grand Alliance since Deputy CMs Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi, the latter holding the backward classes welfare portfolio, were being viewed as a more viable choice.

istence in 1993 with 26 groups, including some proPakistan and banned outfits such as the Jamaat-e-Islami, JKLF and the Dukhtaran-eMillat. It also included the People’s Conference and the Awami Action Committee headed by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq. The separatist conglomerate broke into two factions in 2005 with the moderate group being led by the Mirwaiz and the hard-line headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani. So far, the Centre has banned the Jamaat-e-Islami and the JKLF under the UAPA. The ban was imposed in 2019.

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funding terror organisations in the union territory. The officials said both the factions of the Hurriyat are likely to be banned under Section 3(1) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or the UAPA, under which “if the Central Government is of opinion that any association is, or has become, an unlawful association, it may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare such association to be unlawful.” They said the proposal was mooted in accordance with the Centre’s policy of zero tolerance against terrorism. The Hurriyat Conference came into ex-

statements, terming them as totally misplaced and antagonistic. “The fact, which every Punjabi and in fact every Indian knows, is that Pakistan’s threat to us is real. Every day they are pushing weapons and drugs into Punjab via drones in a brazen attempt to destabilise our state, and our nation. Punjabi soldiers are dying at

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C H E N NA I , AU G 2 2 (IANS): The Tamil Nadu health department is all set to roll out 24x7 vaccination camps across the state from Monday onwards. This will be the first such initiative in the country to have full-time vaccination camps against Covid -19. The camps will be set up at all the major hospitals in the state and a trial camp was launched at the premises of the Directorate of Public Health, Chennai on Saturday. However, officially the camps will be launched from Monday onwards. State Health minister’s office in a statement on Sunday said that the camps are primarily

Both factions of Hurriyat Conference likely to be banned under UAPA SRINAGAR, AUG 22 (PTI): A ban under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act may be imposed on both factions of the secessionist conglomerate Hurriyat Conference which has been spearheading the separatist movement in Jammu and Kashmir for over two decades, officials said. They said a recent probe into the granting of MBBS seats to Kashmiri students by institutions in Pakistan indicates that the money collected from aspirants by some organisations which were part of the Hurriyat Conference conglomerate was being used for

The Malabar exercise started in 1992 as a bilateral drill between the Indian Navy and the US Navy in the Indian Ocean. (File)

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NEW DELHI, AUG 22 (IANS): The University Grants Commission (UGC) has framed more flexible rules for various Central and other universities across the country. Under this, regular universities will be allowed to offer online courses and other important courses through distance learning even post Covid-19 pandemic. The UGC has decided to start 123 different online courses. Out of this, 40 programmes for postgraduate (PG) students and 83 for undergraduate (UG) students have been decided. Students from across the country can go for these courses. They will have to apply through the online course platform ‘Swayam’ or “Study Webs of ActiveLearning for Young Aspiring Minds”. For complete details of courses and eligibility, students can check the UGC website. UGC Chairman D.P. Singh has said that several measures have been taken to make the courses available on the digital platform. Singh spoke about ‘Swayam’, ‘Swayam Prabha’, National Academic Depository (NAD) and other digital platforms for the purpose. He said that as part of the initiative of the UGC, it has brought learners into the mainstream of online education. The UGC says that the examinations for courses offered through the online medium of ‘Swayam’ will also be held. According to UGC, the Vice-Chancellors of various universities will have to ensure that the process of holding these examinations has to be started by the end of August.

main in a standby mode to face the severity of a possible third Covid wave. The health scientists are continuously warning about the possible third wave in India anytime. Recently, the Delhi government announced building seven makeshift hospitals with 7,000 ICU beds in the next six months to prepare for a potential third covid wave. These seven makeshift hospitals will be constructed

BANKURA (WB), AUG 22 (PTI): Former West Bengal minister Shyamaprasad Mukherjee, who had joined the BJP ahead of this year’s assembly elections in the state, was arrested on Sunday for allegedly being involved in financial irregularities of nearly Rs 10 crore, an officer said. The former Trinamool Congress MLA from Bishnupur was apprehended following an investigation into allegations of misappropriation of money related to etendering and other charges when he was chairman of the local civic body in 2020, the police officer said. “An investigation was carried out by the SDPO, Bishnupur into the allegations of financial irregularities of Rs 9.91 crore. Mukherjee was arrested after he failed to give satisfactory answers to queries,” Bankura SP Dhritiman Sarkar told PTI. The BJP’s Bishnupur organisational district president Sujit Agasthi claimed that Mukherjee had joined the saffron party before the assembly elections in the state but he was not actively involved.

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UGC allows varsities to teach online post Covid

All makeshift hospitals in the national capital Delhi are operational and will remain in a standby mode.

vid-19 facility at Ram Leela ground is fully operational and “we are planning the extension of the facility there as per the direction from the government to prepare in advance for possible third wave. She said, “Till we get any direction from the government, the facility will remain operational.” Though, she accepts that only a few Covid patients are visiting the facility now. Dr Purvi Verma, Clinical Doctor at the CWG Covid care center, said, “We are ready to face the challenges of the third wave with two oxygen plants ready and a total of 450 beds attached with the oxygen supply.” She said we have two halls here where 450 beds are available along with 50 beds with ICU facilities. “We have received directions for 460 beds to be in complete operation”. A Medical Mobile Unit (MMU) facility also runs from the CWG center that detects the Covid patients and provides quality treatment. The facility is presently running in New Delhi district.

2 Indian naval ships arrive in Guam to take part in Malabar exercise

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NEW DELHI, AUG 22 (IANS): When Covid-19 turned into a global pandemic, many nations across the world came up with a strategy to set up makeshift hospitals to cater the needs of growing infected patients as the virus challenged the healthcare facilities even of all the developed nations. Apart from the medical oxygen-crisis, limited healthcare facilities during the second Covid wave was also one of the most apparent reasons for the devastating pandemic in India. As the virus continued to pose challenges to the healthcare facilities across the nation, many makeshift hospitals were constructed on an urgent basis to accommodate the patients suffering from the infection. The Indian Railways stopped all trains and converted many coaches into isolation centres for the patients. However, the daily Covid case trajectory has shown the declining trend now, all makeshift hospitals in the national capital Delhi are operational and will re-

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8

BUSINESS FPIs invest Rs 5,001 cr in Indian accepted the proposal and equities so far in Aug decided to go for an asset

IBA seeks licence to set up Rs 6,000-cr NARCL NEW DELHI, AUG 22 (PTI): The Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) has moved an application to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) seeking licence to set up a Rs 6,000-crore National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL) or bad bank, according to sources. NARCL was incorporated last month in Mumbai following the registration with Registrar of Companies (RoC). According to sources, the company after mobilising an initial capital of Rs 100 crore and fulfilling other legal formalities has approached the RBI seeking licence to undertake asset reconstruction business. The RBI in 2017, raised the capital requirement to Rs 100 crore from the earlier level of Rs 2 crore, keeping in mind the higher amount of cash required to buy bad loans. RBI has its process and procedure for granting licence for such business, sources said, adding, it could take next few weeks

to obtain licence from the regulator. RBI’s approval could come either in September or October, sources added. Legal consultant AZB & Partners has been engaged to seek various regulatory approvals and fulfilling other legal formalities. IBA, entrusted with the task of setting up a bad bank, has put a preliminary board for NARCL in place. The company has hired P M Nair, a stressed assets expert from State Bank of India (SBI), as the managing director. The other directors on the board are IBA Chief Executive Sunil Mehta, SBI Deputy Managing Director S S Nair and Canara Bank’s Chief General Manager Ajit Krishnan Nair.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Budget 2021-22, announced that the high level of provisioning by public sector banks of their stressed assets calls for measures to clean up bank books. “An Asset Reconstruction Company Limited and Asset Management Company would be set up to consolidate and take over the existing stressed debt,” she had said in the Budget Speech. It will manage and dispose the assets to alternative investment funds and other potential investors for eventual value realisation, she had said. Last year, IBA made a proposal for the creation of a bad bank for swift resolution of non-performing assets. The government

reconstruction company and asset management company model in this regard. Meanwhile, stateowned Canara Bank has expressed its intent to be the lead sponsor of NARCL with a 12 per cent stake. The proposed NARCL would be 51 per cent owned by PSBs and the remaining by private-sector lenders. NARCL will take over identified bad loans of lenders. The lead bank with an offer in the hand of NARCL will go for a ‘Swiss Challenge’, wherein other asset reconstruction players will be invited to better the offer made by a chosen bidder for finding a higher valuation of a nonperforming asset on sale. The company will pick up those assets that are 100 per cent provided for by the lenders. Banks have identified around 22 bad loans worth Rs 89,000 crore to be transferred to NARCL in the initial phase.

