August 17, 2017

Page 1

Nagaland Post www.nagalandpost.com

Vol XXVII No. 252

DIMAPUR, thursday, august 17, 2017 Pages 12 ` 4.00

Violations on Blue Whale will be dealt severely: Minister

KFL: Wins for Ziekezou SC, Addax FC

600 still missing in Sierra Leone floods

national, Page 5

sports, Page 12

international, Page 9

Implement HC order, NTC asks R&B deptt `342.2 cr DRAWN DURING 2016-17 BUT NO SIGN OF IMPROVEMENT

D I M A P U R , AU G 1 6 (NPN): Gauhati High Court, Kohima bench on Wednesday passed an interim order, in response to a PIL filed by social activists-ST Yapang and Odi Jamir, directing the Roads & Bridges department to restore the conditions of the roads and bridges in Nagaland. The interim order was passed on August 16 after the court held its first hearing on the petition filed against R&B department, NTC media cell informed in a press note. NTC has therefore demanded that the R&B department implement the court’s directive. In the PIL, the petitioners pointed out that the RTI reply revealed that “Finance department (Budget and Monitoring Cell) issued 62 withdrawal authority(s) to the Roads and Bridges department of under demand No. 58 a whopping amount of Rs 342 crores 22 lakhs and 8 thousand from May 6, 2016 to March 31, 2017.” The PIL contended that despite the drawal of such an amount within

a span of 11 months, the roads and bridges in Nagaland, particularly Dimapur, were in deteriorated condition. NTC further informed that the petitioners, who are also governing body members of Nagaland Indigenous People’s Forum, had filed PIL(s) against 10 other departments-- Police, Civil Supplies, Irrigation & Flood Control, Social Welfare, School Education, Rural Development, PHE, Planning, Medical and Urban Development, for allegedly drawing money without execution of works. Despite developmental activities coming to a standstill in Nagaland due to non-allocation of funds from Centre, NTC alleged that during the last one year (from April 2016 to March 2017), “not less than Rs. 2355 crores, 38 lakhs and 64 thousand was drawn and utilised fully by 11 departments” purportedly for public distributions and infrastructural projects excluding departmental and establishment expenditures. In this regard, NTC

has resolved to wholeheartedly support the PIL filed by ST Yapang and Odi Jamir. NTC listed out the departments against which PILs were filed with regard to withdrawal of funds within a span of 11 months: NTC said Social Welfare department withdrew Rs. 222 crores 49 lakhs 48 thousands 346 for the purpose of payment of old age pensions, grants to blind persons, implementation of wheat nutritional programme and payment of bills for purchase of biscuits for children. School Education had withdrawn Rs. 248 crores 67 lakhs 76 thousands for the purpose of up gradation and construction of School buildings, Midday Meal scheme, payment of SSA teachers’ salaries and scholarships. Civil Supplies had withdrawn Rs. 12 crores 55 lakhs 21 thousands within one month for the purpose of handling and transportation charges of AAY and BPL rice. Rural Development had withdrawn Rs. 719

crores 67 lakhs 50 thousands 200 for the purpose of implementation of MGNREGA Scheme/Project, National Rural Livelihood. PMAY and grant in aid to VDB Secretaries salaries payment. P H E - - w i t h d r aw n Rs. 174 crores 21 lakhs 87 thousands for the purpose of operation and maintenance, coverage water quality sustainability, Swach Bharat Mission, NLCPR and NRDWP. Planning-- withdrawn Rs. 85 crores 69 lakhs 30 thousands 447 for the purpose of construction of Hostel for ST girls, construction of Training Centre for Skill Development, acquisition of land for Fire Stations, KV Power line, Colleges and black topping of roads and other civil works of drainage and retaining walls. Police department had withdrawn Rs. 259 crores 05 lakhs 93 thousands 799 for the purpose of repairing of vehicles, purchase of tyres, tubes, batteries, payment of POL, procurement of VVIP security equipment, Police Modernisation scheme, payment of ration bills,

costs of deployment of IR & Police Jawan and purchase of clothing. Irrigation & Flood Control had withdrawn Rs. 57 crores 31 lakhs 12 thousands for the purpose of Flood Control Management, Rain Water Harvesting, PMKSY and implementation of various Irrigation Projects. Medical department had withdrawn Rs. 162 crores 71 lakhs 06 thousands for the purpose of implementation of various centrally Sponsored Schemes viz; Flexi Pool, Capacity building. Ayush Mission, National TB Programme, upgradation of Hospitals, PHCs, grants to Naga Hospital authority. And Urban Development department had withdrawn Rs. 70 crores 67 lakhs 31 thousands 790 for the purpose of implementation of various Centrally Sponsored Schemes viz; NERCCDIP/NERUDP, Swach Bharat Mission, AMRUT, NULM and construction of bridge over Dhansari at Dimapur. (Cont’d on p-7)

