Help handed
Nagas ready for fresh ‘war,’ asserts NSCN (IM) With 5, State sees highest number of deaths
IMPHAL, Sep 3 (DIPR):
Textiles, Commerce and In-
dustry Minister Thongam
Biswajit Singh, today distrib-
uted costs of handlooms and
handicrafts products, Gov-
ernment procured from
weavers and artisans during
the lockdown period.
The formal function for
distributing the costs for
handloom and handicraft
products was held at the
conference hall of the Min-
ister’s New Secretariat
Office.
Speaking at the function,
Biswajit said that "handloom
and handicraft is our alter-
native means of livelihood."
As weavers and artisans
were facing immense hard-
ships during the lockdown,
the Department had pro-
cured finished products to
provide some relief to them.
The Department of Tex-
tiles, Commerce and
Industry in association with
the Manipur Handloom &
Handicrafts Development
Corporation Ltd, MHHDC
had purchased the handloom
and handicraft products dur-
ing the lockdown period
from March 23 to July 15.
Around Rs 1.17 crore
(approx) was utilised to pro-
cure the finished products
from the weavers and arti-
sans during the lockdown
due to COVID-19.
11 out of 70 artisans con-
cerned from Imphal East
district received money for
their products procured by
the department. Weavers
and artisans from all 16 dis-
tricts will also receive the
same benefits under this
flagship programme.
Director of Handlooms &
Textiles, K Lamlee Kamei
said that the department un-
der the initiative of the
Minister had prepared a
"buy-back policy" to support
and help the artisans and
weavers of the State during
the lockdown period. As the
department was preparing
the policy, it had also re-
ceived instructions from the
Central Ministry to imple-
ment a similar scheme,
Lamlee said.
Joint Director of
Handlooms & Textiles,
Manipur E Jiten also at-
tended the programme.
For registering griev-
ances, weavers and artisans
may contact dedicated toll
free no 18005720906.
(DIPR)
Rs 93 lakh fine so far
IMPHAL, Sep 3: The Police
Department continued to
crackdown on violators of
lockdown/curfew hours, not
wearing face mask in public
and not maintaining social
distancing to prevent the
spread of COVID-19 infec-
tions in the State.
According to a press re-
lease, in today’s drive, 132
people were detained and
later released with a warn-
ing. A sum of Rs 27,000
was collected as fine today.
Out of the 132 people, 9
were from Imphal West, 42
from Thoubal, 40 from
Bishnupur, 34 from
Churachandpur, 2 from
Noney and 5 from Jiribam.
Since the start of the
lockdown/curfew, the Police
Department has detained a
total of 77,133 people and
51,833 vehicles.
A total of Rs 93,95,050
has been collected as fine as
of today.
School re-opening
IMPHAL, Sep 3 (DIPR):
Education Minister Dr
Thokchom Radheshyam held
a meeting with representa-
tives of several student
organisations today to discuss
necessary steps of prepared-
ness that need to be taken up
with regard to the COVID-19
pandemic if the educational
institutions in the State are to
be re-opened.
Attended by the Commis-
sioner, Education (S) T
Ranjit Singh; Commissioner,
Higher & Technical Educa-
tion, M Harekrishna;
Director Education (S) L
Nandakumar Singh; Direc-
tor, University & Higher
Education, Kh Diana and
officials concerned of the
Department (Contd P 7)
GUWAHATI, Sep 3
The National Socialist
Council of Nagalim (Isak-
Muivah) has said the Nagas
are ready to “fight another
war” if their political rights
and history are not respected
and that the Naga issue will
remain India’s Achilles heel
if the Centre or its Interlocutor
is “trying to misinterpret” the
prevailing situation or act
clever.
The August edition of the
outfit’s bi-monthly news
bulletin, Nagalim Voice,
carries this message in an
editorial titled “Government
of India Oversight: Indo
Naga Political Talks” at a
time when the peace talks
between the Centre and the
NSCN (I-M), which is in
ceasefire since 1997, are
said to be floundering amid
demands from other Naga
groups to seal a final solu-
tion.
The NSCN (I-M) is still
firm on shared sovereignty
which would include a sepa-
rate flag and a separate
Constitution for the Nagas.
The editorial touches
upon the history of the Naga
conflict, the various peace
measures effected by both
the Centre for lasting peace,
the signing of the 2015
Framework Agreement, the
standoff triggered by RN
Ravi, the Centre’s Interlocu-
tor for the peace talks and
Nagaland Governor, and the
consequences it could trig-
ger.
The opening paragraph
says since 1932 when the
CBI seeks details of MPSC’s preparations
.............................................................................................................................................................................
By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Sep 3:
Requesting to share the
necessary steps and measures
already taken up by the
Manipur Public Service
Commission (MPSC) to hold
the MCSCC (Main)
Examination 2016 afresh in a
fair and transparent manner,
the CBI wrote a letter to the
MPSC on September 1.
Through the letter ad-
dressed to the MPSC
Secretary, the CBI suggested
certain points based on the
observations made by the
High Court of Manipur if
the MPSC has not yet taken
up necessary measures or in
the process to hold the
MCSCCE 2016 afresh.
The CBI said that they
were suggesting certain
Loanees denied benefits of RBI Covid package
.............................................................................................................................................................................
By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Sep 3: Many
people who have been using
loans taken from cooperative
financial institutions as their
working capitals have been
denied the benefit of COVID-
19 regulatory package
announced by RBI.
Sources said that the
working capitals which
loanees took as loans from
cooperative financial institu-
tions were severely dented
on account of several meas-
ures taken up by the
Government to check the
spread of COVID-19.
Apart from denting the
Deforestation, chemicals blamed for pest attack on paddy
By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Sep 3: The recent
attack on paddy
cultivations across
Manipur valley by Brown
Planthopper (Marek
Angangbi) and White
Blacked Planthopper
(Waikup Manbi) have
been attributed to rampant
deforestation and
indiscriminate use of
fertilizers.
CAU Imphal Ento-
mologist Dr Kh Ibohal
said that extensive
damage was done to
paddy cultivation (first
crop) by Brown
Planthopper and White
on single day, toll now stands at 34
British first arrived in Naga
areas, the Nagas have “un-
waveringly maintained the
right to be independent from
any external power, whether
it be British or otherwise”.
Attacking Ravi for “los-
ing focus and perspective by
throwing a “chance of a life-
time” to politically and
respectfully end the longest
armed resistance in South-
east Asia, the NSCN (I-M)
said he was “repeating the
same mistakes of history” by
not realising that insult and
disrespect to the Nagas will
not help resolve the Naga
issue. The outfit also said
that the Centre was losing its
vision and focus or it is be-
ing misled by Ravi, whose
“delinquency and double
standards will have huge
ramification for a country
like India”.
“Nagas have fought long
enough and they have sur-
points to ensure that the ex-
amination and the selection
procedure are free from any
allegation of favouring any
candidate at any stage till
final selection of candidates
and all the persons/officials
involved in the process are
working capitals, the con-
tainment measures taken up
by the Government brought
the businesses done by the
loanees on the verge of com-
plete breakdown.
A circular about COVD-
19 regulatory package was
issued by the RBI General
Manager on March 27 this
year. The RBI Governor is-
sued a similar circular on the
same day.
These circulars said that
the period of repayment of
loans should be extended for
loanees who took loans from
financial institutions or com-
mercial banks including
local area banks and re-
Blacked Planthopper
some 7/8 years back but
they did little damage
during the main cropping
season.
Yet, since the past 5/6
years, Brown Planthopper
and White Blacked
Planthopper are becom-
ing the most common
pests which attack paddy
cultivations in Manipur
as a result of rampant
deforestation and indis-
criminate use of
chemicals/fertilizers, Dr
Ibohal said.
Rampant deforestation
and indiscriminate use of
chemicals/fertilizers have
created a very favourable
.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Sep 3: The
COVID-19 death toll in the
State has reached 34 as five
persons died of the disease in
the last 24 hours. This is the
highest number of deaths on a
single day due to the virus
ever since the pandemic hit
Manipur too. All of them had
comorbid conditions, said
sources.
The victims include one
35-year-old man from
Bishnupur district and three
men from Imphal East-a 39-
vived all the Machiavellian old insurgency at the earliest year-old, a 60 year-old and Meanwhile, 102 persons contact tracing are in place,
policies from the adversar- and also not to change the a 63-year-old. The fifth vic- including 75 civilians and 27 added the report.
ies. They are still ready to interlocutor. tim was a 61-year-old man personnel of the Central On the other hand, as
fight another war if their The Nagaland Gaonburah from Thoubal district. Armed Police Force (CAPF) many as 167 persons were
political rights and history Federation, an influential While the death of the tested positive for COVID- discharged after recovery
are not respected,” it says. committee of village head- three victims was confirmed 19 in the last 24 hours from COVID-19. They
However, if India is keen men, in a memorandum to by an early report from the raising the total number of tested negative for COVID-
on solving the political con- Prime Minister Narendra Government COVID-19 cases to 6609, said the Gov- 19 on RT PCR test. They
flict, it must “honour” the Modi on Tuesday, wanted to Common Control Room, the ernment COVID-19 were discharged from
Framework Agreement in settle the issue at the earliest other two deaths (of the 39- Common Control Room. COVID-19 Care Centres of
letter and spirit, exhibit con- by September and not to re- year-old man and The 75 civilians include CAPF (88),
fidence and trust on the move Ravi. 60-year-old man from 49 males and 26 females and Lamboikhongnangkhong
Nagas and must stop em- The Working Committee Imphal East) were reported all of them have no signifi- (32), UNACCO (18), RIMS
ploying militaristic of the Naga National Politi- by sources. cant travel history. They hail (5), RD Wing (14), JNV
approach, law and order ap- cal Groups (NNPGs), which The 35-year-old man from Tengnoupal (17), Chandel (6) and Jiribam (4).
proach and divide and rule is also part of the peace from Bishnupur and the 60- Imphal West (14), Imphal According to the
policy. process, too is not in favour year-old man from Imphal East (11), Bishnupur (4), COVID-19 Common Con-
The editorial ends with of removing Ravi as it East died at Shija Hospital, Thoubal (20), trol Room, the cumulative
the line: “The position of would push back the whole while the man, 60, from Churachandpur (6), number of coronavirus posi-
Naga people is clear: respect process and wants the Thoubal and 39-year-old Kakching (2) and Chandel tive cases has reached 6609
and honour the political his- Framework Agreement re- from Imphal East died at (1). They are being shifted which include 4980 civilians
tory and rights of the Nagas viewed because it has JNIMS. The other victim, to designated COVID-19 and 1629 security personnel.
and we will respect India ten “erased the golden years of 63, from Imphal East died at Care Centres and all con- The total number of recov-
RIMS. tainment measures and ered cases (Contd P 7)
Death of girl child draws flaks from all over
times more.” Naga struggle” while prefer-
The bulletin was released ring the use of Nagaland
.................................................................................................................................
amid mounting demands by instead of Nagalim because
several Naga organisations it is more “inclusive”.
for a solution to the decades-
(Contd P 7)
By Our Staff Reporter Mayang Imphal Bazar where JAC formed against the in-
they were stopped by police. cident also stormed the
IMPHAL, Sep 3: The 14- Later, a mob damaged the Chief Minister's Bungalow
year-old minor girl, who was house of a suspect at today and it has submitted a
Apart from quashing the found unconscious at a place Mayang Imphal. The mob memorandum to the Chief
examination, the High Court under Mayang Imphal Police further tried to destroy the Minister.
directed that MPSC should Station yesterday, died at house of another suspect but Meanwhile, Md Aris @
conduct the exam anew and RIMS ICU at around 2 pm the attempt was thwarted by Maja Khan has been re-
CBI should investigate into today. The body has been police. Police fired several manded to police custody till
the conduct of the examina- deposited at RIMS mortuary rounds of tear gas while the September 9 by the Special
tion. for post mortem, while the mob pelted stones. Several Court POCSO Imphal West
As such, the CBI has suspect identified as Md locals and at least three today.
been investigating into the Arish has been remanded to police personnel were in- Following the death of
whole examination process. seven days police custody by jured, said sources. the girl, several organisa-
Challenging the High a POCSO Court today. Additional forces from tions and rights groups have
Court’s order, MPSC filed a It may be noted that the Imphal West, Imphal East, strongly condemned the in-
special leave petition at the girl, who was reportedly Thoubal and Bishnupur dis- human act and death of the
Supreme Court. Subse- missing since Sept 1, was trict have been deployed and minor girl.
quently, the apex Court found in an unconscious measures are being taken up Manipur Commission for
directed MPSC to hold the state yesterday at Mayang to control the mob. Protection of Child Rights
MCSCC (Main) Examina- Imphal. She was suspected It may be noted that an (MCPCR) has sought rigor-
completely insulated from tion 2016 afresh as soon as to have been physically as- angry mob had yesterday ous punishment of the
the influence of candidates possible. saulted. damaged the house of an- culprits involved under
and their guardians. Through its letter, the Following the news of the other suspect identified as POCSO Act. An emergency
Notably, the MCSCC
(Main) Examination 2016
CBI requested MPSC to lay
down proper procedures for
death, angry locals took out
a protest rally towards
Md Arish (19).
On the other hand, the
meeting of the commission
was held (Contd P 7)
was quashed by the High evaluation and tabulation of
Cashless ATMs make mockery of Covid SOPs
.................................................................................................................................
Court of Manipur on Octo- answer sheets or books as
Hundreds crowd SBI, MG Avenue
ber 18, 2019. per the (Contd P 7)
83,883 cases surge in 24 hrs
.......................................................................................
NEW DELHI, Sep 3 of the ATMs in Imphal be-
gional rural banks and the fore coming there.
banks should also assist the A record surge of 83,883 “As we need cash we
loanees so that their fresh coronavirus cases in the have no choice but to wait
(loanees) activities are not last 24 hours took India's in line, crowded or not. If
slowed down. Covid tally past 38-lakh the other ATMs had cash
The term ‘financial insti- mark, just 1.5 lakh behind there wouldn't be a crowd
tutions’ covers Nationalised Brazil, the world's second here like this,” said another
banks like SBI, Punjab Na- most affected Nation, the customer who was also wait-
tional Bank, Bank of Union Health Ministry data ing in line. Like other
Baroda, Vijaya Bank, Pun- this morning showed. places, all the ATMs at
jab & Sind Bank, Central In the last 24 hours, Thangmeiband including the
Bank etc, according to the 11,72,179 samples were one near ABC godown, the
sources. tested, the highest single-day ones behind the gate of DM
The relaxation or benefits tests so far, taking the total College and the ones at
guaranteed by the circular number of tests past 4.55 Lamphel side had no cash.
issued on March 27 are also crore. .....................................................................................
entitled to other loanees who An additional 1,043 By Our Staff Reporter
took loans from other finan- deaths linked to the highly
.................................................................................................................
cial institutions, urban contagious disease have IMPHAL, Sep 3: The SBI
cooperative (Contd P 7) pushed the (Contd P 7) ATM booth at MG Avenue
was today seen crowded with
people who came from
various places due to
unavailability of cash at other
ATM booths in Imphal.
environment for massive rence of Brown Even though people were
reproduction of the two Planthopper and White seen wearing masks, social
pests, he said. Blacked Planthopper, he distancing was not main-
Failure to treat paddy continued. tained at all. As they were
seeds with appropriate Brown Planthopper so desperate to get cash
chemicals or spray and White Blacked from the ATM they all threw
pesticides when the two Planthopper usually caution to the wind.
pests start attacking attack plants together Speaking to some people
paddy plants also abet and they thrive well in in the queue, they said that
massive invasion on water. While Brown they had taken a tour of
paddy plants by Brown Planthopper lays 200 to Imphal City looking for cash
Planthopper and White 250 eggs in a lifetime, at ATM booths before com-
Blacked Planthopper, said White Blacked ing there.
the Entomologist. Planthopper lays 130 to Not only SBI but all the
Using same type of 150 eggs in a lifetime. banks in Imphal had no
pesticides for successive They attack paddy cash, one of the customers
years, spraying of plants starting from said.
pesticides which do not transplanting stage till Another customer said he
have the required doses the plants are fully has been waiting in line for
of its components and use matured. more than an hour now. He
of Urea help in recur- (Contd P 7) also said he had visited most
 IMPHAL, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2020