M U M BA I , AU G 2 2 (IANS): Foreign portfolio investors (FPI) have made a net investment of Rs 5,001 crore so far in August in Indian equities, according to data from NSDL. The FPIs have made a comeback after a net outflow of Rs 11,308 crore in July. With the investments in August, the net FPI investment in the equities segment in 2021 now stands at Rs 54,037 crore. During the week which ended on Friday, the Indian stock market scaled new highs, with the BSE Sensex crossing the 56,000 mark. On Wednesday, Sensex touched an all-time high of 56,118.57 points. Although profit booking and global cues subdued the market later in the truncated trading week. Shrikant Chouhan, Executive Vice President, Equity Technical Research at Kotak Securities said: “FPIs have been net buyers in Indian equities in Aug 2021 till date.

NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

FinMin summons Infy CEO after income tax portal faces fresh glitches NEW DELHI, AUG 22 (PTI): With the new I-T portal remaining unavailable for almost two consecutive days, the Finance Ministry has “summoned” Infosys MD and CEO Salil Parekh on Monday to explain to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman the reasons for continued glitches even after over two months of launch. Meanwhile, the company in a late-evening tweet said emergency maintenance of the portal has concluded and the site is live. The new income tax e-filing portal “www.incometax.gov.in’, developed by Infosys, had a bumpy start from the day of its launch on June 7, as it continued to face tech glitches with users complaining that certain functionalities were either unavailable or working slow. Consequently, the I-T department had to allow manual filing of remittance forms and also extend due dates for electronic filing of forms related to intimation by pension funds and sover-

Salil Parekh eign wealth funds. “Ministry of Finance has summoned Sh Salil Parekh, MD &CEO @Infosys on 23/08/2021 to explain to hon’ble FM as to why even after 2.5 months since launch of new e-filing portal, glitches in the portal have not been resolved. In fact,since 21/08/2021 the portal itself is not available,” the Income Tax department tweeted. Infosys India Business Unit in a late evening tweet said, “The emergency maintenance of the @IncomeTaxIndia portal has concluded and the portal is live. We regret any inconvenience caused to taxpayers.”

Earlier on Sunday, Infosys had tweeted that the income tax portal was under emergency maintenance. On Saturday too it had tweeted that the portal is “inaccessible due to planned maintenance”. Quoting the I-T department tweet, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Senior Advisor Kanchan Gupta tweeted, “This is the second major GoI project @Infosys has messed up. The first was #GST portal. Now it is #IncomeTax portal. Infosys bags GoI projects using L1 route which limits options. Clearly lacks either capacity or intent to deliver. Two ‘failures’ in a row cannot be coincidence”. ‘L1’ route refers to the lowest bidder in the tender for a contract. Infosys had also developed the GST Network (GSTN) portal, used for GST payments and returns filing. The software major had faced flak for slow functioning of the GSTN portal as well.

FM to launch National Tata Realty to invest in residential, commercial projects Dollar Run: Strong greenback to pound Indian rupee Monetisation Pipeline today

No. 3659 Yesterday’s solution No. 3658

global recovery led to safe haven buying in dollars and risk sentiment took a severe beating this week,” said Devarsh Vakil, Deputy Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities. “Fears of early tapering by US Federal Reserves led to strength in dollar. Dollar index rose to the highest level since November. Spot USDINR is still in the range of 74.50 to 74.10 this month. We expect it to appreciate back to 74-mark next week.” According to Gaurang Somaiya, Forex & Bullion Analyst, Motilal Oswal Financial Services: “Volatility for the dollar could remain elevated ahead of the important Jackson Hole Symposium that is scheduled next week. Expectation is that the Fed Chairman could signal that the US central bank is ready to start easing monetary support.”

Indian startups raised $6.5 bn in Apr-June

Office Space Available for Rent in Aiko Building, Nagarjan Police Point, Bank Colony, Dimapur. i) 1500 sq. ft. - 1 Floor & st

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second wave headwinds, the Indian start-up ecosystem has shown strong resilience in this quarter,” it noted. Pine Labs raised $285 million, Delhivery $ 277 million, Zeta $250 million, Cred $215 million, and Urban Company $188 million in the June 2021 quarter, as per the report.

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million), Byju’s ($340 million), PharmEasy (323 million), and Meesho ($300 million), the report noted. “Q2 2021 has been impeccable for the start-up growth story. From being the most funded quarter, it has also added the most number of unicorns. Standing tall during the pandemic

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NEW DELHI, AUG 22 (AGENCIES): Indian startups raised around $6.5 billion in the April-June (2021) quarter, whereas 11 of them entered the coveted unicorn club, according to a report by Nasscom-PGA Labs. According to Business Today, as many as 160 funding deals were closed during the second quarter, up 2 per cent from the JanuaryMarch period. Funding raised in the June quarter stood at $6.5 billion, up by 71 per cent quarter-on-quarter. The biggest deal during the said quarter was by food delivery platform Swiggy, which raised $800 million, followed by ShareChat ($502

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KAKURO

No. 4635 Yesterday’s solution No. 4634

ACROSS 8. Slip or gully, for example (7) 9. Furniture item (9) 13. Loft (5) 14. Seat (5) 15. German measles (7) 16. See (7) 17. Heathen (5) 18. Banishment (5) 20. Flying insect (5) 22. Planet (6) 23. Cereal crop (6) 25. Captain (7) 27. Branch of science (7) 30. Centre (6) 31. Jewish greeting (6) 32. The devil (5) 35. Speed of music (5) 36. Concur (5) 37. Hug (7) 39. Things (7) 41. Medium for discussion (5) 42. Revolt (5) 43. Golf trousers (4,5) 44. Debate (7) DOWN 1. Small restaurant (6) 2. Facial bruise (5,3) 3. Favoured pupil (8,3) 4. Take no notice of (9) 5. Food fish (7) 6. Stringed instrument (6,4) 7. Of the mouth (4) 10. Haphazard (6) 11. Floor coverings (7) 12. Seldom (6) 19. Unlawful (7) 21. Duchy (7) 24. Hotel employee (11) 26. Bedlinen item (10) 28. Consequently (9) 29. Branch of mathematics (7) 30. Shooting star (6) 32. Take away (8) 33. Sewing implement (6) 34. Ardour (7) 38. Surprise attack (6) 40. Month (4)

NEW DELHI, AUG 22 (IANS): A strong US dollar as well as global concerns over the ensuing pandemic is expected to weaken the Indian rupee further during the upcoming trade week. “Global cues such as a strong US dollar as well as a weak CNH (Renminbi Offshore) will weaken the Indian rupee further,” said Sajal Gupta, Head, Forex and Rates at Edelweiss Securities. “It is expected to trade between 74.25 to 74.60 with an depreciation bias.” Last Friday, the rupee marked its biggest weekly loss in one and a half months, although it was better than its Asian peers. It weakened to 74.36 per USD due US Fed’s tapering fears and softer commodity prices. “Concern that the Delta virus strain could derail the

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Su doku

No. 10014 Yesterday’s solution No. 10013

are a mix of luxury and premium projects with the Serein, the Eureka Park and La Vida in the premium category and the 88 East in the luxury segment,” he added. The company is also in the process of re-launching the stalled Mulund (east) project, which on completion will have three million sq ft saleable area and will be the single-largest project in value terms in Mumbai and hope to re-launch it by March. It was stalled for strategic reason. “We are waiting for clarity on the design now and it will have many 50-storey towers,” he said. Indicating better than the industry sales, he said they have only around 5,300 ready inventor y spread across affordable, premium, luxury and second homes category, and around 1,100 units nearing completion, Dutt said.

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of over 20 per cent,” he said. The company nets around 70 per cent of its sales from the affordable and premium units and the remainder comes from luxury projects, Dutt added. “We’ve equal focus on residential and commercial segments when it comes to capex (capital expenditure). Accordingly, we have lined up Rs 2,000 crore each for residential and commercial projects over the next 24 months,” he said. He said the company has four residential projects underconstruction now the Serein in Mumbai, the Eureka Park and La Vida in NCR-Delhi, and the 88 East in Kolkata with over 2,500 units. Dutt did not disclose the potential revenue from them or the investments. “We have a diversified portfolio of 40-45 million sq ft under-construction, which

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NEW DELHI, AUG 22 (IANS): Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman will launch the National Monetisation Pipeline on Monday at New Delhi. The National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) comprises a four-year pipeline of the Central Government’s brownfield infrastructure assets. Besides providing visibility to investors, NMP will also serve as a medium-

rus pandemic, it had only 3,500 workers and over 670 employees. “We had the best sales in 2020-21, with a revenue of over Rs 1,500 crore, which is 120 per cent more than what we had targeted for the year given the pandemic. “On an annualised basis, revenue grew 15 per cent over 2019-20; and in volume terms, we sold 1,300 units,” Sanjay Dutt, managing director and chief executive of Tata Realty, told PTI. Dutt added that the company had the best-ever sales in the fourth quarter of 2020. On the current demand scenario, he said that from July onwards, they have been witnessing steep recovery. “Whatever we lost in Q1 has already been recovered in Q2 and expect to cross last year numbers in Q4 and to close the full year with a revenue growth

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Nirmala Sitharaman

term roadmap for the Asset Monetisation initiative of the government, said an official statement. The Union Budget 2021-22 laid a lot of emphasis on Asset Monetisation as a means to raise innovative and alternative financing for infrastructure and included a number of key announcements. Further, the National Monetisation Pipeline book will be released in the presence of Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog, Rajiv Kumar, CEO, Amitabh Kant, and secretaries of relevant ministries whose assets constitute the monetisation pipeline. Presenting the Union Budget for 2021-22 in February, the Finance Minister noted that monetising operating public infrastructure assets is a very important financing option for new infrastructure construction.