Court clarifies order on NPF case D I M A P U R , AU G 1 6 (NPN): The court of the civil judge (senior) Mon division has clarified on its ad-interim injunction order passed on August 14, 2017 restraining the defendant (Neiphiu Rio) from using the name of Naga People’s Front (NPF), its symbol and flags and also against the opening of any office using the name of NPF party. Civil judge (senior) division Mon, Inalo Zhimomi, who passed the modified order on August 14, 2017, clarified that the ad-interim injunction order issued earlier was to operate only within the jurisdiction of his court .i.e. within Mon district, but the court had inadvertently failed to particularly mention the same. “As such, a modification of the earlier order is necessitated and the same is hereby modified in the following manner: ‘Accordingly, the defendant is hereby retrained from using the name of NPF, its symbol and flags and is further restrained from opening of any new office using the name of NPF party in the district of Mon, Nagaland till the next returnable date.’” the order stated.

US declares HM as ‘specially designated’ terrorist outfit NEW DELHI, AUG 16 (AGENCIES): The US State Department has declared the Hizbul Mujahideen as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” (SDGT) organisation. This comes as a major blow to Hizbul after Yaseen Ittoo, one of its commanders, was killed in an encounter. This comes as a major diplomatic win for India since Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba, along with its leader Hafiz Saeed, have also been declared as SDGTs by the US. According to a statement from US department of States released this evening, “The designations seek to deny HM the resources it needs to carry out terrorist attacks. Among other consequences, all of HM’s property and interests in property subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with the group.” Formed in 1989, HM is one of the largest and oldest militant groups operating in Kashmir. Hizbul Mujahideen is led by Specially Designated Global Terrorist Mohammad Yusuf Shah,

HM commander Syed Salahuddin

also known as Syed Salahuddin. Hizbul Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for several attacks, including the April 2014, explosives attack in the state of J&K, which injured 17 people, according to the statement. India has been pushing for ban on HM and its chief with UN Security Council but has been vetoed by China. The designation by US may help New Delhi to argue its case before the UNSC and will also put pressure on other countries to take action against HM and its leader. “Today’s action notifies the U.S. public and the international community that HM is a terrorist organization. Terrorism designations expose and isolate organizations and individuals, and deny them access to the U.S. financial system,” a statement from US department reads.

Floods wreak havoc in India; over 200 dead Govt extends tax exemption for Akuluto-VK area bodies call off proposed bandh industries in NE, hilly states Trains to NE suspended

NEW DELHI, AUG 16 (AGENCIES): More than 200 people have died and over one crore affected in recent floods and landslides across India. The toll in the flood rose to 72 in Bihar, where 73.44 lakh people have been hit by inundation in 14 districts triggered by incessant rains in Nepal and some districts in the northern part of the state. Special secretary in the state disaster management department, Anirudh Kumar said 73.44 lakh people are in the grip of flood which has engulfed 110 blocks and 1,151 panchayats in 14 districts of the state, the latest being Gopalganj, which was submerged today. The flood situation in Assam too continued to deteriorate with 11 more lives lost today. Around 33.45 lakh people in 24 districts of the state remained affected due to the flood. With the deaths reported today, the toll in the third wave of floods has

gone up to 39 in the northeastern state. The floods have claimed 123 lives so far this year in Assam, including eight in Guwahati. In Meghalaya, over one lakh persons have been affected by floods in the Brahmaputra and Jingiram rivers, the waters of which have inundated 136 villages in western Meghalaya, an official said on Wednesday. No loss of life has been reported so far. The official said 30 relief camps have been set up to accommodate those affected. In West Bengal, at least 32 people have died and over 14 lakh people affected due to floods in six districts of north Bengal partly due to overflowing rivers of Bhutan, Bihar and Jharkhand. In Uttarakhand, two more bodies were recovered from Dharchula area of Pithoragarh district, taking the death toll in the recent cloudbursts to eight as relief and rescue operations continued in search of the missing,

Rio summons NPF GC

ACVAW lifts bandh on Wokha-Merapani road

D I M A P U R , AU G 1 6 (NPN): Interim NPF president, Neiphiu Rio has called for the NPF party’s General Convention (GC) scheduled to be held on September 20, at Dimapur. In a press note, Rio however informed that the venue would be intimated in due courses of time.