Centre resorts to heavy cost-cutting Manufacturers of N95 masks

seek permit to begin exports Health and Lifestyle
NEW DELHI, Sep 3 Ministry told this publica- sential expenditure to the
tion. next fiscal year. Despite the

Keep digestive problems away

With revenue collections at a The government is also subsidised food distributed
record low and rising unlikely to continue social during the lockdown and
pandemic-related liabilities, welfare schemes beyond the for Covid-related relief,

with this easy, desi nuskha

the Centre is asking its
ministries to cut down on
non-essential expenditure
and adopt austerity measures.
According to sources, it is
also likely to further reduce
spending on subsidies,
including in the food sector.
“This is not a normal
year. The government will
continue with the essential
expenditure, but somewhere
it has to cut corners. So, do
not expect subsidies to be
the same level as last year.
Ministries are asked to cut
on all non-essential expendi-
ture like events,
entertainment, travel and
will keep on giving advisory
from time to time,” a senior
official from the Finance
given deadline due to tight
budgetary conditions. In-
dia’s GDP growth has
contracted by 23.9 per cent
in the April to June quarter
and the government ex-
ceeded its fiscal deficit
target in just the first four
months of this fiscal.
Due to Covid-19, the
government is also unlikely
to meet its divestment target,
which will reduce its budg-
eted income significantly.
The breaching of the fiscal
deficit target also comes de-
spite the Centre already
having announced cuts in
regular expenditure.
It was also slow on sub-
sidy payouts and had
postponed much of non-es-
food subsidy paid by the
Centre for the April to June
quarter was 49 per cent of
budget estimates, much
lower than the 59 per cent
recorded during the corre-
sponding period of the
previous fiscal.
Similarly, petroleum
subsidies came down to 40
per cent against 76 per cent.
Going forward, officials
have hinted that there
would be more cuts to sub-
sidies. Earlier this year, the
Union Cabinet had ap-
proved a 30 per cent
reduction in the salary and
allowances of members of
parliament for one year to
fight against Covid-19.
Express News Service
Sep 3
If you have been struggling
with digestive issues of late, a
desi nuskha based on
ayurveda’s rich philosophy
can help, suggested aspiring
CHENNAI, Sep 3
ayurvedic chef Amrita Kaur.
Manufacturers of N95 masks in the country have urged the Wondering how to do
Centre to remove all export restrictions imposed on the that?
Take a look at what she
product since they are losing export orders worth crores or
had to say. “You are what
rupees and have been unable to cash in on a massive
business opportunity in the overseas markets. you can digest. Sharing my
favourite nuska to help you
Currently, the Centre has a fixed a monthly export
digest your food better,” she
limit of 1 crore N95 masks, but the Apparel Export said.
Promotion Council (AEPC) claims that N95 manufac- Here’s how to prepare it.
turers are facing difficulties due to oversupply. Ingredients
“On an average, over 50 lakh N95 masks are being A sliver – Fresh ginger or
manufactured daily in India.
ginger with some rock salt
and lemon juice before any
meal to get more digestive
juices flowing.
How does it help?
As per Ayurveda, ginger
is used to control nausea and
vomiting because of its ap-
petising, digestive and
taste-enhancing properties.
It is because of these
properties that ginger is
given during morning sick-
ness experienced during
pregnancy.
Rock salt is known to
help improve metabolism or
the chemical reaction in the
body that helps maintain the
functioning of the body.
As per ayurveda, it is said
that impaired digestion at the
tissue level produces excess
toxic remains or waste
which causes accumulation
of bad cholesterol and leads
to blockage in the blood ves-
sels. Ginger, which has
antispasmodic (helps
smoothen muscular move-
ment) properties, improves
digestive fire and reduces
excess waste while clearing
up the blockage of blood
vessels over a period of
time.
Contra indications
People with “too much

38 mines to be offered in auction for

dry ginger health of cells while replen- heat in the body (high pitta)
The textile hub in Tamil Nadu, Tirupur alone can A pinch – Rock salt ishing the body’s may want to observe how
manufacture over 3 Crore pieces of N95 masks monthly Lemon juice (optional) electrolytes and maintaining body is reacting to it and

commercial purposes: Coal Ministry

besides regular cotton/2/3 ply masks. How to consume it? the pH balance, which ulti- then take a call”, said Kaur.
On seeing the abundant supply from Tirupur and all Chew a sliver of fresh mately helps improve the Indian Express
over India, we urged the union commerce ministry to

Easiest DIY homemadeVitamin

velopment and Regulation) coal mines from the auction allow free export of N95 masks like other masks and
NEW DELHI, Sep 3 PPE kits,” said A Sakthivel, chairman of AEPC.
Act, 1957. "Withdrawal of list.

C serum; make your own

The list of coal mines for sale
of coal has been amended and
38 mines will be offered for
auction for commercial
mining, the Ministry of Coal
said here on Thursday.
According to the Minis-
try, Dolesara, Jarekela, and
Jharpalam-Tangarghat coal
mines were added to the 1st
Tranche of Auction under
the Mines and Minerals (De-
Morga South Coal Mine
from the 1st Tranche of
Auction under the MMDR
Act, 1957. Withdrawal of
Fatehpur East, Madanpur
(North), Morga-II, and
Sayang coal mines from the
11th Tranche of Auction
under the CM(SP) Act,
2015," the Ministry of Coal
said in a statement inform-
ing about the withdrawal of
The auction process for
coal mines for commercial
mining was launched on
June 18, 2020. "Therefore,
38 coal mines are offered for
auction for commercial min-
ing under 11th Tranche of
Auction under CM(SP) Act,
2015 and 1st Tranche of
Auction under MMDR Act,
1957," the statement added.
ANI
If the export limitation is removed, he added, then
India could see over Rs 3,000 crore in business annu-
ally.
“We are not able to receive export orders, but glo- Ingredients of the serum
bally the demand of N95 masks is rising with each 2 Vitamin C tablets
passing day,” he said. available over the counter
Extend moratorium 2 tsp rose water
The AEPC has also requested finance minister 1 tsp glycerine
Nirmala Sitharaman to extend the moratorium on term 1 Vitamin E capsule
loans up to March 31, 2021, considering the slowdown A clean empty glass bot-
in business and the drastic fall in apparel exports. tle to store the serum
Express News Service How to make it?

Unacademy enters unicorn club after raising

Crush the Vitamin C
tablet and place the Vita-
min C powder in the glass

$150 million in fresh round led by SoftBank

BENGALURU, Sep 3
A 3x rise in valuation, a 4x
surge in the subscriber base
and an entry into India's $1
billion startup (unicorn) club
that too amidst the COVID
pandemic. Everything is
falling in place for
Unacademy, an online test
preparation platform that is
managing to get marquee
Times of India in the repair of skin tissue. bottle.
And, the best way to put Now add the rose water
Sep 3: Vitamin C, also it on skin is through a Vi- and shake the mixture well.
known as ascorbic acid, is a tamin C serum, and we've Once the powder gets
India's second edtech uni- scribers. vitamin found in food and got a super easy DIY dissolved, add the Vitamin
corn after Byjus, which is The company caters to sold over the counter as a recipe to make this magical E capsule in the bottle by
valued at over $10 billion. the learning needs for 35+ dietary supplement. serum at home. squeezing out all the liquid,
Besides, existing investors competitive exams, besides Doctors often prescribe How does it work? you could also slit the cap-
General Atlantic, Sequoia important life goals such as this vitamin to build immu- Collagen is hugely re- sule and drop it inside.
Capital, Nexus Venture Part- Chess. Unacademy said that nity and keep cough and sponsible for tightening the Shake the mixture well
ners, Facebook, and Blume it plans to utilise the funds cold at bay, but the vitamin skin and making it look and store the bottle in a
Ventures also participated in to launch new products and has become a wonder vita- youthful, and Vitamin C cool dark place.
the round. build a world-class team and min in the field of skincare. serums work best in boost- It's best to use the serum
Unacademy's CEO and organisation. Well, that's thanks to the ing collagen levels and within two weeks and
co-founder, Gaurav Munjal, The onset of the pan- fact that Vitamin C is an make the skin brighter, make a fresh batch for the
who turns 30 on September demic has led to a boom in essential nutrient involved younger and firmer. next time.

Enjoy your favourite carrot cake

investors to queue up. 8, said in a statement, the online education sector
On Wednesday, "Learning from the best ex- experts in the field. We're has targetted the quintessen- in India as schools, colleges
Unacademy said that it has perts to achieve a life goal delighted to welcome tial younger Indians who continue to remain shut.

with this 1-minute mug recipe

raised $150 million in a
fresh funding round led by
Japan's tech giant, SoftBank,
making it the latter's first
investment in India in 2020.
Unacademy saw its valu-
ation rise to $1.45 billion
from $510 million five
months ago, turning it into
has mostly been a privilege,
available only to those liv-
ing in the top few cities of
the country. At Unacademy,
we are breaking that barrier
and helping people achieve
their life's most important
goals, by giving them access
to the best coaching from
SoftBank as a partner to that
vision. We started with test
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partnership, we will launch
other goals on our platform."
From a modest Youtube
teacher to the CEO of a bil-
lion-dollar company in a
matter of five years, Munjal
aspire to get into central
government institutions,
banking, engineering serv-
ices etc and have moved
from training through con-
ventional models to online
platforms. Currently, the
platform has over 18,000
educators and 350,000 sub-
Apart from attracting
more than $1 billion fund-
ing over the past few months
from various investors, the NEW DELHI, Sep 3
deal flows in the segment
have remained strong with Mug cakes are great when
acquisitions of vertical play- you are running low on time
ers. and need a quick fix for your
Express News Service sweet tooth.

China to plan sweeping support for

So if today is one such
day, it is time to grab your
mug once again because we

semiconductor sector to counter Trump

BEIJING, Sep 3
China is planning a sweeping
set of new government
policies to develop its
domestic semiconductor
industry and counter Trump
administration restrictions,
conferring the same kind of
priority on the effort it
accorded to building its
atomic capability, according
to people with knowledge of
the matter.
Beijing is preparing
broad support for so-called
third-generation semicon-
ductors for the five years
through 2025, said the peo-
ple, asking not to be
identified discussing govern-
ment deliberations.
A suite of measures to
bolster research, education
and financing for the indus-
try has been added to a draft
of the country’s 14th five-
year plan, which will be
presented to the country’s
top leaders in October, the
people said.
China’s top leaders will
gather next month to lay out
their economic strategy for
the next half decade, includ-
ing efforts to ramp up
domestic consumption and
make critical technology at
home. President Xi Jinping
has pledged an estimated
$1.4 trillion through 2025
for technologies ranging
from wireless networks to
artificial intelligence.
Semiconductors are fun-
damental to virtually every
component of China’s tech-
nology ambitions -- and an
increasingly aggressive
Trump administration threat-
ens to cut off their supply
from abroad.
“The Chinese leadership
realizes that semiconductors
underpin all advanced tech-
nologies, and that it can no
longer dependably rely on
American supplies,” said
Dan Wang, technology ana-
lyst at research firm Gavekal
Dragonomics.
“In the face of stricter US
restrictions on chip access,
China’s response can only
be to keep pushing its own
industry to develop.”
The Ministry of Industry
and Information Technol-
ogy, which is responsible for
drafting the tech-related
goals, did not reply to a re-
quest for comment.
China imports more than
$300 billion worth of inte-
grated circuits each year and
its semiconductor develop-
ers rely on US-made chip
design tools and patents, as
well as critical manufactur-
ing technologies from US
allies.
But deteriorating ties be-
tween Beijing and
Washington have made it in-
creasingly difficult for
Chinese companies to
source components and
chipmaking technologies
from overseas.
The US government has
blacklisted dozens of Chi-
na’s tech companies so they
can’t buy American parts,
and slapped bans on
ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok
and Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s
WeChat. In the case of tech-
nology giant Huawei
Technologies Co., the
Trump administration sanc-
tioned the company and
pressed allies to ban the
company’s equipment from
their telecom networks.
This month, Huawei, the
country’s largest handset
maker, will even lose access
to chips from the likes of
Taiwan Semiconductor
Manufacturing Co. under
new American regulations
that prohibit suppliers any-
where in the world from
working with the company
if those suppliers use Ameri-
can equipment. The tighter
rules have raised the ur-
gency of building domestic
alternatives in Beijing.
Third-generation semi-
conductors are mainly
chipsets made of materials
such as silicon carbide and
gallium nitride.
They can operate at high
frequency and in higher
power and temperature en-
vironments, and are widely
used in fifth-generation ra-
dio frequency chips,
military-grade radars and
electric vehicles.
Since no single country
now dominates the fledg-
ling, third-generation
technology, China’s gamble
is its corporations can com-
pete if they accelerate
research into the field now.
Global leaders such as US-
based CREE Inc. and
Japan’s Sumitomo Electric
Industries Ltd. are just be-
ginning to grow this
business, while Chinese tech
giants such as Sanan
Optoelectronics Co. Ltd. and
state-owned China Electron-
ics Technology Group Corp.
have made inroads on third-
generation chipsets.
The country’s other
chipmakers which include
Semiconductor Manufactur-
ing International Corp., Will
Semiconductor Ltd. and Na-
tional Silicon Industry
Group Co., may benefit
more broadly from the state
support.
“This is a sector about to
see explosive growth,” Alan
Zhou, managing partner of
Fujian-based chip invest-
ment fund An Xin Capital
Co. Ltd., said in an industry
forum last week. Because of
China’s increasing demand
and investment, this is an
area that could create a
“world-class Chinese chip
giant.”
Bloomberg
are here with the perfect
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? tsp – Baking powder
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2 tbsp – Grated carrots
1 tbsp – Chopped walnuts
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1 tbsp – Honey
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Lifestyle Desk
 75th birth anniversary of writer
IMPHAL, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2020