NEW DELHI, AUG 22 (AGENCIES): Tata Realty and Infrastructure is investing around Rs 2,000 crore each into residential and commercial projects over the next two years, including re-launching the stalled Mulund project in Mumbai, on the back of a significant growth in sales last year and the steady pick-up in demand, a top company official has said. According to Business Standard, the Tata Group firm, which focuses on residential, commercial and retail properties in the realty space and large infrastructure projects, is witnessing higher demand, especially for ready-to-move-in residential units now. It has added over 1,500 construction workers during the pandemic, taking its overall headcount to over 5,000 now. Before the coronavi-

StolEN BikE HEro HF DEluxE has been stolen from dhobinala Army Supply Junction, dimapur on 18 August 2021 between 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Owner Name : Chungngam Kuki Regd. No. NL-07M6628 Chassis No. MbLHA11ATF9G00991 Engine No. : HA11EJF9F33756 Colour black purple Contact : 6009723737 dp-4104


7 Afghans killed in chaos at Kabul airport

KABUL, AUG 22 (AP): A panicked crush of people trying to enter Kabul’s international airport killed seven Afghan civilians in the crowds, the British military said Sunday, showing the danger still posed to those trying to flee the Taliban’s takeover of the country. The deaths come as a new, perceived threat from the Islamic State group affiliate in Afghanistan has seen US military planes do rapid, diving combat landings at the airport surrounded by Taliban fighters. Other aircraft have shot off flares on takeoff, an effort to confuse possible heat-seeking missiles targeting the planes. The changes come as the US Embassy issued a new security warning Saturday telling citizens not to travel to the Kabul airport without individual instruction from a US government representative. Officials declined to provide more specifics about the IS threat but described it as significant. They said there have been no confirmed attacks as yet by the militants, who have battled the Taliban in the past. On Sunday, the British military acknowledged the seven deaths of civilians in the crowds in Kabul. There have been stampedes

Afghans crowding the Kabul airport in a desperate dash to flee the country after the Taliban took over. (AP)

and crushing injuries in the crowds, especially as Taliban fighters fire into the air to drive away those desperate to get on any flight out of the country. “Conditions on the ground remain extremely challenging but we are doing everything we can to manage the situation as safely and securely as possible,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement. On Saturday, British and Western troops in full combat gear tried to control the crowds pressing in. They carried away some who were sweating and pale. With temperatures

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NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

reaching 34 degree Celsius (93 degrees Fahrenheit), the soldiers sprayed water from a hose on those gathered or gave them bottled water to pour over their heads. “Listen sir, you need to calm down,” one soldier told a man laying in the dirt, as another gave him an orange liquid. “Calm down.” It wasn’t immediately clear whether those killed had been physically crushed, suffocated or suffered a fatal heart attack in the crowds. Soldiers covered several corpses in white clothes to hide them from view. Other troops stood atop

concrete barriers or shipping containers, trying to calm the crowd. Gunshots occasionally rang out. Amir Khan Motaqi, chief of the Taliban’s guidance council, criticised America over the situation at the airport in an audio clip posted online Sunday. He described the US’ actions as “tyranny” — even as it is Taliban fighters who have beaten and shot at those trying to access the airport over the last week. “All Afghanistan is secure, but the airport which is managed by the Americans has anarchy,” he said. “The US should not defame itself,

should not embarrass itself to the world and should not give this mentality to our people that (the Taliban) are a kind of enemy.” Speaking to an Iranian state television channel late Saturday night in a video call, Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem also blamed the deaths at the airport on the Americans in what quickly became a combative interview. “The Americans announced that we would take you to America with us and people gathered at Kabul airport,” Naeem said. “If it was announced right now in any country in the world, would people not go?” The host on Iranian state TV, which long has criticised America since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, quickly said: “It won’t happen in Iran.” Naeem responded: “Be sure this will happen anywhere.” Thousands rushed the airport last Monday in chaos that saw the US try to clear off the runway with lowflying attack helicopters. Several Afghans plunged to their deaths while hanging off the side of a US military cargo plane. It’s been difficult to know the full scale of the deaths and injuries from the chaos.

Israel launches airstrikes on Gaza following clashes

People carry an injured man during a protest to mark 52nd anniversary of burning Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem.

T E L AV I V, AU G 2 2 (IANS): Israeli fighter jets struck posts and facilities of the armed wing of the Islamic Hamas Movement in Gaza following clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli soldiers, security sources and witnesses said. The airstrikes late Saturday were launched in response to clashes earlier in the day between dozens of Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli soldiers on the borders between Israel and the besieged coastal enclave, in which an Israeli sniper was seriously wounded, re-

ports Xinhua news agency. Several explosions were heard in central and western Gaza Strip, causing damage to Hamas’ posts and facilities, while no casualties have been reported, according to the sources. The airstrikes also attacked weapons caches and other posts that produce weapons, said an Israeli army spokesman in a press statement. The spokesman held the Hamas movement, which rules and controls the Gaza Strip, fully responsible for the clashes on Israel and

for exploiting civilians to get involved in attacks against Israel. Earlier on Saturday, 41 Palestinian demonstrators were injured by Israeli soldiers’ fire, including 22 children, with two of them in critical condition, according to Gaza hospital officials. On Friday, the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip, including Hamas, called on people to demonstrate near the borderline area with Israel to mark the 52nd anniversary for burning al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem.

Pakistan temporarily suspends Boris calls G7 meet for urgent talks on Afghan situation on Tuesday flight operations to Afghanistan

8 dead, over 30 missing due to severe floods in Tennessee

MOGADISHU, AUG 22 (IANS): The Somali National Army (SNA) said its forces killed 60 al-Shabab terrorists during a foiled attack on two military bases. The SNA commander Daud Abukar Abdi, who led the operations, told local media on Saturday that two al-Shabab commanders are among those killed during a security operation in Lower Shabelle after the troops repulsed an attack on Sabiid and Anole military camps in the southern part of the country, reports Xinhua news agency. Abdi said the SNA troops conducted an operation earlier Friday against al-Shabab terrorists, killing several militants including the group’s head of operations.

WASHINGTON, AUG 22 (IANS): At least eight people were dead and more than 30 people reported missing after severe floods hit the US state of Tennessee, authorities said. Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis told The Tennessean newspaper that the flooding is the worst he has seen in his 28 years with the department, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday. Power outages and a lack of cell phone service have compounded the problems, Davis said. Rural roads and highways throughout the county were washed away after up to 12 inches of rain fell in

find a solution for Afghanistan, working with the Taliban, of course, if necessary, will go on,” Johnson told reporters on Friday. He said the situation

parts of Middle Tennessee on Saturday and caused catastrophic flooding, The Tennessean reported. The National Weather Service (NWS) said the rainfall has shattered records for water levels on the Piney River. The situation was “lifethreatening,” the Nashville National Weather Service tweeted on Saturday. “People are trapped in their homes and have no way to get out,” NWS Nashville meteorologist Krissy Hurley told The Tennessean. “Water is up to their necks. It is catastrophic, the worst kind of situation.”

As China, Pak weigh recognising Taliban, experts warn long-term losses, US ire BEIJING, AUG 22 (PTI): As China, Pakistan mull a joint strategy to push for a global recognition of the Taliban regime in war-torn Afghanistan to fur ther their interests, experts have warned the “all-weather allies” of long-term losses, especially a blowback effect from the US which may turn its ire on Beijing and Islamabad to avenge its Afghan imbroglio. Since the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul on August 15, China and Pakistan have stepped up contacts amidst a sense of their delight over a “humiliating defeat” of the US after a 20-year war in Afghanistan despite lingering concerns over the return of the Taliban with all its baggage of the al-Qaeda and the Islamic State terror groups. Contrary to its oftstated diplomatic position that it has no favourites in Afghanistan, the Pakistani government is clearly comfortable with the return of the Taliban, the Hong Kong-

Taliban fighters stand guard at a checkpoint in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood in the city of Kabul, Aug. 22. (AP/PTI)

based South China Morning Posted quoted some Pakistani analysts as saying. Within hours of Kabul’s fall, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said the Afghan people had “broken the shackles of slavery” to the West.

