Nagaland Post www.nagalandpost.com
Vol XXXII No. 178
DIMAPUR, SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 2022 Pages 16 ` 5.00
‘King of Clay’ Nadal in French Open final
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SPORTS, PAGE 16
NASSA begins 2-day ‘pen down’ strike
NPCC demands clarification on RPP seeks quashing Assam CM’s stand JUN 3 (NPN): appointment of NLA DIMAPUR, Drawing attention to the by Imkong L. Imchen, principal secretary claim MLA that Assam chief min-
Correspondent
KOHIMA, JUN 3 (NPN): Nagaland Assembly Secretariat Staff Association (NASSA) began its twoday “pen down” strike Friday against the “arbitrary amendment” of service rules and reappointment of Dr. PJ Anthony as the administrative head of department (AHoD). Talking to media persons, NASSA vice president, Rocus Rino, said the main contention of the association was on the “arbitrary amendment” of the service rules by the incumbent principal secretary, Dr.PJ Anthony, to accommodate himself to the post. He also said that the association was protesting against reappointment of a retired officer to be the AHoD. NASSA vice president disclosed that the association had filed a court case against the amendment of service rules on May 25 and the court held a hearing the next day. During the hear-
Nagaland Legislative Assembly complex, Kohima (File)
ing, he said the government advocate sought two-week time, which was yet to end on June 9, 2022. Accordingly, he said the court passed an interim order that no new appointments be made during that time. However, he said the appointment order for Dr.PJ Anthony to the post of principal secretary was issued in the afternoon of June 2, Rino disclosed. He said that the appointment was in clear violation of the court’s order not to make any new appointments or promotions. The first day of “pen down” strike passed off peacefully, he said, adding
that all dag movements were also ceased. He informed that the association, which has close to 300 members, would initiate its next course of action if their current protest goes unheeded. While the staff ceased work on Friday, he informed that the same would continue on Saturday and then decide their next course of action. The protest has been called to register protest against the state government appointing Dr. PJ Antony (retired officer) as principal secretary, under the establishment of the NLA secretariat.
NLA notification ‘arbitrary’: CANSSEA
DIMAPUR, JUN 3 (NPN): Confederation of All Nagaland State Services Employees’ Association (CANSSEA) has opposed “arbitrary notification” of Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) and appealed to the State government to treat all its employees equally. In a representation of chief secretary J Alam, CANSSEA president Dr Ilang and general secretary Dr Hovithal Sothu termed the May 18, 2022 notification as irrational, dictatorial, absolute, irresponsible and contradictory to the Nagaland Retirement from
41 elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha NEW DELHI, JUN 3 (PTI): P Chidambaram and Rajeev Shukla of the Congress, BJP’s Sumitra Valmiki and Kavita Patidar, former Congress leader Kapil Sibal, RJD’s Misa Bharti and Jayant Chaudhary of RLD were among 41 winners declared elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha on Friday. Of the 41 winners, 14 are from BJP, four each from Congress and YSR Congress; three each from DMK and BJD; two each from AAP, RJD, TRS, AIADMK, one each from JMM, JDU, SP and RLD besides Independent Sibal. Elections were scheduled to be held on June 10 to fill 57 Rajya Sabha seats from 15 states that will be falling vacant .
This is it!
“They’re leaving the party because they want some publicity.” K Y M C
Public Employment (Second Amendment) Act 2009, which governed all State government employees. Being a federating association of CANSSEA, they said Nagaland Assembly Secretariat Staff Association (NASSA) had conveyed to the parent organisation its grievances regarding the Nagaland Legislative Assembly Secretariat (Recruitment and Conditions of Service 3rd Amendment) Rules, 2022, which appeared to be genuine. Therefore, the duo said CANSSEA deliberated upon the notification and
noticed grave abnormalities brought about by it. Quoting Third Schedule - A against serial no. 1, they said column 6 inserted Contract (a) A superannuated officer who was otherwise eligible to be appointed on deputation, not exceeding the age of 65 years. They warned that this amended Act would create unrest among NASSA members supported by the State government employees, which would directly affect the smooth functioning of the government. Therefore, CANSSEA called for addressing the grievances put forth at the earliest.