27th Khongjom Tarpan Ex-MLA Paonam Brojen distributes

'Constructing religious structures inside Khongjom
War Memorial Complex is very unfortunate'
Our Correspondent
THOUBAL, Sep 3: The 27th
Khongjom Tarpan was
performed today at Khongjom
War Memorial Complex and
Khongjom Turel.
The event organised by
Khongjom War Memorial
Trust (KWMT) was held in a
low scale following SOPs for
COVID-19 due to the pan-
demic.
A group of people led by
KWMT chairman, former
Minister Moirangthem
Hemanta paid floral tributes
to the statue of Paona
Brajabashi, followed by a
ritual of "Langban Chara
Tamba" at Khongjom River.
Speaking to media per-
sons, Moirangthem Hemanta
said that KWMT has been
observing Khongjom Tarpan
since 1994 to remember the
martyrs who laid down their
lives to safeguard Manipur
from the British.
Saying that Khongjom
War Memorial Complex was
built in memory of those free-
dom fighters who fought the
Mighty British at Khongjom
War 1891, he added that con-
structing structures with
religious linkage at this sa-
cred site is very unfortunate.
structed, the former Minister
said "our forefathers will not
forgive those who built reli-
gious structures at the same
site where heroes of Anglo
Manipuri were martyred.
Hemanta further stated that
the complex is being remem-
bered by the State
Government only once a year.
Claiming that collecting an
unauthorised fee for entering
Khongjom War Memorial
Complex also began since
yesterday by a certain organi-
sation, the former Minister
further questioned if the dis-
trict administration and SP
are ignoring this unauthorised
activity.
"Can people do anything
inside this sacred complex as
per their whims and fancies,"
Hemanta asked stating that a
certain unauthorised organi-
sation comes out to use
Khongjom War Memorial
Complex like a garden to earn
money due to inattentiveness
of the Government.
The State Government
doesn't generate any revenue
from this unauthorised busi-
ness, he alleged.
Demanding the State Gov-
ernment to look into the
construction of religious
structures inside the
Khongjom War Memorial
Complex, the former Minister
cautioned that KWMT will
consider this incumbent Gov-
ernment is akin to a
dictatorship, where people
voice have no place if the
demand is not entertained.
pension to 265 beneficiaries
Kartik Maiba observed
Our Correspondent
Our Correspondent
THOUBAL, Sep 3: Altogether, 265 pension beneficiaries of
Wangjing Tentha Assembly Constituency (AC) were handed over THOUBAL, Sep 3: The 75th
a sum of Rs 1,200 each for 6 months as part of an initiative under birth anniversary of Kartik
Paonam Birahari Charitable Foundation. Maiba, the first reknowned
The pension amount totalling Rs 3,18,000 were distributed writer from Tentha village,
to the beneficiaries belonging to old age citizens, widows and was observed today at the
differently-abled individuals of the constituency. Tentha Multiplex in Tentha
The pension distribution programme conducted at multiple Khongbal, Thoubal district,
places in Tentha was attended by ex-MLA Paonam Brojen today.
along with BJP Wangjing Tentha Mandal secretary, Thangjam In the year 1971, Kartik
Brajakeshore, mandal advisor, M Mangi, PRO to the ex MLA, Maiba wrote a book of poem
S Jayadeva, mandal cashier Yumnam Basanta, asst secretary called "Leikhal Khara"
Mutum Kanta and mandal executive member Ksh Jiten. which earned him recogni-
Additionally, Rs 50,000 each was also distributed to the tion, becoming the pioneer
Polling Committee of Polling No 1,2,3 and 4 for various writer from Tentha village.
development activities of the committee. Contributing to Manipuri
Thangjam Brajakeshore, BJP Tentha Mandal secretary or- language and the field of lit- Sahitya Yokhat Kanglup ment Award by Sahitya
ganisation, urged the people of Wangjing Tentha to support erature, he had penned 10 Tentha and Khorirol Yokhat Kanglup Tentha.
Paonam Brojen in the upcoming by-election. books, some of which worth Sandoklup. He also served As part of the pro-
"Ex- MLA Paonam Brojen has been providing pension to mentioning are - Ahingbabu as the president of Manipuri gramme, poems from the
old age citizens, widows and differently-abled citizens of the Ki, Meetei Ningthourel, Sahitya Parishad Masha books Leikhal Khara and
constituency since 2014, I request the cooperation of the public Tentha Khundarol, Hare Wangjing. Ahingbabu Ki by Kartik
and to support the candidature of Paonam Brojen so that he may Hare Yaiphare Yaiphare and His works have received were recited by the guests
carry on the developmental activities," he added. Kangleipakki Sagei Salairol. recognition and awards in- and poets attending the
It may be mentioned that pensions for beneficiaries of Poll- During the programme, cluding 2 awards conferred event.
ing No 5,6 and 7 will be distributed on September 4, 2020. eminent critic Ibosana by the Bharatiya Dalit Today's function was at-
Rashtriya Poshan Maah Yambem spoke on his
(Kartik's) work "Leikhal
Sahitya Akademi,
Ibotomba Ningshing Sebak
the tended by former Art &
Cultural Minister Dr
launched in CCpur Khara" while critic Bhorot
Sanasam spoke on his work
Mana by Khorirol
Sandoklup Wangjing, Pacha
Moirangthem Nara Singh,
retd District Medical Of-
CCPUR, Sept 3 (DIO) "Hare Hare Yaiphare Meetei Literary Award by ficer Naorem Landhon
Yaiphare". Patriotic Writers Forum Singh and retd teacher
Towards the realisation of the objective of making the district Speaking on the works Manipur, Person of the Moirangthem Ibopishak
malnutrition free, the Rashtriya Poshan Maah 2020 was launched and achievements of Kartik Year award by the Geo- Singh as the chief guest,
by Thangboi Gangte, Additional DC, Churachandpur at the Maiba, acclaimed writer graphical Society of Tentha, president and guest of hon-
Conference Hall of DC office today.
Moirangthem Rajendra said First Poet of Tentha award our respectively, along with
The programme, jointly organised by ICDS Cell, that Kartik Maiba is the by Ehouhou Khinjel Tentha many reknowned poets and
Churachandpur and District Administration, was marked by
founder president of and the Lifetime Achieve- writers.
administering of poshan pledge by the Addl DC.

Piaggio India launches special edition Vespa Racing

Asking if the State Gov- Speaking on the occasion, Thangboi Gangte, while stressing
ernment and district
administration are unaware of Liquor held, disposed of as Joint Task on the importance of providing nutritious food to the children,

Sixties inspired by the racing machines of 1960s

emphasized the need to take the campaign to interior areas of
such development taking
place and on whose order Force Pourabi swings into action the district so that all children irrespective of backgrounds,
receive the benefits.
were the structures con- Urging the concern officials to ensure that the campaign
IMPHAL, Sep 3
reaches every nook and corners of the district, the ADC said IMPHAL, Sep 3: Piaggio India vibrant high definition 3 coat

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COVID-19 Joint Task Force, Pourabi, which was formed on that there should be no barriers in reaching the Poshan Maah today launched the classic and body colours, Anti-lock brak-
August 31, had seized and disposed liquor as the body swung into campaign to every household and should not be confined to aesthetically appealing, special ing system or combined
action right from the formation day. town areas alone. edition Vespa Racing Sixties in braking system with twin pot
The liquor was seized from the possession of an individual Dr Paulunmang, DFWO spoke on the importance of conver- 125and 150 CCin India. calliper disc brake. Includes
at Pourabi Makha Leikai, who was supposedly running a gence approach on the scheme. The iconic and timeless new high performance BS6
Vespa compliments the bold compliant engine with clean
liquor vendor during the drive conducted by the local taskforce It may be mentioned that the scheme of the month-long
simplicity and exclusivity emission, 3 Valve design and
who came out to effectuate the containment order issued by campaign is to make children, adolescents and women healthy
sported by the racing vehicles Fuel injection technology. It
/ District Administration, Imphal East in and around Pourabi and strong.
village and nearby containment areas. The aim is to deliver correct nutrition to every household and of 1960s. The new Vespa is also equipped with Crystal
In all, 15 litres of liquor was seized by the team apart from to promote nutritious diet, clean water and healthy practices. special series have been based Illumination LED headlight,
pulling up two liquor suppliers during the drive, said a state- Among other activities to be taken up under the scheme on the technologically ad- Center integrated Day Time
vanced Vespa SXL 150 BS6 from the gentlemen riders Running extra bright beam
ment of the task force. during the month-long campaign includes vegetable and fruit
and SXL 125 BS6. races of the 60s. light, USB mobile charging
The taskforce also appealed all not to indulge in intoxicants, plantation drive in kitchen garden, door to door delivery of
The“Racing Sixties” edi- port and Boot light that com-
especially during such a difficult time brought by the COVID- nutritious foods to severely acute malnourished and moderately The style choices adopted
19 outbreak. malnourished children, webinar on prevention of malnutrition tion was unveiled at Auto for the Vespa Racing Sixties bines convenience with style
Meanwhile, Khundrakpam Zilla Parishad Member, during and after COVID-19 pandemic, etc. Expo 2020 in Greater Noida special series echo the feats for the riders.
Thangjam Angoubi donated a sum of Rs 5,000 to the at the beginning of the year. of legendary sports personali- Vespa Racing Sixties is

Chandigarh University Chancellor features

The classic and rich sporty ties, conjuring up memories available at all Vespa
7005281388
taskforce, the taskforce said while expressing gratitude.
appeal of the Racing Sixties of legendary circuits such as dealerships across India or
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The taskforce also thanked Waiton Gram Panchayat's
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MANIPUR POLICE GAS
within the containment zone area. pionships like the Targa
IMPHAL, Sep 3: Recognizing the contribution made in the field
Booking date: 23/05/20
The task force, on the other hand stated that MLA of a tinge of gold on pristine Florio. shop.vespaindia.com/at a
of Higher Education, Edupreneur & Chancellor of Chandigarh
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Khundrakpam AC, Th Lokeshor donated 5 bags of rice for white body colour and golden The special edition Vespa booking amount of INR
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distribution at containment zone areas, it continued.
Time: 11.00am to 2.00pm
Eminent Punjabis of the World 2020. Inspiration for the Vespa efits worth INR 2,000/- while
MSAD denounces memorandum against
KHONGNANG GAS technologically advanced
AGENCY NINGTHOUKHONG The list was released by Intellectual Punjabi Chamber of Racing Sixties series comes Monocoque full steel Body, booking it online.
Commerce (IPCC) which is a non-profit organization that
expression of views by teachers in the State
Booking upto: 08/08/20, Valid
from: 01/08/20 recognizes the contribution of prominent Punjabi personalities
in the field of Commerce, Start-ups, Business & Trade, Civil
Please contact: 7085412119/

Services, Industry & Corporate World.

7085411559
IMPHAL, Sep 3
On behalf of IPCC, Bhagwant Mann, Member Parliament
Time: 7:30am to 10:30am

The Manipur Students' Association Delhi (MSAD) has and Manjeev Singh Puri, Indian Diplomat and former Indian
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In a statement issued by MSAD, the association alleged
that the memorandum issued on August 10, 2020 by the
Directorate of University and Higher Education, Government
of Manipur against writing and expression of views on the
Government policies/programmes in the media by teachers in
book featuring 30 eminent Punjabi personalities from all over
the world through a virtual ceremony.
Chancellor Chandigarh University, Satnam Singh Sandhu
has been honored with the global recognition for his contri-
bution in the field of Higher Education and turning Punjab into
a preferred destination for professional education.
Satnam Singh Sandhu who hails from backward and re-

Manipur is the Government's way of 'systematically sup- mote part of the Malwa region of Punjab ventured into the
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The statement also said that an online placard campaign