Pakistan has lobbied the international community -- close allies China and Russia in particular -- to garner support for a collective diplomatic engagement with the Taliban as a means of ensuring that the group keeps its promises to form

an inclusive administration, prevent terrorist attacks from Afghanistan and allow women access to education and employment, the Post report said. “Pakistan has the most to gain from peace in its neighbour and the most to

lose from strife and instability,” said Maleeha Lodhi, a former Pakistani ambassador to the UK, the UN and the US. Pakistan only stands to gain in terms of stability on its western border if the Taliban were able to govern effectively, accommodate other ethnic groups and establish a lasting peace, she said. “Conversely, if they are unable to do so, Afghanistan could face an uncertain and unstable future which will not be in Pakistan’s interest,” she said. Abdul Basit, an associate research fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore, said the relationship between Pakistan and the Taliban is “a marriage of convenience based on tactical divergences in Afghanistan”. “For Pakistan, it was to keep India out of Afghanistan by helping the Taliban. For the Taliban, it was to resist the US presence and

eventually force it out of Afghanistan by availing itself of sanctuaries in Pakistan,” he told the Post. Beyond this marriage of convenience, the relationship between Pakistan and the Taliban had “its own ups and downs, disagreements and divergences”, Basit said. For instance, Islamabad was frustrated by the Taliban’s lack of action against the thousands of Pakistani Taliban fighters in eastern Afghanistan, he said. At a confidential parliamentary briefing of Pakistan’s politicians on July 2, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed described the Taliban and the Tehreeke-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group as “sides of the same coin”. Also, the analysts said both Pakistan and China will face a strong push back from the US, which may feel more liberated after withdrawing its troops as it could focus its attention more on China and the region.

long-term”, with some 5,000 being in the first year. The plan was considered far from enough to deal with the Afghan crisis by British lawmakers who met for an emergency Parliament session on Wednesday. Leaders of the G7 will meet online early next week to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, as the rift between Washington and its European allies seemed to have widened over the former’s hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Office Of the

Longjang TzüdiLepdang Semchir TeLongjem Dimapur Unit, Dimapur-797112 : Nagaland

felicitatiON

We, the longjang tzudilepdang Semchir telongjem Dimapur Unit extend our heartiest congratulations to Mr. c. limawati imchen, S/o Er. Y. Chuba and Late Dr. Alangla, on being promoted to the rank of Commandant, Nagaland Armed Police. We wish you further success in your service in the future too. T. Lanu Imchen Lima Imchen President Dmr Unit Secretary Dmr Unit

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necessary facilities at Kabul airport. Quoting PIA spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez, the report said the flight operation will remain closed for a couple of days. “We have talked to Afghan Civil Aviation Authority for restoration of all required facilities at Kabul airport as soon as possible so that PIA could resume its flight operation,” Hafeez said, adding that PIA has so far evacuated 1,500 people, including journalists, UN officials and Pakistani national, in five flights. The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan on Sunday last, two weeks before the US was set to complete its troop withdrawal after a two-decade war.

Somali army kills 60 al-Shabab militants

Boris Johnson

at the Kabul airport, where thousands of Afghans gathered in hopes of boarding an evacuation flight, was getting “slightly better” and he saw “stabilisation”. The UK has been able to evacuate about 2,000 people, including British nationals and Afghans who worked with Britain, since Thursday, the Prime Minister said. Earlier this week, the Home Office introduced a “bespoke” resettlement plan, promising to take in up to 20,000 Afghans “in the

Office Of the

DImapuR DIbuIa SenSo TeLongjem cONgratUlateS

Dimapur Dibuia Senso Telongjem takes this opportunity to congratulate one of our esteemed members Mr. Toshi Aier, who was conferred ‘ District Level Best Performance Award 2021’ on the occasion of the 75th Independence Day, 15th August 2021. He was conferred the award by the Office of the Assistant Director, Food & Civil Supplies, Dimapur district, in recognition of his outstanding work as grassroots distributor (FPS) of food grains and essential commodities to the beneficiaries under the National Security Act. We believe that the recognition was a result of integrity and commitment to the job and we are confident that he will continue to work with the same degree of dedication to serve the people. Nungsangwaba Pongen Oyimpong Pongen President, DDST General Secretary DDST

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Airport tarmac”, Geo News reported on Saturday. Quoting sources privy to the development, it said there were no immigration officials and security checks at the Kabul airport. Sanitation workers were also not performing their duties since the Taliban took control of the country. The garbage at the airport’s tarmac could cause a tragic accident, feared the sources. The security of Kabul airport is with the US and they were interested in military aircraft only, the report quoted the sources as saying. Radio Pakistan also reported that PIA has “temporarily” suspended its flight operation to Afghanistan due to unavailability of

people to secure the gains of the last 20 years.” Afghans post-Taliban control in Kabul are already witnessing a humanitarian crisis as thousands line up to flee from the country fearing barbaric Taliban rule. Earlier, Boris Johnson said that his country will work with the Taliban “if necessary”, as the group has regained control of Afghanistan. “What I want to assure people is that our political and diplomatic efforts to

Office Of the

medeoTSomi cLan phUSachodU ViLLage DiStrict : Phek, NagalaND

Motto : “Stronger Together”

FELICITATION

We the Medeotsomi Clan Phüsachodü Village with immense pride and honour extends our heartiest congratulations to Shri Vekhosa kotso, NPS, Commandant 10th NAP (IR) Bn., Zhadima for being selected for the Police Medal (PM) for Meritorious Service. You have earned this by virtue of dedication and devotion to your duty. May the Almighty God bless you with long life and continue to bless you in all your future endeavours. Sd/Sd/Zalehu Kotso Huvesu Rose Chairman Gen. Secy. Medeotsomi Clan Medeotsomi Clan Phüsachodü Village Phüsachodü Village

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ISLAMABAD, AUG 22 (PTI): Pakistan has temporarily suspended Kabul flight operations and is not evacuating anyone at the moment, according to media reports. The state-run Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was the sole commercial airline that had been operating flights to and from Kabul during the past few days to help in the evacuation of diplomats and foreign nationals from Afghanistan after the Taliban seized power in the war-torn country last week. PIA on Saturday “temporarily suspended Kabul flight operations owing to lack of facilities and heaps of garbage at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International

LO N D O N, AU G 2 2 (AGENCIES): UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday announced that he will convene a G7 leaders meeting for urgent talks on the situation in Afghanistan. Taking to Twitter, Boris Johnson said, “I will convene G7 leaders on Tuesday for urgent talks on the situation in Afghanistan. It is vital that the international community works together to ensure safe evacuations, prevent a humanitarian crisis and support the Afghan


INFOTAINMENT

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NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

The #1 best supplement for hair loss, says dermatologist NASA’s Mars rover set for 2nd thick and strong: three micronutrients commonly found in multivitamins,” says Vergara-Wijangco, noting that it’s important to speak to a medical professional before adding any new vitamins to your regular routine. For those who already take a multivitamin on a regular basis, VergaraWijangco says that adding a fatty acid supplement to your hair growth routine may help, as well. “Omega-3 helps your body fight inflammation, an underlying cause of nu m e r o u s c o n d i t i o n s. Premature hair loss may also be related to inflammation. Omega-6, on the other hand, is impor tant for overall skin health, which might benefit the scalp,” she explains, adding that, as is the case with multivitamins, it’s always best to consult a healthcare professional before taking a new fatty acid supplement. However, there’s one popular supplement that Vergara-Wijangco says may not provide the results people think it does: biotin. “If you eat a balanced diet, it’s unlikely that you’re low in biotin. However, supplemental forms of biotin have been on the rise in recent years, thanks in part to marketers promising more energy and better hair growth with such products,” Vergara-Wijangco explains. “While biotin helps break down enzymes in your body, there’s little evidence that it can help with thinning hair.” You already know that drinking tea has amazing health benefits, like lowering

blood pressure, boosting metabolism, and sharpening brain function. (Turns out it also makes a great bath soak.) Now, a new report reveals how drenching your hair in black tea may deliver faster growth, greater shine, and richer color… and might even make gray hairs vanish. If you love developing simple, all-natural beauty treatments, this may be your next one to try. Healthline reports that black tea hair rinse is a fascinating method that’s been utilized for centuries to fortify hair health. That’s thanks to the oxidized leaves of the camellia sinensis plant when they release tannins, which is an antioxidant that neutralizes cell-damaging free radicals. T h e O n e Vi t a m i n Doctors recommend The same antioxidant effect is said to be healthy for the skin of the scalp, while black tea’s caffeine content is said to potentially stimulate hair growth. Combined, these attributes might make healthy hair grow faster, while the caffeine is also said to block the activation of a hormone that can cause hair loss, which can occur in both men and women due to