DIMAPUR, JUN 3 (NPN): Rising People’s Party (RPP) has demanded nullification of the appointment of Dr PJ Anthony as principal secretary of Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) Secretariat and bring in capable and eligible officers to head the secretariat. Asserting that there was no reason why the post should not be filled up from amongst the eligible officers serving officers at the secretariat, the party in a press release termed the UDA government’s decision to extend the service of Anthony as principal secretary, who had retired, as a desperate bid to further subvert the power and authority of an established system. RPP questioned the State government and NLA speaker Sharingain Longkumer on the series of service extension granted to the present principal secretary even after his retirement from service – first as commissioner & secretary for two years from June 1, 2020 to May 31, 2022 on contract basis and then to the present post of principal secretary (contractual) from June 1,2022. Recalling that Anthony had joined the NLA secretariat as secretary (deputation) from January 2, 2020 till his retirement from regular service on May 31, 2020, the party questioned whether this meant that the government did not trust the capabilities of its own officers or if it was abuse of public office for private gain.
rate, or the confirmed Covid cases as a percentage of overall tests, stands at 0.95% for India while the weekly positivity rate has begun inching up, the data show. Maharashtra, which was also an early hotspot in previous virus waves in India, is again seeing a spike in Covid infections, with the positivity rate breaching 8% this week. The state’s capital, Mumbai, saw a 231% surge in hospitalizations in May compared with the preceding month. While hospital admissions in May were just 215, the
trajectory has alarmed state authorities. India’s devastating delta-led wave last summer had pushed daily cases past 400,000, overwhelming hospitals and crematoriums. The Centre has asked five states-- Maharashtra, Kerala, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu -- to curb rising infections, according to June 3 letters dispatched by the health ministry to state governments. The ministry asked these states to “maintain a strict watch and take preemptive action” to control the spread of Covid.
INTERNATIONAL, PAGE 13
School Education dept to review poor performing govt schools Correspondent
KOHIMA, JUN 3 (NPN): Department of School Education (DoSE) is likely to soon sit for a meeting to review the zero/nil result of 33 government schools in the recently declared result of HSLC examinations 2022. Talking to Nagaland Post, principal director school education, Shanavas C, said that even in the previous years, the schools consecutively producing nil results were pulled up and cautioned of downgrading to a middle school. He said the factors that led to nil results would be reviewed soon. On the overall pass percentage, PD said in 2021 the total number appeared and total number passed was 75.78% for HSLC. However, in 2022 it was 68.37% of those appeared and passed— a decline of 7% overall in both government and private
school. He said government schools saw a decline of 8% in 2022. He explained that the department was not at fault and it was not a blame game, but there were many factors involved. He said that the foundation at primary and middle school was of paramount importance. PD, however, said that the current result was due to the poor foundation at primary and middle level, adding that this was what the department was trying to address. He said the department was trying its best effort, but pandemic was also one reason that led to loss of learning during the last two years. Nevertheless, he said the department was trying to invest in primary and middle school, adding that “this investment result will yield after few years but not immediately.” Admitting the limitations in the department,
Shanavas said there was also shortage issue of maths and science teachers. However, he said that since cabinet has recently approved, the recruitment process would be completed soon. Besides other factors behind the poor results from the department side and even at the school level, he said School Management and Development Committees (were not able to motivate or the department failed to provide sufficient teachers for various reasons, thus affecting the percentage. On Kiphire district at the bottom with 7% in district wise performance for government schools, Shanavas said Kiphire being the aspirational district, a lot of focus was on the district, but may take some time. He said that whatever was being invested now by the department, the result would be seen in a few years’ time.