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Across disparate cultures that require physical risk-
taking as a rite of passage, it is always the men who
engage in such pursuits.
Gad Saad
How will the Naga CSOs respond ?
Challenges before final pact
It is getting more and more interesting
and what was once thought unthinkable
seems to be staring everyone in the face
today. This of course does not mean the
last word has been said. Just a few days
after the Government made it known that
the final deal may be signed with the
NNPGs and other groups concerned to bring
to an end the Naga issue, the Nagaland
Gaon Bura Federation has come out and
openly stated that the demand of the
NSCN (IM) that Interlocutor to the peace
talk RN Ravi should be changed goes
against the spirit of the grain, now that
the peace process is at the stage of
winding up. The position of the NNPGs
must be known to everyone. Made up of
6 groups which never did see eye to eye
with the NSCN (IM), the NNPGs managed
to float its own Working Committee and
join the political dialogue as yet another
important player only as late as 2017, but
their position seems to go down well with
the Government of India and hence the
story that the final deal may be signed
sans the NSCN (IM). Anything can hap-
pen and while many in the know have had
their say with even former DGP of Assam
Police and the BSF Prakash Singh advo-
cating “End NSCN-IM’s dadagiri in North
East. Nagaland deserves peace” in the
widely respected ThePrint, it would be
naive to draw any conclusion at this point
of time, afterall the NSCN (IM) and the
Government of India have been engaged
in a political negotiation for the last 23
years. Maybe it would be too premature
to suggest that a peace talk that has
been on since 1997 will be abrogated,
even if the differences may seem insur-
mountable at the moment.
The NSCN (IM) too has not been keep-
ing quiet with their latest salvo coming in
the form of “Nagas ready for fresh war,”
and in between many observations and
comments have been made in different
newspapers in the last few days. Obvious
that the ‘war’ today needs to be taken
out from the classical understanding of
the bush war and see it in its different
settings and this is something which the
NSCN (IM), NNPGs and in fact all other
armed groups active in the North East
region know and practise with a finesse.
The Nagaland Gaon Bura Federation has
spelt out its mind and this is where it will
be interesting to see how the other Naga
civil society organisations, which other-
wise had been very vocal earlier respond
to the unfolding scenario. If at all a final
pact is signed sans the NSCN (IM) and
confined to the State of Nagaland, how
will the Naga Hoho respond ? How about
the Naga CSOs in Manipur, especially the
United Naga Council and the numerous
other groups such as the All Naga Stu-
dents’ Association, Manipur, Tangkhul Naga
Long, Senapati District Students’ Associa-
tion, Tangkhul Katamnao Saklong etc ?
What is their stand on the issue, as things
stand today ? Not expecting an answer at
the moment, but nonetheless questions
which can be raised. Also important to
remember that there is the Naga Women
Union which once had Manipur as a suffix
but which today stands only as NWU ?
Their response to the unfolding scenario
will also be extremely interesting. As for
AMUCO, UCM, COCOMI and others their
stand on the matter has already been
made known.
Important notice
Contributors are requested to submit their articles
within 1000-1500 words. Any article exceeding the word
limit will not be entertained.
Editor
Science News
Genetics of the tree of life
LONDON, Sep 3: The African baobab tree (Adansonia digitata)
is called the tree of life. Baobab trees can live for more than a
thousand years and provide food, livestock fodder, medicinal
compounds, and raw materials. Baobab trees are incredibly
significant. However, there are growing conservation concerns and
until now, a lack of genetic information.
The African baobab tree has 168 chromosomes -- critical
knowledge for further genetic studies, conservation, and im-
provement for agricultural purposes. The findings were
published in the journal Scientific Reports. Previous studies
estimated that the tree has between 96 and 166 chromosomes.
"We were able to unequivocally count the chromosomes,"
says Nurul Faridi, a USDA Forest Service research geneticist
who co-led the study with Hamidou Sakhanokho, a USDA
Agricultural Research Service research geneticist.
The researchers used fluorescent probes to see the genetic
components of individual chromosomes within the cells --
which glow like jewels.
The analysis also revealed that the tree has a massive
nucleolus organizer region (NOR). Relative to the main chro-
mosome body, this region appears larger than that of any other
plant species. During certain stages of the cell cycle, nucleoli
form at the NORs. The nucleoli are essential for ribosome
assembly and protein synthesis in eukaryotes and are an im-
portant feature that differentiates eukaryotes from prokaryotes.
"These genetic findings are foundational and will make
genetic conservation of the African baobab tree more efficient
and effective," says Dana Nelson, a coauthor and project leader
of the Southern Research Station's genetic unit. "This research
is also a precursor for tree breeding programs seeking to
improve baobab for silvicultural applications."
ScienceDaily
IMPHAL, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2020
Thirty first August Twenty
From Raisina Hills to Canchi Leikol
My homage to Pranab Mukherjee
Twenty will always remain a
sad day in/for the Country.
Last Monday, the Thirteenth
President of the Republic of
India (2012-2017) Shri
Pranab Mukherjee Passed away at the ripe age of eighty four
leaving family, friends, admirers and tens of thousands of
supporters in a state of grief and mourning. In his message of
condolences, President Ram Nath Kovind described the
former President's demise as "passing of an era" and called
him "a colossus in public life " and one of the worthiest sons
of the Nation. Recalling his initial foray into national politics
in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on his Twitter:
" I was new to Delhi in 2014. From Day 1, I was blessed to
have the guidance, support and blessings of Shri Pranab
Mukherjee ". The Prime Minister went on to describe the
former President as a "scholar par excellence, a towering
statesman ". Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh said
the Country has lost one of its greatest leaders. Condoling the
demise of former President Pranab Mukherjee, the state Chief
Minister Shri N Biren Singh said "the Country has lost a
precious son of the soil...his contributions to the political and
economic sphere of the country will be fondly remembered
by the people ".
Born on December 11 1935 in a middle class family
in Bengal (now West Bengal) Pranab Kumar Mukherjee
started his career as a college teacher with a double
masters in History and Political Science as well as a
degree in Law from the university of Calcutta. He also
served as editor of a Bengali periodical and worked for
a weekly publication. He later left his teaching career and
plunged himself into public life, following the footsteps
of his father who was deeply involved in India's freedom
struggle.
In 1969, Pranab Mukherjee became a member of the
Upper House when he was elected to the Rajya Sabha as
a Bangla Congress candidate which later on merged with
the Indian National Congress. It was during the Prime
Ministership of Indira Gandhi (1966-77; 1980- 84) that
Pranab Mukherjee emerged as her protege and most
trusted lieutenant. Widely regarded as Indira's 'Trouble
Shooter ' , Pranab Mukherjee fall out with the Congress
in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi 's assassination in 1984
when Rajiv Gandhi succeeded his mother as Prime Min-
ister. He later rejoined Congress in 1989 following a
patch up with Rajiv Gandhi. He left Rajya Sabha in 2004
Ponzi scheme on the prowl again!
Ponzi scheme is a form of
fraud which believes the
success of a non-existent
enterprise and fostered by the
payment of quick returns to the first investors from money
invested by later investors. The basis of such scheme is
treachery and lies. Since they have little or no legitimate earnings
they require a consistent flow of money from new investors to
continue the scheme. They tend to collapse when it becomes
difficult to recruit new investors or when a large number of
investors ask to cash out. After going through this article,
esteemed readers are expected to resolve against never
participating in such schemes again in future.
These schemes are nothing new. They had been there
and will continue to be so in the future as it appeals to the
baser instincts of human beings. Some well meaning read-
ers, even after reading this article may go ahead and still
put their investment anyhow in such schemes defying all
logic. The Get Rich Quick mantra is too good to be true.
An opportunity too good to miss which may not come your
way again. It is written in the Bible, “…seeing they see not;
and hearing they hear not, neither do they
understand.”(Matt. 5:13). Of course, there is fun and en-
joyment in sin for a season. Some early birds benefited
from such schemes and enjoy the party till it last. It’s a
dream land. They will wake up with a jolt when it ends
abruptly. If it is too good to be true, then it is! The early
investors need to be happy to bring in more investors to
give a good impression and prove that your investment is
genuine by backing it with real testimony. When the net is
wide enough, then its time the scheme winds up. They go
back where they come from. Normally, nobody knows
where it is. It’s the last batch of people who are the ones
set to lose their money.
The intention of this article is not to keep the readers
from getting rich. But money has a way of defying logic.
On the next day after demonetization, everybody anticipate
a stock market crash. But contrary to everybody’s expec-
tation the stock prices went north. That is why rich people
continues to be rich. They know how money works. They
have financial education and have respect for money. For
instance, ordinary people will have no qualms of purchas-
ing petrol on the roadside during these lockdown days at
the premium price of Rs.120/- per litre in mineral water
bottle. But a rich man will not buy it except under extraor-
dinary circumstances. For him, it is too costly, he will say,
I can’t afford it. Besides, it has chances of being adulter-
ated and even spoils the vehicle. There is a need for
Tired of trying market-based synthetic face packs that
promise you glowing, smooth and radiant skin? . Many of us
feel cheated by using artificial products that show no result.
Most of these skin creams, lotions, gels etc are loaded with
chemicals which can harm our skin in the long run .
However, A great alternative to your expensive
beauty products in the market is fruit face packs which
are quite effective, have no side effects and are cost
efficient. The homemade fruit face pack are natural and
easy to make so, which gives you clear, smooth and
glowing skin with regular use. Fruit packs are great for
adding radiance to the skin. They can also be applied
daily.
Here are some fruit face packs that help you achieve
a beautiful glowing..
Mango:
Mango is rich in Vitamins A and C E and a host of
skin rejuvenating formulas. Mango contains antioxidants
that have anti-inflammatory effects on your skin . It
softens, nourishes and brightens the skin. Take 3 table-
spoons Mango pulp and mix with one teaspoon each
ground almonds, oats and lemon juice. Apply on the face,
avoiding the lips and area around eyes. Wash off after 20
to 30 minutes.
Take slices of ripe mango. Mash it until it is smooth
.Add one teaspoon full of multani mitti (fuller's earth) and
make a thick, smooth paste. Apply this paste your skin
around face and neck and wash it off after 30 minutes
to get supple and glowing skin
Ripe Papaya:
Papaya has so many benefits that it used to be called
“the food of the angels.” It is a rich source of antioxi-
dants, like Vitamins A, C and B, folate and pantothenic
acid, as well as minerals like potassium, copper, and
magnesium.
Papaya contains papain, an enzyme, which helps to
soften and remove dead skin cells, making the skin clearer
and brighter. Mix 3 teaspoons ripe papaya with 3 tea-
spoons oats and one teaspoon each curd and honey. Leave
on for 20 to 30 minutes and wash off with water. It
softens the skin and adds a glow.
Alternatively mash few slices of ripe papaya until it
is smooth . Add few drops of honey and lemon juice to
make thick paste . Apply the paste on the face for 30
minutes and wash it off with fresh clean water
Take two pieces of papaya and one tablespoon of
honey . Blend the papaya into a nice, smooth pulp and
add the honey to it. Once you have gotten a thick consist-
ency ,apply the mixture on the face and wash it off with
cold plain water after 30 minutes and apply moisturizer
for glowing , radiant and supple skin
Mix together one tablespoon each grated apples, ripe
Rajendra Kshetri
when he was elected to the Lower House and remains a
member of Lol Sabha until 2012 when he ran for the
office of the President of India.
Decorated with the country's highest civilian honour
Bharat Ratna (2019) and the second highest Padma
Vibhusan (2008), Pranab Mukherjee held many high pro-
file portfolios such as Finance (incidentally the youngest
Finance minister at the age of 47), External affairs and
Defence with aplomb and elan.
Pranab Mukherjee 's Presidentship years at Rastrapati
Bhavan (2012-2017) was marked by non-partisanship and
conscientious decisions. A politician-statesman, Pranab
Mukherjee always puts national interest above individual
interest. He was the first Indian President to visit Israel
and also the first to attend RSS function. He rejected 30
mercy petitions, a number greater than the combined total
of mercy petitions rejected by his four immediate pred-
ecessors, including those of Afzal Guru, Ajmal Kasab
and Yakub Men on.
A bibliophile by nature, Pranab Mukherjee loves read-
ing and writing, a rare quality he sustained in spite of his
hectic political and official engagements/commitments.
Among several books that he authored, 3 books of very
David Zote
financial education of the masses.
WHAT ARE THE SCHEMES?
In the past there were schemes like NSEM, Hello India
Express, TVI, ICTIL, Visaref, Rose Valley and many other
more which went bust. The investors in Salai Holdings are
hoping against hope of getting back their money. More
recently there are schemes like Sarva Public Ltd., Osmose
Technology Pvt. Ltd., Add Income Group (AIG), More
Choice, SoJob.io, etc.
HOW DO THEY WORK?
Let us have a closer look at the modus operandi of a
couple of schemes to understand how they
work.
In Sarva Public Ltd. the minimum investment is
Rs.5000/-. Once you deposit it, according to the Plan A of
the company, they will in turn deposit into your account
Rs.90/- per day for 99 days, which means you will get back
a total of Rs.8910/-. The Plan B has the same minimum
investment of Rs.5000/- for 200 days tenure and the de-
positors account will see Rs.68/- deposited per day and in
the end will receive Rs.13,600/-. Maximum deposit amount
is Rs.5,00,000/- in both the cases. Everything looks fine on
the surface. These plans can be seen uploaded on the
facebook page Sarva itech as on 4 August 2020. But as on
28 August 2020, the money is not coming into the deposi-
tors account anymore. They claim that all problems will be
Fruit face packs
-Beauty Tips -
Shahnaz Husain
papaya pulp and mashed
banana. Add oats to make a
mixture that does not drip.
Apply it on the face,
avoiding the lips and area
around eyes. Leave it on
for half an hour. Wash off
with plain water. It not
only adds a glow, but also
cleanses the skin and re-
moves tan.
Banana:
Banana is one of the
richest sources of potas-
sium and also contains
Vitamin C and B6. silica, potassium, and other nutrients
Banana is extremely nourishing for the skin, not only due
to its vitamin content, but also because potassium helps to
soften the skin.. It helps clear hyperpigmentation and
protects the skin from sun damage. It is a perfect ingre-
dient for dry and sensitive skin .
It also tightens and tones the skin. Banana pulp can be
added to egg white and one teaspoon honey Leave it on
for 20 to 30 minutes and then wash it off. Almond oil
may also be added to the pack, especially during the dry
winter season.
Alternatively you can take one banana . one tsp honey
and few drops of lemon juice . Mash the banana and add
honey and lemon juice to apply the paste on your face and
other areas of the skin . Leave it and wash it off after 30
minutes.. Avoid using lemon juice if you have dry and
sensitive skin.
Apples:
Apples contain a wealth of vitamins and minerals.
Apples are wonderful skin toners, helping to tighten the
skin and stimulate blood circulation to the skin surface.
Apple contains vitamin C that helps build collagen. It
contains powerful antioxidants and polyphenols that pro-
tect your skin from UV damage and ageing.
Apples also contain fruit acids, which have a powerful
cleansing effect on the skin, removing dead skin cells.
interesting themes "The
Dramatic Decade"(2014);
"The Turbulent
Years"(2016) and "The
Coalition Years"(2017)
merit high attention as they
were all published while in office.
My Tribute: When the 13th President of India Pranab
Mukherjee bade farewell to Rastrapati Bhavan in 2017 ,
yours truly wrote the following and posted on my face
book page (24 July 2017) as my humble/personal tribute
to the outgoing President: " Sir you will be remembered
not merely as one of India's former Presidents. Your
Presidency will be fondly remembered, cherished and
treasured for bringing back dignity and integrity to the
highest office of the country. Sir you also have added that
touch of academic fragrance, hitherto missing after
Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, which certainly will be an en-
during legacy of your Presidency. I never have had the
occasion , privilege and opportunity of shaking hands
with any of the former President. I still cherish the warm
hands that was extended to me during your convocation
visit to Nagaland Central University.
How could I ever forget your sense of Fairness and
justice shown to an unknown humble teacher from a far-
flung tiny corner of the country. I have personal reasons
to be eternally grateful to you Sir for where I am now.
May God Bless you and give healthy life ".
When I heard the sad news of Pranab Mukherjee 's
death on 31 August 2020 , I wrote, expressed my deepest
feeling of grief and loss the next day on my fb page:
"The Thirteenth President of the Republic of India,
Shri Pranab Mukherjee Passed Away. His sense of fair-
ness, academic expertise and skilful crisis management
ability will be missed.
For Some One (like me) living in a tiny corner of India
who had been blessed by his warm hands and concern for
the underprivileged, his passing away is nothing short of
a personal loss.
May His Great Soul Rest In Eternal Peace ".
Sir, I owe you. I shall always owe you for your kind
hand of blessings from Raisina Hills so an unknown
teacher could teach and inspire young minds at Dr.
Kamal's Canchi Leikol.
The author is Professor and Head, Department of
Sociology MU, Imphal.
resolved by 25 September
2020. This is very unlikely.
Osmose Technology Pvt.
Ltd. is another scheme
which appeal to the internet users. They came out with an
app called PikFlick, a reward for using it is Rs.20/- per day
with a downline option. There are attractive rewards like
Dream House, World tour, Mercedes Car, etc. Lets look at
how one can achieve Mercedes Car, which is after referral
of 1,00,000 people within 4 months time. The sheer number
of downline you need to generate and the limited timeline
makes it almost an impossibility and in favour of the
operators.
Add Income Group (AIG) is another scheme which is
an android based app and can be downloaded from the play
store and was released on 21 October 2019. So far, it has
a download of 50,000. You can join the group with a
deposit of Rs.599/- and you can earn income by watching
the advertisement which is Rs.15 per day. There is a re-
ferral system where your downline can watch the
advertisement and you get Rs.4.25/- per day. So, you have
to call up your downline to watch the advertisement daily.
You are allowed to withdraw only after it accumulate to
Rs.5000/-. But even then you will get much less because
around 20 per cent will go into various taxes.
If you don’t know what to do with your money, the
ponzi scheme operators or the scammers are stretching out
their hands to hand over your money to them. They will
keep it safe for you. Chances are that you may never even
see it again. It would be quite logical to think that in times
of crisis like this, during the covid19 lockdown, since you
are not able to work, it sounds quite reasonable to let your
money work hard for you.
There are times you won a lottery in your mail or in the
mobile phone which are sometimes in terms of million
dollars. Since you never bought a lottery ticket, if you
suddenly wins a lottery prize, then it definitely is a fraud.
There are some schemes which are tailored mainly for
the youths now as they are tech savvy. Transfer of money
is becoming convenient through online platform like paytm,
google pay, etc. These social media based schemes target
mainly the youth in th northeast.
In order to avoid such schemes, there are some things
which you can do. Make sure your adviser is legit, ask
friends and relatives for recommendations, dig deep, be
sceptical of pitches for exotic or obscure products and be
vigilant.
The author can be reached: kdavidzote@gmail.com
This helps to brighten the skin and gradually clear away
blemishes, like dark spots. In fact, it helps to achieve
healthy, glowing and youthful skin. Raw apple pulp or
apple juice can be applied on the skin daily and then
washed off with plain water after 20 minutes. Grated
apple can be added to face masks.
Mix oats with curd, honey and apple pulp or grated
apple into a paste. Apply on the face and wash it off after
20 to 30 minutes. Grate few slices of apple, with its skin
removed and add a few drops of honey to make it a paste
. Apply the paste onto your face and uncovered areas like
hands , elbows etc . Wash it off with warm water after
30 mintes
Alternatively Take one apple and few grapes and blend
both apples and grapes to get smooth , soft paste .Apply
it on face and open around face and let it dry in natural
environment .
Wash it with clean , fresh water and pat dry
If you have dry skin, do not use this remedy as vitamin
C can dry out your skin further.
Pomegranate:
Pomegranates are a rich source of Vitamin C and anti-
oxidants. They have excellent benefits for skin care, as they
help to moisturize the skin. The pomegranate also helps to
improve the skin’s moisture retention ability too. Used
regularly on the face, it can remove tan, lighten skin colour
and also brighten the skin.
Pomegranate juice can be mixed with lemon juice in
equal quantities and applied on the face. Rinse off after 20
minutes with water. Pomegranate peel can be dried and
powdered and used in face packs. Mix two teaspoons each
pomegranate peel powder and fuller’s earth (multani mitti)
with enough rose water to make a paste. Apply on the face,
avoiding the lips and area around eyes. Wash off when it
dries.
Grapefruit (Chakotra):
Both pink and red grapefruits are said to be rich in
Vitamin A, carotene and lycopene. They are also rich in
Vitamins C & A, as well as potassium and magnesium.
Additionally they contain B-Complex Vitamins and miner-
als such as iron, calcium, copper and phosphorus. Like
other citrus fruits, grapefruit also has a cleansing and ton-
ing effect on the skin. It is particularly good for oily and
pimple prone skin. It reduces oiliness and also helps to
reduce tan over a period of time.
Grapefruit also helps oily skin problems like open pores
and helps to tighten them. Mix the juice with oats to make
a paste and apply on the face. Wash off when it dries. It
helps to remove blackheads.
The author is international fame beauty expert and is
called herbal queen of India