the shifts in hormone levels that occur with age. Healthline explains that a study on human skin samples demonstrated how applying caffeine and testosterone increased keratin (protein) production and lengthened the hairproducing phase of hair growth. Meanwhile, another study resulted in a similar outcome when a topical liquid caffeine solution was applied (though that study was sponsored by the solution’s manufacturer). And, a black tea hair rinse may hydrate the hair to promote more shine and may even infuse gray hairs with temporary color. However, it’s worth mentioning that the black tea rinse may also cause some drying to the hair or scalp, especially if it’s left to sit too long (an hour, max)—but, says licensed esthetician Kaye Bennett, soaking the tea in water prior to application lessens any possible concerns. Plus, Bennett says, “Applying tea bags directly over the eyes for styes and puffiness has been recommended for ages. The scalp is much tougher skin than the eyes.” Note while a black tea

hair rinse probably isn’t an ideal method for anyone with lighter-colored hair… if you’re curious to try a black tea hair rinse at home, here are the steps: 1. Consider starting w i t h a l ow b l a c k t e a amount, like a single tea bag, to ensure the amount isn’t too aggressive to start. 2. Boil water just as you would for regular tea, and steep the tea in it. Then, allow it to cool to a temperature that’s comfortable to the skin’s touch. 3. The day before you want to try the black tea rinse on your hair, test a small area on the hand or the arm to ensure there’s no reaction. Allow plenty of time for the tea tonic to sit, even as much as an hour. Rinse the sample patch and allow a day to ensure you’re in the clear. 4. T h e n e x t d a y, go through the same preparations—and make sure the tea has cooled plenty!—before you situate yourself over a bathtub or sink and pour the tea over your head. (Be sure to have an old towel nearby to wipe up any spills, since black tea can stain some surfaces.) 5. Allow the tea to sit anywhere from two minutes to an hour (but do keep in mind that the longer you leave it, the more skin- and hair-drying effect it can have). 6. Rinse thoroughly, and consider waiting a day or two to shampoo t o avo i d a n y p o s s i b l e interactions between the tea and your hair cleansing or conditioning products. (By Sarah Crow)

Scientists find evidence of Sugars in breast milk may help solar-driven change on Moon prevent infections in newborns

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ugars in breast milk can help prevent Group B Streptococcus (GBS) infections in human cells and tissues as well as in mice, researchers have found. The GBS bacteria are a common cause of blood infections, meningitis, and stillbir th in newbor ns. Although GBS infections can often be treated or prevented with antibiotics, the bacteria is becoming increasingly resistant. Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), or short strings of sugar molecules abundant in breast milk, might be able to replace antibiotics for treating infections in infants and adults, said the researchers from the Vanderbilt University in the US. “Our lab has previously shown that mixtures of HMOs isolated from the milk of several different donor mothers have antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activity against GBS,” said Rebecca Moore, graduate student at the varsity. “We wanted to jump from these in-vitro studies to see whether HMOs could prevent infections in cells and tissues from a pregnant woman and mice,” she added. The researchers studied

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the effects of combined HMOs from several mothers on GBS infection of placental i m m u n e cells (called macrophages) and of the gestational membrane (the sac surrounding the foetus). “ W e f o u n d t h a t H M O s we r e a b l e t o c o m p l e t e ly i n h i b i t bacterial growth in both the macrophages and the membranes so we ver y quickly turned to looking at a mouse model,” Moore said. They examined whether HMOs could prevent a GBS infection from spreading through the reproductive tract of pregnant mice. “In five different parts of the reproductive tract, we saw significantly decreased GBS infection with HMO treatment,” Moore added. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 2,000 babies in the US get GBS each year, and 4-6 per cent of them die from it. The bacteria are often transferred from mother to baby during labour and delivery.

An expectant mother, who tests positive for GBS is usually given intravenous antibiotics during labour to help prevent early-onset infections which occur during the first week of life. Interestingly, the incidence of late-onset infections (which happen from one week to three months after birth) is higher in formulafed than breastfed infants, which suggests that factors in breast milk could help protect against GBS. If so, the sugars could perhaps replace antibiotics, which in addition to killing beneficial bacteria, are becoming less effective because of the rise in antibiotic resistance, the researchers said. The findings will be presented at the upcoming fall meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). (IANS)

olar radiation could be a more important source of tiny lunar iron nanoparticles than previously t h o u g h t , s c i e n t i s t s h ave found. Asteroid impacts and solar radiation affect the moon in unique ways because it lacks the protective magnetic field and atmosphere that protect us here on Earth. Both asteroids and solar radiation break down lunar rocks and soil, forming iron nanoparticles (some smaller, some larger) that are detectable from instruments on satellites orbiting the moon. A team led by Northern Arizona University (NAU) scientists used data from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) spacecraft to understand how quickly iron nanoparticles form on the moon over time. Their findings have recently been published in the journal G e o p hy s i c a l Re s e a r c h Letters. “We have thought for a long time that the solar wind has a small effect on lunar surface evolution, when in fact it may be the most

important process producing iron nanoparticles,” said doctoral candidate Christian J Tai Udovicic, at NAU’s Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science. “Since iron absorbs a lot of light, very small amounts of these particles can be detected from very far away -- making them a great indicator of change on the Moon,” Udovicic added. S u r p r i s i n g l y, t h e smaller iron nanoparticles seemed to form at a similar rate as radiation damage in samples returned from the Apollo missions to the moon, a hint that the sun has a strong influence in their formation. “This study shows that the solar radiation could have a much larger influence in active change on the moon than previously thought, not only darkening its surface, but it might also create small quantities of water usable in future missions,” Udovicic said. As NASA prepares to land the first woman and the next man on the surface of the moon by 2024 as part of the Artemis mission, understanding the solar radiation environment and possible resources on the moon are critical. (IANS)

attempt to pick up a rock sample

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ASA’s Perseverance rover which did not collect a rock sample on Mars in its first attempt to gather samples, is all set for another attempt in the coming weeks to scoop up Martian rocks. The rover will drive to a new location called Citadelle for a second shot at picking up its first rock sample. “This time, to make sure a sample is actually collected, engineers will wait for images of the sample tube to come back before it gets processed and stowed inside the rover’s belly,” reports The Verge. “We were just super excited that the hardware worked from beginning to end without any faults. And then there was that surprise - ‘No sample? What do you mean no sample?’,” said Louise Jandura, the Chief Engineer for Sampling & Caching on NASA’s Perseverance team. “ T h e r o c k s i m p ly wasn’t our kind of rock,” Jennifer Trosper, Project Manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laborator y, wrote in a blog post. “Although we had

NASA Perseverance Rover

successfully acquired over 100 cores in a range of different test rocks on Earth, we had not encountered a rock in our test suite that behaved in quite this manner.” Early last month, the self-driving six-wheeled robot started its journey across Jezero Crater floor to seek signs of ancient life. The crater harboured a big lake and a river delta in the ancient past. While Perseverance, using its 2-metre-long robotic arm, drilled a hole on Mars, it could not collect and store samples as intended. “Telemetry from the rover indicates that during its first coring attempt, the drill and bit were engaged as

planned, and post-coring the sample tube was processed as intended,” NASA had said in a statement. But recent “data sent to Earth by NASA’s Perseverance rover after its first attempt to collect a rock sample on Mars and seal it in a sample tube indicate that no rock was collected during the initial sampling activity”, it added. Perseverance rover was launched on July 30 last year and arrived at the red planet on February 18 after a 203-day journey traversing 472 million kilometers. It will be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith -- broken rock and dust. (IANS)

Clubhouse removes personal info from Afghan users’ accounts

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opular audio chat app Clubhouse has removed some personal information from its users in Afghanistan as a safety measure. The online platform reset tens of thousands of its users’ bios and photos in the Taliban-ruled country. It also made their accounts more difficult to discover in search. A spokesperson for Clubhouse told The Verge the actions didn’t affect the users’ followers, and all of the changes can be reversed if a user prefers. As the Taliban takes control of Kabul, people across the countr y are deleting photos from their mobile phones and social media accounts, fearing a backlash from the Taliban. “Clubhouse has also been reminding its Afghan users that it does allow pseudonyms for human

rights or safety purposes,” the report said. Facebook has also launched a one-click tool for people in Afghanistan to quickly lock down their account, as the Taliban has regained control of the wartorn country. When their profile is locked, people who aren’t their friends can’t download or share

their profile photo or see posts on their timeline, said Facebook’s head of security policy Nathaniel Gleicher. Amid the chaotic situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover, social media platforms like FB, Twitter and YouTube are facing intense scrutiny for their treatment of Taliban accounts. (IANS)