DoSE reacts to RPP demand, allegations
DIMAPUR, JUN 3 (NPN): Department of School Education (DoSE) has reacted to the Rising People’s Party (RPP)’s demand for abolishing the post of principal director (PD) school education and allegations over the poor performance of government schools in the recently declared results of HSLC examinations 2022. In a press release, the principal director (PD) school education, Shanavas C, stated that the matter of keeping IAS officers as principal director comes under the purview of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions (Cont’d on p-8) (Department of Personnel
India reports biggest jump in Covid cases in almost 3 months
NEW DELHI, JUN 3 (AGENCIES): India reported 4,041 new Covid infections today -- the highest single-day jump since March 11-- stoking fears of another wave building up in some parts of the country that has eased almost all restrictions. India has recorded 43.17 million Covid infections since the start of the pandemic and 524,651 casualties, according to health ministry data, although the World Health Organization (WHO) has said the number of deaths is significantly higher. The daily positivity
ister and NEDA convener Himanta Biswa Sarma, at Thursday’s meeting with the core committee, purportedly stated that there was sufficient room for accommodating NSCN (I-M)’s demand on flag and constitution, NPCC president K Therie said this has caused confusion in the minds of the people. In a statement, Therie said Imchen’s claim only make it appear that flag and constitution were tailed with competencies even if he (Imchen) had also admitted that he had not read the competencies. Therie also pointed out that Union home minister Amit Shah and State BJP president Temjen Imna Along had on separate occ a s i o n s (Cont’d on p-3)
EXPLAINER: At 100 days, RussiaUkraine war by the numbers
and Training). PD stated that the cadre allotment was done vide the Indian Administrative Service (Fixation of Cadre Strength) Fourth Amendment Regulations, 2015 (Notification No. G.S.R. 1021(E), Dated, December 30, 2015 and the department was obliged to follow the regulations. With regard to the decrease in pass percentage of government school students, PD accepted the poor performance. However, he said that there was overall decrease in pass percentage in the state level as well as in private schools due to the pandemic related issues. PD pointed out that the candi-
dates of the HSLC 2022 batch suffered considerable amount of learning loss when they were in class IX in the year 2020 as well as in class X during the year 2021. In spite of the best efforts of the department to rationalize teachers, PD said the state faced acute shortage of Mathematics and Science teachers, adding “this too is a reason behind the decline in the examination results.” As approved by the Cabinet, PD said the department has already issued notification for recruitment of 63 numbers of Graduate Teachers (Maths) and 92 numbers of Graduate Teachers (Science). He disclosed
that recruitment process would be completed soon and would help the department to address the issue of shortage of Maths & Science teachers. PD stated that the issue of poor performance of students from government schools was a complex issue. Out of 251 government high schools, PD said nearly 135 schools were not having headmasters due to court cases between different groups of teachers. Informing that the department was now finalising the seniority of graduate teachers, PD said promotions to the post of assistant headmasters would be carried out shortly. (Cont’d on p-8)
71% Indians cannot afford healthy diet: CSE report NEW DELHI, JUN 3 (PTI): Seventy-one per cent Indians cannot afford a healthy diet and 1.7 million die every year due to diseases attributable to poor diet, according to a report released by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and Down to Earth magazine. The diseases attributable to dietary risk factors include respiratory ailments, diabetes, cancer, strokes etc., the report ‘State of India’s Environment 2022: In Figures’ said. The report refers to diets low in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and diets
(Representational image)
high in processed meat, red meat, and sugary drinks. “71% of Indians cannot afford a healthy diet. The global average is 42%,” it said citing Global Nutrition Report, 2021. The diet of an average Indian lacks in fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts
and whole grains. The consumption of fish, dairy and red meat is within target, it said. A healthy diet is considered unaffordable when its cost exceeds 63% of a person’s income, according to the Food & Agriculture Organisation. In India,