Hacked PM Modi’s Twitter account to make
a point on PayTM Mall breach: Hackers
NEW DELHI, Sep 3
A Twitter account linked to
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s personal website was
purportedly compromised
early on Thursday, with a series
of tweets sent out by an
individual or a group
identifying themselves as ‘John
Wick’ who later told HT that the
hack was meant to clear their
name in a separate breach
involving a popular e-
commerce website.
A Twitter spokesperson
confirmed that the page --
@narendramodi_in – associ-
ated with the PM’s website
narendramodi.in was com-
promised. Shortly after 3am,
several posts were made, in-
cluding some urging people
to donate to a cryptocurrency
wallet that the hackers said
was linked to the “PM Na-
tional Relief Fund”.
“There is no other inten-
tion to hack this account.
Recently fake news of our
name saying PayTM mall
[was] hacked by us. So we
have sent email to all news
publishers in India [that] it’s
not us, no one replied, so we
decided to post something,”
said a person who responded
from the email address that
was posted in one of the
tweets after the hack. The
PM Cares Fund: Here is how much
Narendra Modi contributed
NEW DELHI, Sep 3
A day after the first PM-Cares
Fund audit report was made
public, it has been revealed that
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
donated Rs 2.25 lakh towards
the initial corpus of the fund set
up to tackle Covid-19 crisis in
India.
It was reported yesterday
that the PM Cares Fund,
which was set up on March
27, received Rs 3,076 crore
in just five days. However,
this amount was separate
from the initial corpus of Rs
2.25 lakh donated by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi.
Many leaders from the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
including Union ministers
Piyush Goyal and Smriti Irani
have praised the prime minis-
ter on Twitter for donating the
initial corpus for the PM
Cares Fund.
However, this is not the
first time PM Modi has do-
nated from his personal wealth
towards a public cause.
Wear mask if driving alone? Health
Ministry says no directions issued
NEW DELHI, Sep 3
The Union Health Ministry
today clarified it has not issued
any directions asking people to
wear masks if they are driving a
car alone. Addressing a press
briefing on the Covid-19
situation in India, Union Health
Secretary Rajesh Bhushan
added that while it is important
to wear masks when cycling
and jogging in groups, the
health ministry has not issued
any guidelines mandating use
of masks if someone is cycling
alone.
Speaking about the
BJPusing COVID-19 as an excuse to cancel Question Hour, says NCP
MUMBAI, Sep 3: The NCP on Thursday accused
the BJP of using the Covid-19 pandemic as an
excuse to cancel the Question Hour in the
forthcoming monsoon session of Parliament to
“hide its failures” on multiple fronts.
The NCP also called for using other elec-
tronic means to let parliamentarians question the
Centre. “The BJP is using the coronavirus pan-
demic as an excuse to cancel the Question Hour
in the monsoon session of Parliament to hide its
failures on multiple fronts,” NCP spokesperson
Mahesh Tapase alleged.
exploited something called an
API, which allows people to
access and send out tweets
without accessing an account
through Twitter.com.
“They have to increase the
security and invest in people
like us,” the hacker said.
On August 30, cyber se-
curity firm Cyble reported
that a hacking group identify-
ing itself as John Wick “was
able to gain unrestricted ac-
tweets have since been taken cess to the entire databases”
down. of PayTM Mall, an online
To a query from Hindustan retail venture of the popular
Times, a spokesperson from payments app PayTM.
Twitter in an email said, PayTM later issued a state-
“We’re aware of this activity ment saying it was
and have taken steps to se- investigating the breach and
cure the compromised assured that user data was
account. We are actively in- safe.
vestigating the situation. At A person aware of the
this time, we are not aware of preliminary analysis at Twit-
additional accounts being im- ter, who asked not to be
pacted.” named, said “there was no
An official of the Prime indication or evidence at this
Minister’s Office, requesting stage of any correlation be-
anonymity, said the hack had tween this account
nothing to do with the PM’s compromise and the incident
Twitter handle, but “only with that took place in July”. The
his website”. reference was to the breach of
“The website is managed Twitter’s internal systems
by the BJP, but anyway, ex- through which hackers simi-
cept to secure the password larly solicited payments in
of the account, a user can’t digital currency by making
do much with his/her own posts from the accounts of
Twitter handle,” he said. US presidential candidate Joe
The hackers did not respond Biden and former US presi-
to questions on how they car- dent Barack Obama and
ried out the hack and whether billionaire Elon Musk.
it was a compromise of the The page
Twitter account itself, but iden- @narendramodi_in is fol-
tifiers seen on screenshots lowed by 2.5 million users
suggested the tweets were made and is a platform for dissemi-
using a tool titled nating news about the PM’s
“narendramodi_tweets_apps”. activities, his statements and
The hacker suggested that addresses.
this was done by breaking into It was not immediately
the website narendramodi.in, clear if any money was sent
and not the Twitter account. into the cryptocurrency ac-
“Yes, 100% not secured,” said count posted in the hacked
this person, when asked if they tweets. Hindustan Times
workers of Kumbh Mela.
On receiving the Seoul
Peace Prize in South Korea,
he had immediately allocated
the entire prize money of Rs
1.3 crore for Namami Gange
to help clean the river Ganga.
PM Modi recently raised
Rs 3.40 crore from auction-
ing his mementoes and the
entire amount will also be
donated to the national Clean
Ganga mission. An additional
PM Modi’s total dona- Rs 8.35 crore was also raised
tions exceed Rs 103 Crore from auctioning gifts he re-
PM Modi has a legacy of ceived till 2015 and donated
contributing to public causes, the full amount towards the
ranging from girl child educa- Namami Gange mission.
tion initiatives to the Clean Upon completion of his
Ganga mission. He has also tenure as CM of Gujarat,
contributed for the welfare of Narendra Modi donated Rs
underprivileged people in the 21 lakh from personal sav-
country. ings for educating Gujarat
PM Modi's total donations government staffs' daughters.
towards such initiatives have Last but not the least, PM
now exceeded Rs 103 crore. Modi had also raised Rs
In 2019, Prime Minister 89.96 crore by auctioning all
Narendra Modi donated Rs gifts he received as chief min-
21 lakh from his personal
savings to the corpus fund for
ister and donated this to the
Kanya Kelavani Fund.
the welfare of sanitation India Today
when India is recording more
than 70,000 cases everyday,
the health ministry said the
central government has
adopted a graded approach to
opening up of activities.
"We have ensured pre-req-
uisites infrastructure and
services. The government has
issued clear guidelines on
standard clinical protocol for
Covid-19 patients. There are
adequate number of ICU and
isolation bedsand testing has
been boosted. Only after en-
coronavirus situation in India, suring these pre-requisites,
he said 62 per cent of all the government has gone for
active Covid-19 cases in In- a graded opening up of the
dia are presently confined to economy," the health ministry
five states. These are: Tamil said, adding that the govern-
Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, ment believes that while lives
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh are important, livelihood too
and Maharashtra. Among is important.
these, Maharashtra has the Besides this, the health
highest share in active cases ministry said so far, India has
(25 per cent), and the state conducted 4.50 crore tests.
also accounts for 37 per cent "There is an exponential in-
of the total Covid-19 deaths crease in the daily Covid-19
in India. testing in the country. Over
Responding to a question 11.7 lakh (11,72,179) tests
about the government's deci- were done in the last 24
sion of opening up of hours," the health secretary
economic activities at a time said. India Today
“The BJP should use other electronic media
to enable the MPs to question the government,”
he added. According to the notifications issued
by the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha secretariats,
there will be no Question Hour and private
members’ bills will not be taken up in the
upcoming monsoon session of Parliament, while
the Zero Hour will be restricted. There will also
be no breaks during the session, which will be
held from September 14 to October 1, and both
Houses will function on Saturdays and Sundays
as well, they said. Press Trust of India
100 days on, Assam’s Baghjan gas well continues to burn
IMPHAL, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2020
GUWAHATI, Sep 3
A hundred days after one of its
natural gas wells in Assam’s
Baghjan area reported a
blowout, which subsequently
caught fire, Oil India Limited
(OIL) has been unsuccessful in
controlling it so far. On
Wednesday, Commerce and
Industry Minister Chandra
Mohan Patowary said it might
take another six to eight weeks
to douse the fire at the well.
“While experts from Canada are
on their way to Assam with
‘snubbing’ equipment to kill
the well, the process may take up
to six-eight weeks,” said
Patowary, replying to a zero
hour notice by Congress’s
Durga Bhumij at the Assam
Assembly on Wednesday.
The ecological disaster at
Baghjan in Tinsukia district
was precipitated by the blow-
out — or an uncontrollable
release of natural gas at well
number 5, reported on May
27. On June 9, the well, lo-
cated close to the
Dibru-Saikhowa national park
and Maguri Motapung
wetland, caught fire, displac-
ing thousands from their
homes and leading to the
deaths of two firefighters.
After a series of delays,
first caused by the annual
floods in June and later, an
explosion which injured the
foreign experts on site in
July, OIL reached the penul-
timate stage of control
operations in mid-August
when they successfully placed
the crucial Blowout Preventer
(BOP) device at the well-
head. However, the final
stage of the operations, which
involved injecting mud at high
pressure through the BOP to
“kill” or completely shut down
Indian Army dominating Pangong Tso heights but Chinese still control Finger 4
NEW DELHI, Sep 3
The Indian Army is dominating
strategic heights at the northern
and southern bank of Pangong
Tso to challenge the Chinese, but
the People’s Liberation Army
(PLA) continues to be in control
of the ridgeline at Finger 4.
Even though the Chinese
army continue to sit atop the
Finger 4 ridgeline, the Indian
Army has taken over other
heights to put pressure on the
PLA, sources said.
This could help India in
future negotiations as China
was not willing to pullback
from the finger four mountain
tops earlier. This resulted in
the disengagement process
grinding to a halt.
On the south side of the
lake, which has become the
new friction point, the Indian
Army seems to be in an ad-
vantageous position.
Dominating Heights
The Indian Army has oc-
cupied heights that allow it to
UN Rapporteurs raise concerns
over India’s draft EIA 2020
NEW DELHI, Sep 3
The United Nations (UN)
Special Rapporteurs have
raised several concerns about
the draft Environment Impact
Assessment (EIA) notification,
2020 and have asked the
government how its provisions
correspond with India’s
obligations under international
law.
A communication dated
August 31 and posted on the
United Nations Human
Rights Council website by
UN Special Rapporteurs on
clean, healthy and sustainable
environment; on human
rights; on right to food; on
safe drinking water and sani-
tation stated that certain
provisions of the notification
could impact the effectiveness
and transparency of the envi-
ronmental regulatory
framework in India.
The three important issues
raised by UN Special
Rapporteurs are:
• The draft notification in-
cludes under Clauses 14 (2)
and 26 an exemption of sev-
eral large industries and
projects from public consulta-
tion — as part of the
environment impact assess-
ment process — such as
chemical manufacturing and
petroleum products; building,
construction and area devel-
opment; inland waterways
and expansion or widening of
national highways. “These
exemptions are unwarranted
given the substantial environ-
mental and human rights
negative impacts that can arise
from projects in these areas,”
they have said.
• The draft notification
does not require publication
of information or holding of
the well, failed — compelling
OIL to call off their opera-
tions and think of alternative
options.
Alternative steps: Di-
verting the gas
The authorities are now
trying to look at the possibili-
ties of diverting the gas from
the well into two streams.
“For this, the gas will be di-
verted through two
independent lines,” Patowary
said, in his response.
Explained OIL spokesper-
son Tridiv Hazarika:
“Basically, it is an elaborate
technical exercise that in-
volves a network of pipelines
being fitted to the BOP. A
portion of the gas will be
diverted for partial production
to the Baghjan Early Produc-
tion System. This will be
added to the daily gas pro-
duction of OIL. Another
quantity of gas will be
flared.”
This step, the authorities
hope, will prove to be of
immediate relief to the local
people in the surrounding ar-
eas. “If we are successfully
dominate the Moldo Garrison
and the Spangur Gap under
Chinese control. Both India
and China had earlier claimed
some of these heights.
“Dominating the Spangur
gap from heights is very cru-
cial. We have also occupied
some heights near finger 4,”
said an official.
One of the most critical
heights the Indian Army is
public consultation for
projects labelled by the Cen-
tral government as ‘involving
strategic considerations’. “Re-
grettably, the draft notification
does not provide clarification
regarding the criteria for cat-
egorizing projects ‘strategic’
by the Central Government
and hence could be open to
excessively broad interpreta-
tions,” they have observed.
• The rapporteurs have
cited that a clause on “post-
facto clearance” is worrisome.
These are for projects that
have started without obtain-
ing the required
environmental clearances or
permissions. “This practice
contradicts basic principles
related to the environmental
rule of law,” they have
pointed out. “As it is our re-
sponsibility, under
mandates provided to us by
the
the Human Rights Council, to
seek to clarify all cases
brought to our attention, we
would be grateful for the
observations of the Indian
government on the following
matters: Please provide any
additional information and/or
any comment(s) you may
have on the issues raised?
How do the provisions of the
draft notification correspond
able to divert a portion of the
gas, it will mean that the fire
and the sound will reduce,”
said Hazarika, adding they
will be ready for this proce-
dure in another three to four
days.
According to Tinsukia dis-
trict officials, while many
people have moved back
home, 500 people are cur-
rently in two relief camps in
Baghjan and Guijan. Locals
claim that the sound from the
well can be heard up to 5 km
away. Initially, 3,000 families
were in various relief camps
around the area.
The authorities said that
diverting the gas will also
help with the ‘snubbing’ op-
erations’, for which
equipment is awaited. “With
this, the well killing opera-
tions will be attempted at the
bottom of the well, unlike
earlier when we were work-
ing with the surface level,”
Hazarika said, adding: “Di-
verting the gas now will
lessen the pressure, and it
will be easier for the snub-
bing equipment to perform.”
manning is the Rechin La,
following which the Chinese
army protested.
As present, the Indian
Army enjoys a vantage point,
not just to monitor Chinese
military bases on the south
bank of the Pangong Lake,
but also keep an eye on the
Finger 4 area on the north of
the lake.
It may be noted that the
with India’s obligations un-
der international law?” the
communication stated.
HT has sought a response
from the Union Ministry for
Environment, Forest and Cli-
mate Change (MoEFCC) on
the UN communication. This
copy will be updated with
their response.
Meanwhile on Wednesday,
500 scientists, researchers,
and academics from the coun-
try’s leading institutions such
as Indian Institutes of Tech-
nology (IITs) wrote an open
letter to the MoEFCC and
urged it to withdraw the draft
EIA, notification, 2020. They
claimed that the move would
threaten the country’s eco-
logical and environmental
security. “It’s going to take
us a while to read through the
objections we have received.
A committee has been set up
to study the objections that
have come to us. The draft
will not be finalised anytime
soon,” said Geeta Menon,
joint secretary, MoEFCC.
The ministry had received
around two lakh objections to
the draft EIA notification,
2020 until August 11, which
was the last date for the sub-
mission of comments and
feedback. Hindustan Times
lieving them when they said
that the fire will be control-
led. Now we feel duped.”
An expert committee
formed by the National Green
Tribunal (NGT) recom-
mended three categories of
compensation: Rs 25 lakh for
those whose houses were
completely destroyed, Rs 10
lakh for those severely dam-
aged, and Rs 2.5 lakh for
those moderately damaged.
According to Bhaskar Pegu,
Tinsukia DC, the protesters
are looking for increased
compensation in the second
and third categories. “We are
communicating with the ex-
pert committee of the NGT
Compensation and pro- about this,” he said, adding
tests that the protests are peaceful.
Since August 24, about “Since there is no law and
200 villagers have been camp- order situation, so we have
ing in front of the Deputy let them be there.”
Commissioner’s office in a Patowary informed the
peaceful protest organised by Assembly that 12 families
the Baghjan Gaon Milanjyoti whose houses were com-
Yuva Sangha. pletely burnt have been given
assam gas leak, assam Rs 20 lakh, and 1,484 fami-
blowout, Baghjan gas well, lies have been given Rs
assam gas leak news, Baghjan 30,000 and 1,197 families
tragedy assam Tinsukia, Oil have been given Rs 25,000
India Limited (OIL), assam as one-time compensation.
news, latest news The OIL “Till now, we do not
statement added that data col- know what we will get — we
lection at the site has been have heard some compensa-
completed for the Environ- tion is coming our way, but I
mental Impact Assessment am not sure,” says 38-year-
(EIA).(Source: Indian Oil old Sangeeta Chetia, whose
Limited) baari or garden was burnt
“The twelve families when the well caught fire.
whose homes were com- Since then, she, her husband
pletely burnt received and three daughters have been
compensation, but the others at a relief camp. “Even when
whose homes were partially they douse the fire, what will
burnt have not,” said Hemanta we go back to? There is noth-
Moran, of the Baghjan Gaon ing left in our garden — all
Milanjyoti Yuva Sangha, “We our betel nut trees, mango
will not move till all the com- trees are gone, we depended
pensation comes through. We on this garden for our sur-
don’t understand the technical vival,” says Chetia.
side of things. We kept be- The Indian Express
provocative military move-
ment to change the status quo,
according to the Indian Army.
"Indian troops pre-empted
this PLA activity on the
southern bank of Pangong
lake and undertook measures
to strengthen our positions
and thwart Chinese intentions
to unilaterally change facts on
the ground," Indian Army’s
statement read.
Army sources added that
taking over the hilltops was
important to keep the Chinese
troops in check as they in-
creased their deployment in
areas close to ‘Black Top’
mountain spurs jutting out and ‘Helmet’ at LAC on the
into the lake at more than south bank of LAC, threaten-
14,000 feet are referred to as ing fresh incursions to change
fingers. status quo. Meanwhile, Indian
Shifting Focus Army Chief General MM
The focus has shifted to Naravane landed in Leh on
the southern bank of the lake Thursday to review the pre-
that was calm before the PLA paredness as tension continues
troops violated the previous to escalate. The army chief is
consensus on military and on a two-day visit and will be
diplomatic engagement on visiting forward areas,
August 29-30 by carrying out sources said. India Today
Facebook bans BJP MLA T Raja Singh
who was named in hate-speech row report
NEW DELHI, Sep 3: T Raja
Singh, an MLA from the ruling
party BJP has been banned by
Facebook for violating their
policy on content promoting
hate and violence, said a
spokesperson of the social
media giant.
The lone BJP MLA from
Telangana is in the centre of a
row over social media giant Facebook's policy on hate
speeches. In a statement to PTI, a Facebook spokesperson
said, "We have banned Raja Singh from Facebook for violat-
ing our policy prohibiting those that promote or engage in
violence and hate from having a presence on our platform,”
The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive
and it is what led to Facebook’s decision to remove his
account, according to the statement.
'Makes no sense'
Meanwhile, T Raja has said that banning him 'doesn't make
sense' as he is not on Facebook. Taking to Twitter, he said,
"I've rec'd news through media that I've been banned by
@Facebook for the so-called controversial speeches of mine.
I'd like to clarify that I've not been using FB since April 2019.
So, banning me makes no sense"
He attached the link to his earlier Twitter posts where he
has complained regarding his account getting hacked in 2018.
In 2019, he Tweeted to Facebook asking the reason behind
the removal of his Facebook account.
Allegations on Facebook
Facebook - which counts India among its largest markets
with over 300 million users - has been in the eye of a storm
after a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report alleged that Facebook's
content policies favoured the ruling party in India.
The report had alleged that Facebook had ignored posts
containing hate speech by BJP MLA Raja Singh. Since then,
the ruling BJP and Congress have been trading barbs over
social media giant's alleged bias. T Raja had allegedly posted
comments and made speeches saying that Rohingya Muslim
refugees should be shot and Muslims were traitors. However,
he had rejected allegations that he made communally loaded
posts online. He asserted he only works in the national inter-
est. He said his official FB page had been "hacked and
blocked" in 2018 but that there has been no response from the
police on a complaint filed by him on the matter so far.
In a video released last month, Singh had said, "I am being
projected in such a way that I am the most dangerous in the
entire world (like) he (Singh) says something on social media,
then something or the other happens. I would like to tell the
media that I am a person who works in national interest. Cite
one example where I could be blamed for any social strife,"
he said. He claimed many social media accounts have been
opened across the country in his name and said it was not
possible for him stop all those people. India Today
 IMPHAL, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2020