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h e t h e r yo u ’ve found that your hair has lost its former thickness or are discovering new patches of barely-there hair on a daily basis, hair loss can affect individuals of any gender and any age. A study published in Dermatologic Surgery Journal found that, among men between 18 and 49, approximately 42% experienced “extensive hair loss,” and the condition affects millions of women, with the onset of hair loss typically beginning in middle age, according to the American Academy of Dermatology Association (AAD). While there are numerous invasive treatments that claim to restore thinning hair to its former glory, you don’t have to go under the knife or start an expensive prescription routine to enjoy lusher locks. In fact, for some people, the key to a thicker head of hair can be found in the supplement aisle of their local pharmacy. “Healthy hair is dependent on your overall good health,” explains der matologist Ailynne Marie Vergara-Wijangco, MD, of Thank Your Skin. Vergara-Wijangco says that individuals with certain nutritional deficiencies may find their hair thinning significantly, but says that a common supplement may help. “If you are low in several key areas, your healthcare provider might recommend a daily multivitamin to support hair growth. Healthy hair needs iron, folic acid, and zinc to keep growing

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significant number of people who suffered from chronic heartburn and were taking an over-the-counter acid suppressant were able to survive Covid-19, a study has found. The low cost dr ug called famotidine, with key ingredient Pepcid, was developed to block the histamine receptors that help produce acid in the stomach. A team from University o f Vi r g i n i a ex a m i n e d 22,000 people, the largest sample size for a study on K Y M C

famotidine and the disease to date. The team’s analysis, which appeared in the journal Signal Transduction & Targeted Therapy, showed that the data supported

findings from other smallerscale studies. When delivered at high doses (the equivalent of about 10 Pepcid tablets), famotidine appears to i m p r o ve t h e o d d s o f

s u r v iva l f o r C ov i d - 1 9 patients, especially when it is combined with aspirin. It also seems to hinder the severity of disease progression, making patients less likely to reach the point where they require intubation or a ventilator. One of the most dangerous phenomena of Covid-19 is that it can trigger a cytokine storm -- a potentially fatal amplification of an immune response. Once infected, the immune system releases inf lammator y proteins

called cytokines that tell the immune cells how to fight the infection. But in more severe illnesses, cytokine production can spiral out of control, becoming dysregulated. “ B a s i c a l l y, y o u r immune system goes haywire and starts attacking things like your otherwise healthy lung tissue because it’s so desperate to kill off the invading virus,” said Cameron Mura, senior scientist at UVA. The researchers note that famotidine suppresses this reaction. (IANS)

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Heartburn drug may help doctors fight Covid-19

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SPORTS

NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

Blummenfelt La Liga: Memphis saves Barca with late equaliser winTriathlon-Duffy, world titles after Olympic golds

M A D R I D, AU G 2 2 (IANS): Memphis Depay’s first goal for FC Barcelona saved his side from their first defeat of the season as they were held to a 1-1 draw away to Athletic Club Bilbao in La Liga here. Athletic dominated the first 70 minutes of the game, but Barca were able to save a point as the Basque side tired in the closing minutes. The first half saw Athletic take the game to Barca, pressuring the ball high up the pitch and causing all sorts of problems for the visitors. Martin Braithwaite fired over in a rare Barca attack, before Oihan Sancet rattled a shot against the Barca crossbar and Ronald Koeman’s side suffered a setback midway through the half when Gerard Pique was forced off injured and replaced by Ronald Araujo, Xinhua reports. Araujo miraculously cleared off the line from Alex Berenguer in the first minute of the second half, but Athletic got their re-

Barcelona’s Memphis Depay (middle) fights for the ball during the La Liga match.

ward when Inigo Martinez headed home from a corner. But for Neto saving from Sancet, they would have doubled their lead. Frenkie de Jong kept Barca afloat and his pass to Memphis with 16 minutes left saw the recent arrival score with a powerful left foot shot. Barca then threatened

to go on and win the game, but Athletic’s changes brought some fresh legs into the game and in virtually the last move of the game Barca defender Eric Garcia was sent off for bringing down Nico Williams who was running clean through on goal. Wu Lei had a lastminute ‘goal’ ruled out as

Espanyol drew 0-0 at home to Villarreal. The striker came on as a substitute for the recently promoted side and thought he had netted the winning goal only for it to be ruled out after the ball was shown to have impacted on his hand. The VAR also caused late drama in the 1-1 draw between Granada and Va-

lencia. The home side took the lead in the 16th minute after Luis Suarez finished off a counter-attack. Valencia kept looking for an equalizer and got their reward two minutes from time when Carlos Soler scored his second penalty in two games after he’d been brought down in the area. Granada thought they had scored a winning goal in the second minute of injury time only for the video to rule out Montoro’s effort for a tight offside. Fer Nino celebrated his debut on loan at Mallorca with an 80th minute goal that gave his side a 1-0 win away to Alaves, who ended up with 10 men after defender Ruben Duarte was sent off in the 66th minute of the game. Mallorca have four points from two games on their return to the top flight while Alaves have lost consecutive home games at the start of the season. The round of games began on Friday night as Betis and Cadiz drew 1-1 in an entertaining game either side could have won.

LO N D O N, AU G 2 1 (AGENCIES): Bermuda’s Flora Duffy became the first triathlete ever to win Olympic gold and the triathlon world championship in the same year on Saturday, with Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt repeating the achievement hours later on the men’s side in Edmonton. Duffy, 33, led in the standings by a 467-point margin headed into Saturday’s grand final and got a fast start diving off the pontoon under pristine conditions. But she was unable to fend off winner Taylor Knibb of the United States, who put on a gutsy performance on the bike to seize an astonishing 2:44 lead after the transition into the run. The 23-year-old, who brought home silver with the U.S. mixed relay team in Tokyo, grinned as she approached the finish line, winning the race in 1:54:47, with France’s Leonie Periault finishing second and Duffy finishing third. Periault and Duffy were running shoulder to

Flora Duffy

Kristian Blummenfelt

shoulder but the Frenchwoman pulled away from the Bermudan on the third lap of the run. The performance was enough to net Duffy a record-equalling third world title, however, becoming the most decorated female athlete in the history of the sport weeks after she delivered Bermuda its first-ever Olympic gold. “It was a very hard race. I had a pretty mediocre swim,” said Duffy. “It’s very hard to come and try to do this series off the back of winning the Olympics.” She won the world title in 2016 and 2017, as well, and took silver at the 2020 championships. On the men’s side, Blummenfelt,

who delivered Norway’s first medal in the sport in Tokyo, once again produced a late surge for the win. B e l g i u m ’s M a r t e n Van Riel was in third - and nearly half a minute ahead of Blummenfelt - after the swim but the Norwegian picked up the pace on the bike and charged through the final two kilometers of the run to clinch the win by a hair in 1:44:14. France’s Leo Bergere finished third in 1:44:15. “Before this season I was calculating I was getting old and I had no titles,” said the 27-year-old Blummenfelt. “Now I’m Olympic champion and world champion.”

Punjab names 10 govt schools after Tokyo Paralympics press ahead to allow students to attend Oly medal-winning hockey team players captain Manpreet Singh. He said the school will now be known as Olympian Manpreet Singh Government Senior Secondary School, Mithapur. Singla said the GSSS, Timmowal in Amritsar has been named after vice-captain Harmanpreet Singh who was the top scorer in the Olympics for India with six goals. He said the school will now be known as Olympian Harmanpreet Singh GSSS, Timmowal. The Government Primary School, Mithapur, Jalandhar has been named as Olympian Mandeep Singh, he said in an official statement. The other schools renamed include GSSS Attari, Amritsar, which will now be known as Olympian Sham-

sher Singh Government Senior Secondary School, Attari after the name of the midfielder. The Cabinet minister said the Government Middle School, (Basic Girls), Faridkot has been named as Olympian Rupinderpal Singh Government Middle School. The Government Middle School. Khusropur, Jalandhar has been named after Olympian Hardik Singh while Government Primary School Khalaihara, Amritsar has been named as Olympian Gurjant Singh. The Government High School, Chahal Kalan, Gurdaspur has been named as Olympian Simranjit Singh Government High School Chahal Kalan, Gurdaspur.