adults aged 20 and above have only 35.8g of fruit per day as against the recommended 200g per day and just 168.7g of vegetables per day as against the minimum 300g per day. They consume just 24.9g per day (25%of target) of legumes and 3.2g (13% of target) of nuts per day. “Despite some progress, diets are not getting healthier. Additionally, they are making increasing demands on the environment, even as unacceptable levels of malnutrition persist in the country,” the report said. (Cont’d on p-8)
Govt notifies on inter-district boundary between Peren and Chümou Rlys to invest over `95,261 cr to link NE state capitals
DIMAPUR, JUN 3 (NPN): A notification dated June 3, 2022 issued by the Home department (GAB-I) has informed about the interdistrict boundary between Peren and Chümoukedima (erstwhile Dimapur) districts. According to home commissioner Abhijit Sinha, the boundary except from point 7 to 8, is in accordance with the recommendations of the Cabinet Sub-Committee report. The decision for the stretch from point 7 to 8 of the recommended boundary, which is touching the areas covered by the three unrecognized villages-- Vihoto, Phushito and Kiyevi ‘B’/ Khehoi, will be taken
up later, the notification stated. It further said that the notified inter- district boundary is solely for administrative convenience and does not reflect the traditional boundary in any manner. The inter-district boundary between Peren district and Chümoukedima district shall be as under: i. From Point-1 as shown in the map appended, the boundary line shall move straight towards the Old Forest Rest House in the North Direction, which is approximately 300 metres away from Point-1. Leaving the Old Forest Rest House, the line shall follow the approach road in the East direction till it reaches the
ridge. From this ridge and leaving the approach road the boundary line shall move towards Daniel Village, but before reaching the Village the line again shall proceed further to meet the hilltop in the East direction. From this Hilltop the line shall move in the South East direction crossing the confluence of two unmanned stream lakes which shall continue moving further straight to meet another confluence of two streamlets. Thereafter, the boundary line shall move upstream south ward till it meets the approach road between Jalukiezangdi and Shikavi villages on the lowest point (Saddles). From here the
line shall move downwards in the Southern direction to meet R. Ketsiangkeiuki (Laidiling Disa) to wind up to Point 2. ii. From Point-2 as shown in the map addended, the boundary line shall move upstream of R. Ketsiangkeiuki for approximately 1 Km east wards Pokhaho village. Here the boundary line shall follow a small stream in the South East direction leaving the R. Ketsiangkeiuki to reach the top of the hill. Once again, the boundary line shall move downhill to meet a small stream till it ends up at R.N/ Disa (the line so followed here is South of Pokhaho Village).
i i i . Fr o m Po i n t - 3 as shown in the map appended, the boundary line shall follow R.N/Disa in the North East direction till it reaches the Old British/ Forest Road marked Point-4, which is approximately 2 or 3 Kms from the North of Jalukie Sangtam. iv. From Point 4, the boundary line shall follow a Stream in the North East direction which is tributary to Ballu Nallah/ H. Disa to meet Point No. 5. v. From Point 5, as the Line folloWs R. Disa upstream in the South East direction, it shall extend up to the top of the Hillock (Aluto) South of Xekiyi Village at Point-6.
G U WA H AT I , J U N 3 (IANS): The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) would invest over Rs 95,261 crore to execute 21 projects including connecting the state capitals of three northeastern states—Manipur, Mizoram and Meghalaya by 2023, and Nagaland capital Kohima by 2026, an official said on Friday. Assam’s main city of Guwahati (adjoining capital Dispur), Tripura capital Agartala, and Arunachal Pradesh’s Naharlagun (adjacent to capital city Itanagar) are already connected with the railway network. (Cont’d on p-8) Northeast Frontier
Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Sabyasachi De on Friday said with the vision to connect the remaining state capitals and also to increase the line capacity in the region, funds to the tune of Rs 51,787 crore have already been allocated. The average fund allocation per year for the northeastern region in the last eight years is 254 per cent more than the yearly average fund allocation in 2009-14. He said the government has put all its efforts to improve the rail connectivity in the northeast. K Y M C