Students return to class in Wuhan, but parents
and teachers wary of coronavirus risk
WUHAN, Sep 3
Tears and excitement from
students greeted teachers on the
first day of school after seven
months in the Chinese city of
Wuhan, but parents and
teachers warned that while the
coronavirus has retreated, no
one could afford to let down
their guard.
The central Chinese city –
where the global coronavirus
pandemic began – allowed
more than 2,800 educational
institutions to start their new
term on Tuesday, opening
their doors to nearly 1.4 mil-
lion students for the first time
since January.
Outside the Wuluo Road
elementary school, life has re-
turned to a semblance of
normality, with one reluctant
new pupil screaming at her
father to take her home. People
carriers clogged the roads, and
“Though this epidemic is
over, we still cannot take it
easy,” she said.
Nearby residential com-
pounds had around 40
confirmed coronavirus cases,
parents said. Wuhan’s death
toll of 3,869 accounts for
more than 80% of China’s
total, but it hasn’t seen a sin-
gle local transmission since
the middle of May.
up and running for more than
a week and preparing to ac-
cept a new cohort of students,
has sealed off its campus to
prevent unauthorized outsid-
ers from entering.
All university students will
be tested before they are al-
lowed back, and those
returning from overseas will
be quarantined in campus
guesthouses for 14 days.
Cattle ship capsized in storm off Japan, rescued crewman says
TOKYO/WELLINGTON , Sep3
A ship carrying 43 crew and
nearly 6,000 cattle from New
Zealand to China capsized after
losing an engine in stormy
weather in the East China Sea, the
only crew member rescued so far
told Japan’s coastguard on
Thursday.
The Gulf Livestock 1 sent a
distress call from the west of
Amami Oshima island in
southwestern Japan on
Wednesday as Typhoon
Maysak lashed the area with
strong winds and heavy seas.
Sareno Edvarodo, a 45-
year-old chief officer from the
Philippines, was rescued on
Wednesday night, Japan’s
coastguard said.
According to Edvarodo, the
ship lost an engine before it
was hit by a wave and cap-
sized, a coastguard
spokeswoman said.
When the ship capsized,
crew were instructed to put on
lifejackets. Edvarodo told the
coastguard he jumped into the
water and did not see any other
crew members before he was
rescued.
Pictures provided by the
coastguard showed a person in
a lifejacket being hauled from
choppy seas in darkness.
Three vessels, five airplanes
and two divers had been de-
ployed to continue the search,
the coastguard said.
The crew included 39 peo-
ple from the Philippines, two
from New Zealand, and two
from Australia, it added.
The Philippines government
said it was coordinating with
the Japanese coastguard in the
search.
Typhoon Maysak made
landfall in South Korea on
Thursday, bringing lashing
winds, and at least two people
were killed in the southern city
of Busan.
Another storm, Typhoon
Haishen, was brewing south of
Japan and is expected to hit the
Korean coast on Sunday or
Monday.
LIVE CATTLE EXPORT
IN SPOTLIGHT
The Gulf Livestock 1 de-
parted Napier in New Zealand
on Aug. 14 with a cargo of
5,867 cattle bound for the Port
of Jingtang in Tangshan,
China. The journey was ex-
pected to take about 17 days,
New Zealand foreign ministry
officials told Reuters.
The Gulf Livestock 1 is seen at Fremantle Harbour in Western
The 139-metre (450-foot),
Australia, November 13, 2019.
Panamanian-flagged vessel was
owns quarantine facilities in continue.” China has imported
built in 2002 and the registered China. more than 46,000 head of cattle
owner is Amman-based
The cows were worth from New Zealand so far this
Rahmeh Compania Naviera around 20,000 yuan each, said year, according to data from
SA, according to Refinitiv
a manager at AGE’s subsidi- China’s customs, mostly to
Eikon data. The ship manager ary Beijing Muhuayuan stock the country’s expanding
is Hijazi & Ghosheh Co. Calls
International Trade Co Ltd. dairy farms.
to the owner and manager were New Zealand animal rights Last year, New Zealand
unanswered.
organisation SAFE said the launched a review of its live
The young cows were ex- disaster showed the risks of export trade, worth around
ported by Australia
the live animal export trade. NZ$54 million (27.42 million
headquartered Australasian “These cows should never pounds) in 2019, after thou-
Global Exports, which special-
have been at sea,” said cam- sands of animals being
ises in live animal exports and paigns manager Marianne exported from New Zealand

Planning to quit, US says it will not

the school macroeconomy of While Wuhan’s educa- Qiao Qiong, a 40-year old Macdonald. and Australia died in transit.
breakfast stalls and convenience tional institutions are trying to university teacher whose son “This is a real crisis, and New Zealand’s Ministry for
our thoughts are with the fami- Primary Industries (MPI) said

pay what it owes WHO this year

stores was thriving again. put a tumultuous year behind studies at the Wuluo Road
“During the epidemic, the them, they are still taking school, said she was pleased lies of the 43 crew who are it had temporarily suspended
kids were at home for more than special precautions, with chil- that months of home school- missing with the ship. But live cattle export applications
half a year and in all aspects dren subject to regular ing were now over, but questions remain, including after the Gulf Livestock 1 went
couldn’t study as well as they temperature tests. normality was still some dis- ment: “We refer you to our ington, D.C., said in a tweet why this trade is allowed to missing. Reuters
could at school,” said Wei The government has ad- tance away. previous statements of regret that redirecting WHO funds
Fanling, who was eating break-
fast with her 12-year old son.
vised parents to avoid public
transport as much as possi-
“The virus is not a tiny
thing, so I believe we still
regarding the U.S. decision to is “unethical…and patently Kremlin rejects Navalny poisoning
accusations, sanctions talk
withdraw. We await further unlawful.” The United States
She said she was relieved ble. Buses were half-empty, need some time,” she said. details, which we will con- had to meet all financial obli-
her son could now return to with students being driven to “Probably there will be sider carefully.” gations, he said, adding:
class, likening it to “a mon- class by private car or on some emergency situations Under a 1948 joint resolu- “Trump is acting unilaterally, MOSCOW, Sep 3
ster let out of its cage,” but electric scooters. but we are well-prepared for tion of the U.S. Congress, w/o (without) Congress & in
they would remain vigilant. Wuhan University, though them.” Reuters Trump had to give one-year violation of the law.” The Kremlin on Thursday rejected accusations that Russia had
notice of the U.S. withdrawal Dr Alma Golden, U.S. been responsible for the poisoning of opposition politician Alexei
In ‘landmark decision’, Pakistan approves from the WHO and is re-
quired to pay what
Agency for International De-
velopment assistant
Navalny and said it saw no grounds for sanctions to be imposed
against Moscow over the case.
industrial use of cannabis and hemp
WASHINGTON, Sep 3
Washington’s owes for the administrator for global The Kremlin was speaking a day after German Chancellor
The United States will not pay organization’s current fiscal health, said that in most cases Angela Merkel said Navalny had been poisoned with a Soviet-
ISLAMABAD, Sep 3 ing a press briefing in Islamabad. some $80 million it owes the year. Washington had identified style Novichok nerve agent in an attempt to murder him.
He said that the plant Pakistan plans to World Health Organization Nerissa Cook, State De- new partners to continue the Navalny, 44, is an outspoken opponent of Russian President
Pakistan has approved the domestication and grow contains legal levels of tetrahydrocan- (WHO) and will instead partment Bureau of global health assistance it had Vladimir Putin and has specialized in high-impact investigations
commercialisation of medicinal and industrial nabinol (THC) around 0.3 percent or below. redirect the money to help pay International Organization carried out with the WHO. into official corruption. He was airlifted to Germany last month
cannabis and hemp at a Herbal Medicine Park in At higher levels, THC is intoxicating and il- its United Nations bill in New Affairs deputy assistant sec- But she said a one-time after collapsing on a domestic Russian flight after drinking a
Jhelum, minister for science and technology legal in many parts of the world. York, a U.S. official said on retary of state, said the United payment of $68 million would cup of tea that his allies said was poisoned.
Fawad Chaudhry tweeted. The minister said that hemp seeds are used Wednesday. States currently owes the be made to the WHO for Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow rejected
Chaudhry called it a landmark decision that for producing oil, leaves for developing medica- The United States plans to WHO some $18 million for health assistance in Libya and any suggestion that Russia had been behind the attack on Navalny
will help Pakistan enter the billion-dollar tion, while stems are used for fibres which are leave the Geneva-based WHO financial year 2019 and $62 Syria and efforts to eradicate and warned other countries against jumping to hasty conclusions.
Cannabidiol (CBD) market. gradually replacing cotton in the textile industry. on July 6, 2021, after Presi- million for financial year polio in priority countries Merkel has said Germany would consult its NATO allies
The move comes after comprehensive delib- “Worldwide, this fibre is replacing cotton. dent Donald Trump accused 2020. because these “reflect the few about how to respond to the poisoning. She faced growing
erations between different government Clothes, bags, and other textile products are it of becoming a puppet for “Those together are being cases in which WHO has the pressure on Thursday to reconsider the Nord Stream 2 pipeline,
departments. To produce the CBD, Pakistan plans being made using this plant’s fibre. This is a China during the coronavirus reprogrammed to the U.N. to unique capability that an al- which will take gas from Russia to Germany, after her statement
to import a specific variety of cannabis seeds. $25 billion market and Pakistan can take a big pandemic. The WHO has re- pay the regular U.N. assess- ternate partner could not on Navalny, who is being treated in a Berlin hospital.
“CBD compound plays an important role share in this market,” Chaudhry said, adding, jected Trump’s assertion. ment,” said Cook, referring to replicate at this time.” Nord Stream 2 is set to double the capacity of the existing
in therapeutic medicine. After 2016, a break- “this is under government control, so further The first chiropractor was money that Washington is Trump’s political rival, Nord Stream 1 pipeline in carrying gas directly from Russia
through research was unveiled which research can be done and adequate safeguards a Canadian who believed in required to pay the United former Vice President Joe to Germany. It is more than 90% finished and due to operate
prompted China to set up a cannabis research through ministry of narcotics can be placed.” ghosts Nations in New York. Biden, has said he will rejoin from early 2021. Peskov said the Kremlin regarded talk of
department and is now cultivating hemp on The minister expected the hemp market to A WHO spokeswoman Lawrence Gostin, a uni- the WHO if he defeats Trump taking action against the pipeline as being based on emotions.
40,000 acres, and Canada is cultivating it on generate $1 billion in revenue for Pakistan in said on Thursday in an email versity professor at in the U.S. presidential elec- He said the project was a commercial one which benefited
100,000 acres,” Chaudhry told reporters dur- the next three years. Hindustan Times response to a request for com- Georgetown Law in Wash- tion on Nov. 3. Reuters Russia, Germany and Europe. Reuters