ASBC Asian Youth & Jr Boxing: Bishwamitra in SFs NEW DELHI, AUG 22 (IANS): It was a cakewalk for Bishwamitra Chongtham (51kg) at the ASBC Youth & Junior Boxing Championships in Dubai as the 2021 World Youth Championships bronze medallist comfortably won his quarter-final bout and entered the semi-finals alongside three other Indians on the second day of the tournament. According to the information received here, Bishwamitra, the diminutive boxer from Manipur, was too strong for Kenzhe Muratul of Kazakhstan. He showed swift movement and technical prowess throughout the bout before securing an easy 5-0 win and confirming himself at least a bronze with a place in the semis. In the middleweight

Bishwamitra Chongtham (2nd from left) and others.

quar ter-final, Dee pak (75kg), up against Iraq’s Dhurgham Karim, dominated the proceedings from the word go. He landed a flurry of punches on his opponent in the third round and as a result, the referee had to stop the contest. National champion

Abhimanyu Loura (92kg) from Haryana also moved into the semi-finals after defeating Kyrgyzstan’s Tenibekov Sanjar in a onesided affair. The lanky and strong Indian was declared the winner with Referee Stopping the Contest (RSC) in

the second round of the bout. In the women’s section, Preeti (57kg) won her bout and advanced to the semi-finals. She beat Mongolia’s Tugsjargal Nomin, claiming victory by RSC verdict in the second round of the match. On the other hand, Aditya Janghu (86kg) was the lone Indian to suffer defeat on the second day as he lost to ‘azakhstan’s Temrlan Mukatayev in a quarter-final bout. On the third day of the tournament, six Indian Junior boxers will be seen in action. Krish Pal (46kg), Ashish (54kg), Anshul (57kg), Preet Malik (63kg), Bharat Joon (81+kg) will play their respective quarter-finals while Gaurav Saini (70kg) will fight in the semi-finals.

ATP reviews safeguarding policies

LAUSANNE, AUG 22 (IANS): The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) has announced a comprehensive review of safeguarding policies, in line with a commitment to ensure all adults and minors involved in professional tennis are safe and protected from abuse. The review has been led by the commissioning of an independent report, currently being compiled by a team of expert consultants. “To date, ATP has typically deferred to legal authorities in cases of abuse before determining if further internal action is warranted under the ATP Code of Conduct. The report is expected to K Y M C

set out a number of recommendations to elevate safeguarding across the organisation and identify opportunities for more proactive involvement. Following its completion, ATP will evaluate its recommendations and possible next steps across a range of safeguarding matters, including those pertaining

to domestic violence,” ATP said in a statement late on Saturday. Massimo Calvelli, ATP CEO, said, “Abuse has a profound and lasting impact on millions of victims each year. We believe everyone in tennis should feel protected, fairly represented, and supported in raising concerns”.

People gather near the National Stadium in Tokyo as Blue Impulse of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force practice. (AP)

and 140,000. Tokyo is under a state of emergency through Sept. 12. About 40% of the Japanese population is fully vaccinated. Tokyo reported 5,074 new cases on Saturday. It marked the first time the capital has logged more

than 5,000 cases for four consecutive days. Daily new cases have increased sharply since the Olympics opened on July 23. Tokyo reported 4,392 new cases on Sunday. Japan has attributed about 15,500 deaths to COVID-19. Hospital capacity in

Tokyo has become so tight that those not deemed ill enough for hospital admission are getting oxygen supplied at home or at makeshift facilities set up for emergencies. The Tokyo organizing committee and the International Paralympic Committee also back the plan for student fans. They argue it’s important to have students view athletes with disabilities, which could change attitudes in a relatively conservative society like Japan. “This generation is the one that will sustain our society in the future, and so we are absolutely passionate about providing this opportunity,” Tokyo organizing committee spokesman Masa

Acknowledgement

Born on : 27/10/1978 – Died on : 26/07/2021 To one and all who helped us in any way at sad and untimely demise of our beloved Mrs. Haiyale Kath Zhimo. Your contributions made our loss more bearable spiritually, physically and financially. As it would be impossible to thank every individual personally, please accept this acknowledgement as an expression of our deepest gratitude. Also our special thanks to: 1. Sumi Baptist Akukuhou, Naga United Village 2. Rengma Baptist Church, Padumpukhuri 3. Sumi Baptist Akukuhou, Chumukedima 4. Rengma Theological Association 5. Mt. Terogvu Baptist Church Council 6. Nagaland Baptist Church Council 7. Miqlat Ministry, NBCCWD 8. Ghukiye Ghami Union, Dimapur 9. Diezephe Youth Society 10. Rengma Baptist Church, Sovima 11. Kandinu Union, Dimapur Loving husband, children & family members DP-4102

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT “Though He brings grief, He will show compassion, so grateful is His unfailing love.” - Lamantation 3:32.

Born : 28.09.1946

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Takaya said Sunday. In an interview a few days ago, IPC President Andrew Parsons said he supported the plan — with a caveat. “We endorse the initiative because we believe it is an important element of legacy by bringing school kids to the games,” Parsons said. “But of course, it is imperative these kids must come to the games in a safe way.” Opposition is coming from the Japanese government’s top medial adviser. Dr. Shigeru Omi told a parliamentary session a few days ago that the current COVID-19 situation “compared to before the Olympics is significantly worse.

DP-4087

CHANDHIGARH, AUG 22 (AGENCIES): Punjab School Education Minister Vijay Inder Singla on Sunday said the state government has renamed ten schools after the Olympic medal-winning hockey team players from the state. Singla said Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has given the approval to rename schools after the names of various players from Punjab who were part of the Indian men hockey team squad which won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. The minister said the Government Senior Secondary School (GSSS), Mithapur, Jalandhar has been named after hockey team

TOKYO, AUG 22 (AP): Plans are afoot to allow tens of thousands of school children to attend the Tokyo Paralympics despite the coronavirus delta variant spreading among teenagers and those even younger who are not vaccinated. The Paralympics open Tuesday and run through Sept. 5. All other fans have been banned as they were for the Olympics. About 4,400 athletes are expected from about 160 countries and territories. To k y o G o v e r n o r Yuriko Koike has said she is pressing ahead to allow school children to attend the Paralympics, as long a parents and schools are supportive. News reports say the number of students involved is between 130,000

DieD : 09.08.2021

We the family members of Late imtimakzuk Longkumer (Unger) wishes to acknowledge the many expression of sympathy and gestures of kindness shown to us at the sad demise of our father. Though we are unable to thank each and everyone individually we pray that our Almighty God bless you all abundantly. Special Thanks : 1. Kohima Ao Baptist Church 2. Lerie Colony Panchayat Kohima 3. Lerie Youth Organization Kohima 4. Kohima Unger Senso Telongjem 5. Kohima Unger Fellowship 6. Kohima Kangtsung Senso Telongjem 7. Kohima Kangtsung Fellowship 8. Staff of E.E. Generation Division, Dept of Power Kohima. 9. Relatives, Friends and Neighbours ~ Son, Daughters, Daughter in-law, & Grand daughters. DP-4105

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12

SPORTS

NAGALAND POST, DIMAPUR MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021

Ugas upsets Pacquiao Chelsea beat Arsenal 2-0 in Premier League Cuban to retain welterweight title

LO N D O N, AU G 2 2 (AGENCIES): Romelu Lukaku scored his first ever Chelsea goal - almost a decade after his debut - as Thomas Tuchel’s team deservedly beat Arsenal 2-0. Lukaku, who was at Chelsea as a teenager, started at the Emirates after his £97.5m signing from Inter Milan and looks to have given the Blues an ominous new dimension. His hold-up and linkup play caused Arsenal problems all day - and the Belgian duly gave them the lead. Lukaku was involved in the build-up and then finished the move from close range into an empty net from Reece James’ pass. James got the second himself as he slammed the ball into the roof of the net from Mason Mount’s pass to make it two wins from two in the league. Lukaku almost made it 3-0 but his header was tipped onto the bar by Bernd Leno. Arsenal, missing centre-back Ben White through Covid, have now lost more London derbies in the Premier League this season than last - after just two games.

Spurs beat Wolves 1-0

Dele Alli scored his first league goal in 17 months and Harry Kane made his long-awaited return from his extended summer break as Tottenham maintained their 100% start to the season 1-0 at Wolves. Alli’s ninth-minute penalty proved enough to separate the sides in a breathless encounter at Molineux. Roared on by an enthusiastic crowd, Wolves were unlucky not to come away with a point. The dangerous Adama Traore wasted the best of a succession of chances for the hosts when he was sent through by Ruben Neves, only to shoot straight at Hugo Lloris. Tottenham, though, could justifiably argue they could have won by more. Wolves keeper Jose Sa made four excellent secondhalf saves, including one to deny Kane a comeback goal. It was a day to remember for new Spurs boss Nuno Espirito Santo, who was a hugely popular figure in his four years as Wolves boss before leaving in the summer. Now he appears to be bringing some stability back to a club that appeared in chaos for the last few months.