DGP Anil Raturi said.

Meanwhile, all trains to the Northeast from rest of the country have been cancelled till August 20 due to damages on tracks due to floods in Assam, West Bengal and Bihar, officials said today. “The Railway Board has directed all zonal railways to cancel trains travelling from various parts of the country beyond Malda town and Katihar till August 20, 2017,” Northeast Frontier Railway chief public relations officer Pranav Jyoti Sharma said in a statement. Rail connectivity in flood-hit portions of Bihar and West Bengal continues to be affected with marginal improvement in situation today. “However, virtually no accessibility to most of the damaged sites has affected the restoration work. Telecommunication network in the entire section is badly affected also,” he said.

NEW DELHI, AUG 16 (PTI): Industries in the North Eastern and Himalayan states will continue to get tax exemption till March 2027, albeit as refund, under the current GST regime which was rolled out on July 1, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said Wednesday. “Within the framework of the GST Act each industry will be entitled to its own refund mechanism during this particular period (March 31, 2027),” he said after the Cabinet meeting headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Industries in the north eastern and Himalayan states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand under the previous excise regime used to get 10-year exemption, he said. As per the scheme, industries which commenced operations during the period got excise tax holiday for 10 years, he said, adding that there is a separate residuary period for every industry because of commencement of production and their consequent entitlement of 10 year exemption. Under the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, there is no provision for exemption but there is one section under the Act which permits refunds. “Therefore, refund would be permitted through DBT. The sunset clause of these exemption has been extended to 2027. 4,284 industrial establishment will entitled to this benefit. Budgetary provision for this Rs 27,413 crore,” he said.

This is it! Mmhonlumo Kikon, DC Wokha, R&B officials and AVCA Wokha members on Wednesday. (NP)

Correspondent

“Sir, you already got 50% of the project money. Give me 300% escalation so I can give you another 50%.” K Y M C

WOKHA, AUG 16 (NPN): All Commercial Vehicles Association Wokha (ACVAW) on Wednesday called off the restriction on movement of all commercial vehicles (goods carrier) along the Wokha-Merapani state highway which was imposed since August 5 last. The bandh was lifted after the intervention of

minister Geology & Mining and Border Affairs, Mmhonlumo Kikon, who assured to immediately look into their demands. AVCA Wokha had called the bandh demanding immediate construction of “plyable” road, which was in deplorable condition, and commencement of work by the concerned contractor. AC VAW h a d a l s o taken serious note on the

deplorable condition of the Doyang bridge that connects Wokha-Merapani and demanded that the authorities take up early repair/ construction of the bridge. Kikon, along with deputy commissioner (DC) Wokha, Wezope Kenye, and Road & Bridges (R&B) officials met AVCA Wokha members on Wednesday and deliberated on the issue.

DIMAPUR, AUG 16 (NPN): Akuluto and VK area organisations on Wednesday stated that they have decided to call of the proposed indefinite bandh under Akuluto and V.K. jurisdiction, which was scheduled to begin from August 17, 2017. In a joint statement, Akuluto Area GB’s Association, Akuluto Town GB’s Council, VK Area GBs’ Association, VK Area Public Organization, Akuluto Range Students’ Union and VK Range Students’

Union said that the decision to call off bandh was taken following an assurance from executive engineer to repair road from Sümi Settsü to Akuluto Town within seven days and from Akuluto to Khitsakita within 21 days. The bandh was to be imposed along NH- 2 (from Izheto village to Doyang bridge V.K Town) and NH-702 (A) from Sumi Settsu Village to Zunhekuta Akuluto Town).

Banks to go ahead with nationwide strike on Aug 22 C H E N NA I , AU G 1 6 (IANS): United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) on Wednesday declared that their nationwide strike call for August 22 stands as the talks with the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) in Mumbai have failed. The UFBU has given notice of a nationwide strike on August 22 to protest against reforms in the banking sector and other issues. “Since nothing positive emerged (at the talks) on the issues raised by us, our call for strike on August 22 stands,” C.H. Venkatachalam, general secretary, All India Bank Employees’ Association, told IANS. “The IBA requested to withdraw strike without any concrete solution to the demands. Hence the strike call stands,” D.T. Franco Rajendra Dev, AIBOC general secretary said. K Y M C


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