Infotainment
Bangkok’s premier regional
film festival to return this
David Blaine pulls off high Actor Dwayne Johnson says he and family
have recovered from COVID-19
week with physical screenings flying balloon 'Ascension' stunt AsiaOne other end of it,” he said. “We are no longer
contagious, and we are, thank God, we are
NME AsiaOne LOS ANGELES: Pro-wrestler turned Hollywood healthy.”
Daredevil David Blaine actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson said in a video “It baffles me that some people out there,
The Bangkok ASEAN Film Festival is set to happen this week, as message posted on social media on Wednesday that including some politicians, will take this idea of
Thailand marks 100 days without local coronavirus cases. performed his latest stunt on
Wednesday, ascending nearly he, his wife and their two young children tested wearing masks and make it a political agenda,”
The festival will mark its sixth edition with physical screen- positive for Covid-19 in recent weeks but that they he said.
ings arranged at SF World Cinema in central Bangkok. The 25,000 feet (7,600 metres) into
the Arizona sky while hanging all have recovered and are healthy. “It is a fact and it’s the right thing to do, and
cinema will host an opening ceremony on September 3 and an Johnson, 48, said in the Instagram post that it is the responsible thing to do.”
awards and closing ceremony on September 6. from a cluster of jumbo-sized
balloons before parachuting he and his spouse, Lauren, 35, and their daugh- Johnson, who shot to fame in the World
The festival has had a focus on regional films, along with ters, Jasmine, 4, and Tiana, 2, caught the virus Wrestling Federation as the swaggering, boast-
titles from China, Japan and South Korea. Five feature films safely back to earth.
It’s like magic, it feels like about 2-1/2 weeks ago from “very close family ful grappler known as The Rock, began making
will be showcased this year, along with an ASEAN Short friends” whom he said had no idea how they a transition to mainstream entertainment in the
Film Competition and a special screening of the 1972 film The I’m floating in the air,” Blaine
said on a radio to his team of had become infected. late 1990s and went on to develop a prolific
Honeymoon, directed by Charin Nuntanakorn. “I can tell you this has been one of the most screen career.
The regional feature films presented are Rom by Vietnam’s aides back on the ground after
gently lifting off from a desert challenging and difficult things we have ever He has appeared in such feature films as
Tran Thanh Huy, The Science of Fictions by Indonesia’s had to endure as a family, and for me person- “The Mummy Returns,” “The Scorpion King,”
Yosep Anggi Noen and The Long Walk by Mattie Do from airstrip in Page, Arizona, con-
nected to dozens of balloons in ally,” he said in the video. “Baywatch” and “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jun-
Laos. Rounding up the line-up are Balloon by China’s Pema The actor said his family, like their friends gle,” becoming one of the highest-paid and
Tseden and Koji Fukada’s A Girl Missing from Japan. All an event he called “Ascension.”
YouTube said the stunt, who caught the virus first, had been “incredibly commercially successful actors in Hollywood.
screenings are free admission, with most slots already filled A handout photo. Magician David Blaine hangs from a parachute disciplined” about adhering to safety measures He also executive-produced and starred in
up by reservation. On September 2, Thailand marked 100 days which it livestreamed, set a under a cluster of balloons while performing his 'Ascension' stunt
new record as the most- to avoid the virus. the HBO series “Ballers,” about NFL players
without community transmission of the coronavirus, in Page, Arizona, on Wednesday. The two young girls suffered only “a little living in Miami.
Bloomberg reported. In a report by ScreenDaily, Thailand’s watched YouTube Originals
live event ever with over high-risk feats of endurance. cluster and free-fell for some sore throat the first couple of days” and bounced He married Lauren Hashian, a singer-song-
Minister of Culture Ittipol Khunpluem said the festival was back, though Johnson and his wife had “a rough writer whose father was the drummer for the
being held physically “to reassure the international film com- 770,000 viewers. His stunts include locking him- 30 seconds before deploying a
Blaine gradually dropped self in a fish bowl, trapping parachute to slow his descent. go,” he said. “But I am happy to tell you guys rock band Boston, in 2019, the year he officially
munity and demonstrate the potential of the Thai film industry”. that we as a family are good. We are on the announced his retirement from wrestling.
“The Bangkok ASEAN Film Festival 2020 is an effort to small weights to speed his as- himself in a block of ice for “Wow, that was awesome,”
revive the film industry by promoting the economy and boost- cent, donned a parachute two days in Times Square, and Blaine yelled into his radio as
ing the morale of film professionals in Thailand as well as in mid-flight and strapped on an standing freely atop a thin, tall he stood back on land.
the Southeast Asian region,” says Wissanu Krea-ngam, chair- oxygen mask as he neared pillar for 35 hours in New Blaine has said he trained
man of the country’s National Board of Film and Video, in 24,900 feet, an altitude where York City. for the event for two years,
an official statement. “The festival is a sign of cooperation most commercial airliners travel. Wednesday’s stunt lasted including becoming a licensed
among ASEAN members to drive the regional film industry Blaine, 47, has a history of roughly 30 minutes. Blaine re- pilot. It was his first live broad-
towards our great success in the world stage.” performing high-profile and leased himself from the balloon cast stunt since 2012.

Harry and Meghan team up with Netflix in major Hollywood move

AsiaOne
LONDON/LOS ANGELES -
Britain's Prince Harry and his
American-born wife Meghan
have signed an exclusive
multiyear production deal with
Netflix, a major step in their
plan to make a living for
themselves outside the royal
family.
Under the deal, whose
value was not disclosed, the
couple will produce films and
series ranging from children's
shows to scripted content, the
streaming platform said on
Wednesday. (Sept 2).
The couple moved to
Southern California with their
infant son Archie this year
after stepping back from royal
duties in Jan and announcing
plans to be more financially
independent.
They said they will pro-
duce content on issues that
resonate with them and that
their nonprofit Archewell is
focused on.
"Our focus will be on cre-
ating content that informs but
also gives hope," the couple
said in a statement on
Wednesday. "As new par-
ents, making inspirational
family programming is also
important to us."
Meghan, a former star of
the USA Network television
show Suits, has no plans to
return to acting under the deal.
The couple have no previ-
ous experience as producers,
but Netflix said they already
have several projects in de-
velopment, including a nature
documentary series and an
animated series that celebrates
inspiring women.
They said they plan to
highlight diversity in front of
and behind the camera.
"We're incredibly proud
they have chosen Netflix as
their creative home," Netflix
chief content officer Ted
Sarandos said in a statement.
The Netflix deal follows a
similar pact in 2018 with
former US President Barack
Obama and his wife Michelle.
The New York Times said
Harry and Meghan had been
speaking with other Holly-
wood companies, including
Walt Disney and Apple.
Variety reported earlier
this month that they had met
with Comcast's
NBCUniversal.
Netflix last month released
Rising Phoenix, a documen-
tary about the Paralympic
Games, in which Harry, who
founded the Invictus Games
for wounded veterans, makes
a brief appearance.
Harry, a grandson of Queen
Elizabeth, had previously
teamed up with the Apple TV+
streaming service to make a
documentary with Oprah
Winfrey about mental health.
The documentary, which
was in the works before the
couple stepped back from
their royal duties, has yet to
be aired.
In June, the couple signed
with the Harry Walker
Agency in New York, which
serves as an agent for lec-
tures by clients such as
former US Presidents Obama
and Bill Clinton, as well as
Oprah Winfrey. Harry and
Meghan are expected to speak
together and individually on
issues such as racial justice,
gender equity, the environ-
ment, and mental health.
The couple recently bought
a mansion in the celebrity en-
clave of Montecito, north of
Los Angeles, that is more
sheltered from media attention.
Since arriving in California
in the middle of the coronavirus
pandemic, they have under-
taken some low-profile charity
work, handing out supplies to
families in need.