LAS VEGAS, AUG 22 (AGENCIES): Cuban Yordenis Ugas pulled off a stunning victory over 42-year-old former champion Manny Pacquiao with a unanimous decision to retain his WBA welterweight world title after an intense fight in Las Vegas on Saturday. The judges scored the fight 115-113 116-112 116112 in favour of Ugas, who controlled the second half of the contest with his jab as the more aggressive Pacquiao struggled to land his punches on his return to the ring after a two-year absence. “Now the plan is to unify the title,” Ugas, 35, said in the ring through a translator. “Everyone said he was the champion, now they know who the real champion is.” Pacquiao was initially preparing to fight WBC and IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence, Jr. but a retinal tear in the American’s left eye forced him to withdraw, with Ugas agreeing to step in at less than two weeks’ notice. Ugas had been elevated to WBA super champion after Pacquiao was

Yordenis Ugas of Cuba hits Manny Pacquiao, of Philippines, in a welterweight championship boxing match. (AP)

stripped of the belt because of inactivity as he had not fought since July 2019 and the Filipino looked desperate to get it back. The clear favourite of the 17,438 fans at the TMobile Arena, southpaw Pacquiao came out aggressively in the early rounds with his trademark speed and combinations. Ugas’s long reach enabled him to keep the former eight-division world champion at arm’s length, however, and his jab was proving an effective, if not fight-winning, weapon. Pacquiao continued to throw almost twice as many punches as his op-

ponent but the Cuban was more accurate with his, and there was plenty of sting in the big rights he was starting to land over the top. The crowd was reduced to a nervous silence as the fight headed into the final rounds with no sign of the knockout that Pacquiao needed to come out a winner, although spectators were roused into voice when the fighters went toeto-toe in the 10th. Ultimately, though, Pacquiao’s ageing legs had nothing more to give and Ugas, a bronze medallist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, earned the decision to improve his record to 27-4.

World Athletics U20: Shaili wins silver in long jump NBA: Will enroll for draft next year, says

Olympian footballer Hakim passes away

NAIROBI, AUG 22 (PTI): Highly talented long jumper Shaili Singh on Sunday missed out on scripting history by a mere 1cm as she settled for a silver in the U-20 World Athletics Championships here. The 17-year-old Indian’s personal best effort of 6.59m was not enough for a gold as she was pipped to the post by Sweden’s reigning European junior champion Maja Askag, who managed 6.60m for the top spot on the final day of the championships. A protege of legendary long jumper Anju Bobby George, Shaili was leading at the end of the third round but the 18-year-old Swede overtook her in the fourth round by a mere 1cm which proved to be decisive in the end. Mariia Horielova of Ukraine took the bronze with a best jump of 6.50m. “I could have jumped farther than the 6.59m and won the gold. My mother had told me about winning gold and national anthem

Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku scores his side goal against Arsenal during the Premier League match on Sunday night.

It is only the third time Arsenal have lost their opening two Premier League matches in a season.

Southampton hold Man United 1-1

Manchester United failed to build on their opening day demolition of Leeds United as Southampton earned a fully-deserved 1-1 draw at St Mary’s. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side looked full of attacking menace and threat in that 5-1 win over Leeds, but here they were a pale shadow of

that performance as Saints earned their first point of the campaign and even threatened to grab the victory. Southampton saw off United’s bright start to flourish and take the lead on the half hour when Che Adams’ shot deflected off Fred beyond keeper David de Gea. United looked to be on the charge when Mason Greenwood’s shot squirmed under Southampton keeper Alex McCarthy 10 minutes after the break - Solskjaer then moving to punish Saints further by sending on

Shaili Singh

being sung in the stadium (but I could not do it),” an emotional Shaili said after the race. “I am just 17, I want a gold in next U20 World Championships (in Cali, Colombia). There is also Asian Games and Commonwealth Games next

year and I want to do well in those events.” Her coach Booby George said she had a bit off a technical issue while “landing”, otherwise she would have won the gold. “It is the first time she is not winning a gold in any competition. She (Shaili)

£73m man Jadon Sancho for the disappointing Anthony Martial. Instead, it was Southampton who created the best opportunity to take all three points as De Gea saved crucially from Adam Armstrong when he looked to poised to score. United boss Solskjaer will be disappointed with both the performance and the result but this was no more than Southampton deserved as they bounced back impressively from defeat at Everton in their first game.

hates silver and she is the big thing after Neeraj Chopra.” India ended their campaign with a best ever medal haul of 2 silver and 1 bronze, though the country had won one gold each in the earlier two editions -- by Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra (2016) and quartermiler Hima Das (2018). The mixed 4x400m relay quartet and 10,000m race walker Amit Khatri had earlier won a bronze and a silver respectively in this championships. The Jhansi-born athlete, who was raised by a single mother who worked as a tailor, currently trains at the academy of Anju Bobby George in Bengaluru. She is coached by Anju’s husband Bobby George. She had won the women’s long jump event at the National (Senior) Inter-State Championships in June with an effort of 6.48m, her previous personal best. She is the current U-18 world No. 2 and U-20 national record holder.

Indian basketball star Princepal Singh

NEW DELHI, AUG 22 (AGENCIES): Star Indian basketball player, Princepal Singh has stated that he will enroll himself in the National Basketball Association (NBA) draft next year. The 6-foot-9 forward on Tuesday made history by being part of the Sacramento Kings’ squad that went on to win the 2021 NBA Summer League. This made him the first Indian in NBA history to be part of a championship roster at any level of the NBA. The Kings dominated the championship game against the Boston Celtics, clinching the title with a 100-67 win. The victory also made the Kings the only franchise to win multiple Summer League titles, having previously clinched it in 2014. In the final, the NBA Academy India alumni played the final 4:08 mins of the game and put his name alongside the great Satnam Singh Bhamara, as per NBA.com.

Princepal Singh

During his time on the court, Singh finished with two points - scoring the Kings final bucket which took them to 100, while also pulling down the one rebound. “That was the best part. I wanted to play and score desperately. Bohot badiya tha woh [It was very good]. Every member of our team had scored. So scoring the 100th point was really special,” he told Olympics.

com. Talking about his future NBA plan and playing with big guns there, Punjabborn hoopster explained, “I had a chat with my agent before deciding not to enter the NBA draft. I need more experience and playing minutes before making the jump.” Princepal also shed some light on his Olympic dream as he said that the Indian team will surely be present at the showpiece event someday.

NEW DELHI, AUG 22 (IANS): Olympian footballer and a FIFA international referee, Syed Shahid Hakim, passed away on Sunday morning at a private hospital in Gulbarga, Karnataka. He was 82 and is survived by wife and two daughters. Popularly referred to as Hakim saab, he was part of the Indian squad in the 1960 Olympics. He was also a FIFA international referee and supervised many matches in AFC Asian Cup 1988 at Doha. At the domestic level, he was part of the triumphant Services’ Santosh Trophy squad in 1960. He was also part of the squad from 1960/66. At the club level, he played for City College Old Boys (Hyderabad), and Indian Air Force. A former assistant coach of the Indian national team, he also coached Mahindra and Mahindra in 1998/99, and guided them to win the Durand Cup in 1998. He also coached Salgaocar SC, Hindustan FC, and Bengal Mumbai Club.

Teichmann sets up Cincinnati title clash with world No. 1 Barty

Jil Teichmann

CINCINNATI, AUG 22 (IANS): Jil Teichmann of Switzerland booked a spot in the biggest WTA singles final of her career by dispatching No. 5 seed Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-4, and setting up a title clash with world No.1 Ashleigh Barty of Australia at the Western & Southern Open. A wildcard into the event ranked, world No.76, 24-yearold Teichmann took just an hour and 22 minutes to upset world No.4 Pliskova in hot and humid conditions on Saturday evening in Ohio. Teichmann is now 4-0 against top-10 players this season. The victory over 2016 Cincinnati champion Pliskova was Teichmann’s second top-5 win of the week, and her third win in a row over a Top 20 player. World No.1 and reigning Wimbledon champion Ashleigh Barty defeated Germany’s Angelique Kerber 6-2,

7-5 in one hour and 14 minutes to book her place in the final. Teichmann had stunned world No.2 Naomi Osaka in the round of 16 for her biggest career win by ranking. She then notched a quarterfinal victory over 12th-ranked Belinda Bencic, her countrywoman and the reigning Olympic champion. “I think I served really good, as did she (Pliskova),” Teichmann told wtatennis. com, after her win. “Especially in the beginning, I was trying to return, somehow get into the rally. I felt as well very good in the rally, and I think that’s where I made the difference.” “I have been working a lot on many different aspects,” Teichmann added. “Mentally I have been working [on] my strokes. I have been working physically, as I mentioned already the past few days. I have had injuries, so I had to work a lot physically, as well. Long weeks, long hours. I guess just the positives getting together right now this week.” Teichmann is now into her fourth WTA singles final, but her first above WTA 250-level. In 2019, Teichmann claimed clay-court titles in Prague and Palermo, and last year she reached her first hardcourt final in Lexington.

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23 Aug 2021 by Nagaland Post - Issuu