Deforestation, chemicals blamed Opposing exams to be conducted by MPSC
for pest attack on paddy
Contd from page 1 Student bodies demand, ‘clean MPSC first’
If the plants are excessively infected by Brown Planthopper By Our Staff Reporter
and White Blacked Planthopper, reddish patches as large as
IMPHAL, Sep 3 : Reacting
banana leaf can be seen in paddy fields. Sometime, one may
see paddy plants dying and dried as if they have been burned, strongly to the process taken
up to conduct the MCSCC
Dr Ibohal said.
Infection of paddy plants by root aphid (wahik) was examination, the Joint
Student Bodies,
detected recently in some paddy fields of Sabungkhok,
Imphal East district which have relatively lower level of Churachandpur has asserted
that the Manipur Public
water in addition to Brown Planthopper and White Blacked
Planthopper, he continued. Service Commission should
not be allowed to hold the
On account of the COVID-19 lockdown, farmers could
not move around freely to procure necessary inputs like examination until the CBI
investigation is completed,
chemicals, pesticides etc and they really struggled hard to
cultivate paddy this season, he remarked. the final report made public
and justice fully delivered.
It is a matter of grave concern that Brown Planthopper
and White Blacked Planthopper have been attacking paddy Making its stand clear,
the Joint Student Bodies
plants when the plants are maturing.
On protection of paddy plants from the two pests, Dr (JSB) in a statement said
that MPSC should be thor-
Ibohal suggested replacement of Urea with Potash for some
time. Even though it is not the season, the two pests can be oughly cleaned before it
conducts any examination
killed if farmers can scatter pieces of pomelo peels in the
paddy fields. Even if pomelo peels are not available at the again and recalled the ex-
amination in 2016.
moment, peels of other fruits belonging to the same family
as pomelo would be effective enough, he said. The infamy of the MPSC
has cost the State dearly,
Farmers may also dissipate cow dung solution if wet
cow dungs are available. Cow dung solution should be dis- said JSB and recalled that a
whole batch of civil servants
sipated until the water of paddy fields becomes the colour
of cow dung, Dr Ibohal suggested. (MCSCCE-2016) have lost
their jobs after two and half
In addition, appropriate pesticides may be used in accu-
rate doses to kill the two pests but the present stage of years of service.
How could it be that the
infection cannot be controlled by any pesticide.
However, if the same pesticide is used repeatedly for MPSC is planning to hold
the examination again be-
consecutive years, Brown Planthopper and White Blacked
Planthopper would adapt to the new environment and their fore any of its official or
KIM set to observe Sahnit on Sep 13
numbers would only multiply, warned the Entomologist.
School re-opening
Contd from page 1
Our Correspondent
of Education the meeting was held at the conference hall of
KANGPOKPI, Sep 3 : As
Samagra Siksha, Manipur. Briefing the media, the Minister
the Kuki people gear up to
said that the meeting discussed the need for re-opening of the
observe ‘Sahnit’ commonly
educational institutions especially the technical educational in-
known as the ‘Kuki Black
stitutions and the colleges as the examinations for the
Day’ again on September 13,
bachelors’ degree are scheduled for completion by the end of
the Kuki Inpi Manipur has
September 2020. He elaborated that the meeting mainly
spelt out how the day should
focused on the necessary steps that need to be taken up before
be observed amid the
the examination to ensure the safety of the students.
pandemic this year.
Dr Th Radheshyam pointed out that it has been more
Giving brief details about
than five months since all the educational institutions have
Sahnit, KIM said that it is a
remained closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He said
ritual of mourning for the
that to regain the confidence and to lessen the fear of the
Kukis people who died a
pandemic among college students and 12th class, phase wise
tragic or unnatural death and
conduction of interactive classes/sessions by maintaining
until the case of the deceased
physical distance was also discussed. Further, he added that
is completely settled. This
the meeting discussed the issues concerning the scholar-
customary ritual has been
ships for those pursuing higher studies. He appreciated the
stringently observed by the
student organisations for their positive response. (DIPR)
forefathers since the days of
Loanees denied benefits of yore and is still being
RBI Covid package
practiced solemnly by the
Kukis today.
On September 7, 1995 a
Contd from page 1 meeting was held by the
banks, State cooperative banks, district cooperative banks, all
Kukis under the aegis of
Kuki Inpi Manipur to ob-
India financial institutions and non-banking financial serve 13 September as Sahnit
companies including housing financial companies. (Black day) for the victims
As per the COVID-19 regulatory package, the money
Woman from Manipur allegedly
needed by financial institutions for giving financial support
to loanees would be provided by RBI and it would be based
molested at five-star hotel in New Delhi
on the documents already submitted by the loanees, said the
sources. In line with the COVID-19 regulatory package
which would remain in force till June 20, 2021, National-
ised banks operating in the State have started delivering
TNT Bureau
assured benefits to their loanees.
Based on the loan amount they have already repaid,
NEW DELHI, Sep 3: A 25-
loanees have been sanctioned additional loans of 25 per
year-old woman from
cent to 30 per cent of their balance amounts in order to
Manipur, working at a five-
refurbish their working capitals.
star hotel in New Delhi, was
However, loanees of cooperative financial institutions are
allegedly molested and
not getting any such financial support, the sources added.
manhandled by a guest on
With 5, State sees highest number of August 31 around 8.30 pm.
deaths on single day, toll now stands at 34
According to the com-
plainant, she was escorting a
guest to the room when sud-
Contd from page 1 denly a man from Room No.
415 came outside and started
is 4774 including 3739 civilians and 1035 security personnel.
troubling the guest and
The number of active cases at present is 1803 which
asked him to hand his bag
include 1211 civilians and 592 security personnel. The re-
over to him.
covery rate now stands at 72.23 per cent.
“When she tried to stop
Meanwhile, a late report from sources at Imphal West
him, the man allegedly
district administration said 28 persons have tested positive
for COVID-19 in the district today. The cases include 6
each from Langol and Major Khul. Organisation appeals
As many as 571 samples were tested for COVID-19 at
Our Correspondent
JNIMS and 32 were found positive. 6 in Thoubal district
also tested positive for the virus, said sources.
MOREH, Sep 3: Stating that
13 cases were also detected at Tengnoupal district. They
non-functioning of street lamps
include 8 from Beaularam village, 4 from Maringphal and
1 from Kanemram village. near Moreh Keithel is
inconveniencing public
CBI seeks details of MPSC's preparations movements at night there, All
Community Development
Contd from page 1 Organisation Moreh
(ACODOM) has appealed to
MPSC (Procedure & Conduct of Business) Rules 2011. the department concerned to
Laying down proper procedures regarding engagement fix/replace the faulty lamps at
of lecturers etc for transparent scrutiny of answer scripts the earliest. Speaking to media
after evaluation by examiners including maintenance of
records, showing total number of answer scripts and sub-
persons, ACODOM president
Th Budha said the street lamps
jects handed over for scrutiny with date and time of handing are not working since the last 4-
over to each lecturer and also date & time of return is an- 5 days. At night, people are
other suggestion forwarded by CBI to MPSC. being forced to wade through
The third suggestion was moderation or scaling of marks the darkness when passing
as per the law laid down by the Supreme Court. Moreh Keithel areas, he said
The CBI also suggested MPSC to lay down proper guide- and urged the department to
lines for codification, decodification etc to maintain look into the matter at the
confidentiality. earliest. Th Budha also claimed
The MPSC may frame an appropriate rule with the help that Moreh populace is facing
of the UPSC regarding identification of examination cen- acute shortage of water. Gen-
tres, selection of invigilators/supervisors, setting of question eral secretary of the
papers, safe keeping of question papers, selection of experts organisation appealed to the
for evaluation and tabulation, holding interview etc, the CBI people of Moreh to be more
suggested. careful when venturing out-
It further requested the MPSC to ensure CCTV coverage doors as the Govt had lifted
of the examination rooms/centres, strong room, evaluation, restrictions on movements.
scrutiny, codification and interview. The CBI also suggested
that mobile phone/WhatsApp numbers of all the candidates College sanitized
and their parents be collected and furnished to them (CBI)
for information and necessary action. THOUBAL, Sep 3:
Volunteers of the Indian Red
Nagas ready for fresh ‘war’,
Cross Society (IRCS)
asserts NSCN (IM)
Thoubal district branch along
with members of District
Contd from page 1
Health Society Thoubal and
Waikhom Mani Girls'
College conducted a social
Peace talks observers, however, believe that the earlier efforts service cum sanitization of
did not succeed because the key protagonists were sidelined. the college campus as
“The same mistake should not be repeated this time. Piecemeal preparation for the upcoming
pact will not help usher in lasting peace. It has to be inclusive,” 6 semester exam of the col-
one of them said. The Telegraph lege.
IMPHAL, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2020
83,883 cases surge in 24 hrs
irregularities in the said
Contd from page 1
total number of fatalities to 67,376. Over 29 lakh have
recovered from the infection in the country so far. Maharashtra
remains the State hit hardest by the pandemic followed by three
exam, said JSB and added
that so far no one has been southern States - Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Here are top 10 developments on coronavirus cases in
penalised. This is not accept-
able, it added. India:
Maharashtra reported a record spike of 17,433 new cases,
The statement issued by
the Secretary of the MPSC its highest single-day count so far, taking its tally to
8,25,739. The State also reported 292 fresh deaths, 34 of
on August 26 was without
substance, alleged JSB and them in State capital Mumbai, pushing up the fatality count
to 25,195.
questioned if MPSC can be-
come clean via just one Andhra Pradesh - the State with the second-highest
coronavirus count, has maintained a steady streak for an-
statement.
Has the MPSC made other day, with 10,392 fresh coronavirus cases, pushing the
State's total case to 4,55,531.
staff have been held ac- future at the cost of public necessary amendments in
countable, asked the student interest and public money. its rules ? Has the same With 5,990 new COVID cases, Tamil Nadu's COVID-19
tally has reached 4,39,959. The southern State also reported
body and added that instead “From the aforesaid facts been notified in the official
of being a model recruitment and circumstances, it can be gazette of the State ? To 98 fatalities taking the number of deaths to 7,516. As many
as 75,829 samples were tested and 49,64,141 specimens
agency of the State Govern- safely held that the MPSC instil public trust after such
ment it is acting like a has no intention to conduct a shameful fiasco that is have been examined till date, a Health Department bulletin
said.
merciless destroyer of gen- any examination in a fair MCSCCE-2016, should
erations of youth. and just manner. It had, in MPSC not show utmost sin- Karnataka on Wednesday reported its biggest single day
spike of over 9,800 new COVID-19 cases and 113 deaths,
Referring to the judgment the present case, miserably cerity in framing or
of the High Court of failed to discharge its duties amending its rules and get taking the infection count to 3,61,341 and the number of
deaths to 5,950, the Health Department said. The day saw
Manipur on October 18, and functions as mandated it ratified by a competent
2019, JSB cited a report of in the Constitution of India. committee of experts, pref- the State testing a record 73,317 samples, including 38,735
using the rapid antigen kits, as the cumulative specimens
the Court which read as, “It It would like to continue erably appointed by the
is the right time for the holding examinations, only Court, and bring it out in examined crossed the 30 lakh mark.
The number of active COVID-19 cases in Delhi increased
MPSC or for that matter, its in name, with half baked public domain, further
staff or officials to be penal- rules so that it could ma- asked the JSB. by around 50 per cent in a month, with the city witnessing
a marked uptick in new cases, according to Government
ized for their misdeeds nipulate it. (Page 149-150).” The JSB is the joint body
which they have been doing From here it can be in- of Zomi Students' Federa- data. The number of active COVID-19 cases have increased
to over 15,000, an analysis of Delhi Government's health
for the last many years and ferred that the Court wanted tion; KSO, CCpur; Mizo
if not penalized now, they the MPSC to penalise the Zirlai Pawl and Hmar Stu- bulletins showed.
In the North East, Tripura recorded its highest single day
would continue to do so in officials responsible for the dents' Association.
spike of 566 cases. This is the third consecutive day of
highest spike in Tripura. 125 deaths have been reported in
the State so far. Tripura has highest mortality rate and low-
est recovery rate in the North East.
India has been reporting "one of the lowest COVID-19
of the NSCN (IM) ethnic Manipur decided to observe KCLF leaders irrespective
fatality rates in the world" with the figure further declining
pogroms, which resulted in the Kuki Black Day on Sep- of which Church/denomina- to 1.76 per cent against a global average of 3.3 per cent, the
the death of more than 1000 tember 13 in the following tion they belong to should
Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday. "While the glo-
innocent Kuki civilians, up- manner, it said and ex- ensure that prayers for the bal average is 110 deaths per million population, India is
rooted 360 villages and plained that it should be Kuki people are held in the reporting 48 deaths per million population. The compara-
displaced more than one lakh observed as a day of mass Church this year between 11
tive figure for Brazil and the UK is 12 and 13 times higher,
Kukis between the year 1992 prayer for the Kukis. The am and 1 pm with the prayer respectively," the Ministry said.
and 1995. The case has not mass prayer will begin from items as laid down by respec- International passengers who have to take connecting do-
been settled till today as per 11 am till 1 pm. No indi- tive local Church leaders.
mestic flights after landing in India can undergo tests for
Kukis' customary rites and vidual or person on this day Black flags should be COVID-19 at the entry airports, the Civil Aviation Ministry
practices, it said. should move out of home or hoisted on the roof of all said on Wednesday. If the RT-PCR test result is negative,
It also said that the Kuki travel outside except for par- Kuki houses from morning
the international passenger will be allowed to catch his or
people since then have been ticipation in the Black Day till sunset as a mark of re- her connecting domestic flight and he or she will not need
observing September 13 as programme. Working in spect and remembrance for to undergo any institutional quarantine at the destination
Kuki Black Day/Sahnit Ni farms or fields should be the deceased. All the execu-
city, the Ministry's order said.
not to sow hatred or enmity, avoided by one and all. All tives/office bearers/staffs of Global coronavirus infections have soared past 2.57
but as a traditional mourning, donations/contributions made Kuki Inpi Manipur will ob- crore, as countries tighten restrictions to halt the health cri-
which will continue till the in cash or kinds during serve the Black Day at Kuki
sis that has upended life for most of humanity. Over 8.56
issue of their killings are ap- prayer should be submitted to Black Day Monument, KIC lakh people have died of the infection globally.
propriately resolved and KIM. All block/unit level Complex Churachandpur. The US - the country worst hit by the pandemic - has
added that the solemn ob- programmes should be made Every individual, group,
said that it will not work with global effort to develop and
servance all over the world known to the Inpis con- organization or association distribute a coronavirus vaccine because it does not want to
by the Kukis is a cultural and cerned. District and Block should wear black dress and be constrained by multilateral groups like the World Health
traditional practice of seeking Inpis should ensure effective take serious note of the regu- Organization. NDTV
Death of girl child draws
to resolve issues for peace to observance. Prayer pro- lations and render every
reign in the land. grammes organized in the necessary service according
In view of the COVID-19
pandemic and the SOPs en-
Church should be monitored
by the respective Church
to their own capacity for the
successful observance of the flaks from all over
forced by the State elders, in strict compliance of Black Day program, added
Government, the Kuki Inpi the SOPs. KIM. Contd from page 1
today noon regarding the incident and a team of the
Rashtriya Poshan Maah commission led by its Chairperson, Sumatibala Ningthoujam
launched in Bishnupur
visited the victim's family. The team participated in a meeting
organized by the JAC formed for the justice of the victim.
MCPCR assured full support to the victim's family and it has
Our Correspondent written to authorities concerned for taking up necessary actions
started attacking her and the rity came inside but the man against the culprits, the commission said in a statement.
BISHNUPUR, Sep 3: A
guest and slapped them. managed to run away. Women Action For Development (WAD) has condoled
month-long celebration of
Later, the man told both of “We have registered a the death of the victim today and condemned the incident in
Rashtriya Poshan Maah 2020
them to kneel down and kiss case and the accused has the strongest term.
under Poshan Abhiyan
his feet. The man also told also been identified as Seeking stringent punishment of all involved in the case,
Scheme for Bishnupur district
her to lie down (kneel) and Khanna. We are also scan- WAD in a statement pointed out that crimes against women
was launched today at Mini
remove his shoe and asked ning the CCTV footage and and children are increasing in the State.
Secretariat Bishnupur DC
the other guest to lick his checking the hotel records to Amid the pandemic, many women have suffered and died
feet. When she objected, he collect more information
complex. The programme is
being organised by district ad- due to denial of medical treatment. Cases of domestic vio-
put a knife on (to) her neck about the accused,’ Surender lence, suicide and rape and murder are on the rise.
ministration Bishnupur under
and threatened her with a Singh, SHO of Sector-50 Appealing arrest of all involved in the heinous crime and
the Ministry of Women and
dire consequence,” the vic- police station said. speedy trial for justice to the victim's family, WAD urged
Child Development, Govt of
tim stated in his police An FIR has been regis- Government to form an independent and impartial team to
India. DC Bishnupur, Neeta
complaint, the police said. tered in connection with the investigate crimes against women especially rape, murder
Arambam and District Pro-
The victim further told the incident under various sec- and women trafficking etc.
gramme Officer ICDS
police that the man later tions of the Indian Penal WAD also called on the people of Manipur to stand
Bishnupur, Th Shantibala Devi
pushed her against the wall Code (IPC). Further investi- united and protect and safeguard women and girls.
inspected edible items having
and tried to molest her. When gation into the matter is DESAM (Democratic Students' Alliance of Manipur) too
nutritional values such as
she raised an alarm, the secu- underway, the police said. strongly condemned the incident and demanded speedy and
vegetables, eggs that were
displayed. Child Development stringent punishment of all involved in the case. Stating
NH 102B chiefs denounce Project Officers, Moirang, H those who are found guilty of such heinous crime should be
awarded capital punishment to set an example, the student
land acquisition rate
Roshini Devi; Bishnupur Th
Suranjoy Singh and ACDPO, body appealed people to refrain from mob violence and
lynching.
Bishnupur attended the pro-
CHURACHANDPUR, Sep 3: The NH 102B chiefs association gramme among others. Condemning the incident, AMSU (All Manipur Students'
Union) and its women's wing have also sought stringent
Govt releases draft
Churachandpur has raised their objection to commencing of
works for the expansion of NH 102B until and unless a mutually punishment of the culprits and demanded speedy trial by
motor vehicle rules
agreed rate of land is fixed between them and the Government. the Fast Track Court for justice to the victim's family.
Even though the association appreciate the initiative taken by the
Government to expand the existing road along NH 102B to a
Pangal Students' Organisation, Manipur, Apunba
Manipur Kanba Ima Lup, United NGOs Mission-Manipur,
double lane, it cannot accept the current rate fixed for acquiring IMPHAL, Sep 3: The State Youth Development Committee, Heibong Makhong, and
Government has released
land, which is the lowest ever in the State and for that matter, in the other organisations have condemned the incident.
Robinhood recalled
entire North Eastern region, said a statement issued by the draft of a proposed motor
vehicle rules "The Manipur
association. They have therefore declared their objection to the
commencement of works until the issue is mutually resolved. Motor Vehicles (Pollution
under Control) Rules, 2020 Our Correspondent
Bengoon Bazar shed inaugurated and sought suggestions and
objections. THOUBAL, Sep 3: The Inner Line Permit System being
THOUBAL, Sep 3: Director of Jeci IAS Director, Altaf Any person whose inter- implemented in State since December 31, 2019 is not what the
Hussain inaugurated Bengoon Bazar shed, today. est is affected and willing to people had demanded, said JCILPS convenor YK Dhiren,
The cost of constructing the new shed was borne by Altaf raise/share any objection/ seeking the attention of the State Government.
Hussain. At the inaugural function organised by Bengoon suggestion may submit the He was speaking at the 5th Leiron Chanba Numit (me-
Bazar Board Development Committee (BBBDC), Altaf same in writing to the Ad- morial service) of Sapam Robinhood held at the MMRC
Hussain assured of providing all possible help in the renova- ministrative Secretary and Unity Park, Khangabok in Thoubal district today.
tion works of the shed in future. "For the State to prosper, (Transport), Government of He further said that the ILP system being implemented
growth of every community is needed, " he said, expressing Manipur or Director (Trans- now only gives tickets on entry to outsiders. It should be
hope that the populace of Bengoon and its surrounding areas port), Manipur within 30 rectified to fulfill the demands of the people. There should
will be benefited by the shed. The gatherings there also lauded days, said a notification of be a ban on sale of land to outsiders and inclusion of out-
Altaf Hussain for financing the developmental work. BBBDC the Transport Department. siders in the voters list should be checked, he said.
MJS written exam
president Alhaj Abdul Heinz and Sadar of Bengoon Jamiatul Today’s programme was attended by Robinhood’s fam-
Ulama, Alhaj Moulana Riyajuddin also attended the pro- ily members, JCILPS and other well wishers.
gramme as presidium members. It may be mentioned here that 16-year-old Sapam
IMPHAL, Sep 3: The High
Prizes distributed Court of Manipur has notified Robinhood succumbed to injuries at Raj Medicity after a
teargas shell hit him on his face during a pro-ILPS agitation
that the written examination
BISHNUPUR, Sep 3: A prize distribution ceremony for the of Manipur Judicial Service
Grade-I recruitment which
at Minuthong on July 8, 2015.
After a sustained people's agitation, three Bills were
online National level essay, debate and short story visual passed by the State Legislative Assembly regarding imple-
competition was held today at S Kula Women's College, was postponed has been re-
scheduled to September 19 mentation of ILPS in the State on August 31, 2015. On
Nambol. The competition organised on August 12 last by September 1, 2015, JCILPS, JAC and family members
Women Studies Centre SK Women's College's Nambol under and 20 at the Examination
agreed to claim Robinhood's body and his last rites were
the sponsorship of UGC New Delhi was participated by 50 Hall of Manipur Public Serv-
ice Commission. performed on September 3, 2015, at Awaching, a hill range
students from different parts of the country. The winners of the of Nongmaijing hills in Imphal East district.
competition were awarded cash prizes and certificates.
Rushanta Joseph from Maharashtra bagged the first prize Suspension lifted Helpline on mental illness
of the essay competition while Anjali Taorem, a student of IMPHAL, Sep 3: The sus-
S Kula Women College, was declared the winner of the pension order of Lamlai IMPHAL, Sep 3: RIMS, considering the prevailing situation
short story competition. Women Studies Centre, Director Municipal Council has been of COVID-19 pandemic, has opened an online counselling on
Dr W Kunjarani, faculty member Home Science, Ch Ritu, revoked with effect from Sep- mental illness from 9 am to 9 pm on all working days at the
Coordinator Mental Health Counseling Unit, Dr S tember 1, said MAHUD Department of Psychiatry/Clinical Psychology. Public may
Bhogendra graced the prize distribution function. department in a release. contact the RIMS helpline No: 6033856081, said a release.
 Djokovic continues unbeaten run; Tsitsipas, Zverev advance England, Australia renew
IMPHAL, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2020

NEW YORK, Sep 3

Top seeds progressed in the
men’s draw at a humid US
Open Wednesday that saw
players change shoes and
officials called on to wipe
courts with towels.
Novak Djokovic over-
came an early scare to move
into the third round, extend-
ing an undefeated run in
2020 to 25 matches.
World No 1 Djokovic
dropped the first against
Britain’s Kyle Edmund but
rallied to progress 6-7 (5/7),
6-3, 6-4, 6-2 inside a sub-
dued, spectator-free Arthur
Ashe Stadium at Flushing
Meadows.
Fourth seed Stefanos
Tsitsipas of Greece defeated
American Maxime Cressy
7-6 (7/2), 6-3, 6-4 in the
night match at the main
Arthur Ashe Stadium at
Flushing Meadows.
Tsitsipas used his power-
ful service game to effect,
winning 83 percent of
points on his first serve. The
22-year-old Greek also hit
just 15 unforced errors com-
pared to the 32 committed
by the unseeded Cressy.
For Tsitsipas, it was a
memorable first experience
of playing on the famous
Ashe court. “It would have
been even better with fans
but getting a first taste of
what it is was great for me,”
he said. Tsitsipas added that
the 88% humidity made for
“rough conditions” but that
he enjoyed the workout.
Tsitsipas, seeking his
first Grand Slam title, will
take on Croatia’s Borna
Coric in round three. The
27th seed fought back from
two sets to one down to beat
Juan Ignacio Londero of
Argentina 7-5, 4-6, 6-7 (5/
7), 6-2, 6-3.
Also Wednesday, fifth
seed Alexander Zverev re-
quired four sets and almost
three hours during a sticky
encounter against American
wildcard Brandon
Nakashima inside an empty
Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Zverev produced an in-
consistent service game
against Nakashima, ranked
223 in the world in a far
from smooth 7-5, 6-7 (8/
10), 6-3, 6-1 win. The
world number seven traded
24 aces with 10 double
faults.
Zverev, looking for his
first Grand Slam title, plays
number 32 seed Adrian
Mannarino in round three
after the Frenchman outdid
389th-ranked American
Jack Sock 7-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Elsewhere, Canadian
12th seed Denis Shapovalov
downed Souther Korean
Soonwoo Kwon 6-7, 6-4, 6-
4, 6-2.
Meanwhile, Belgian sev-
enth seed David Goffin also
progressed, pipping South
African Lloyd Harris 7-6 (8-
6), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
And Britain’s 76th-
ranked Cameron Norrie
enjoyed a straight-sets 6-3,
6-4, 6-4 win over Federico
Coria of Argentina.
Results: 2nd Round
Novak Djokovic (SRB
x1) bt Kyle Edmund (GBR)
6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
Jan-Lennard Struff (GER
x28) bt Michael Mmoh
(USA) 6-2, 6-2, 7-5
Pablo Carreno-Busta
(ESPx20) bt Mitchell Krue-
ger (USA) 6-1, 6-2, 6-2
Ricardas Berankis (LTU)
bt Steve Johnson (USA) 7-
5, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (7/1)
Denis Shapovalov (CAN
x12) bt Kwon Soon-woo
(KOR) 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 6-4,
6-2
Taylor Fritz (USA x19)
bt Gilles Simon (FRA) 7-5,
6-3, 6-2
Filip Krajinovic (SRB
x26) bt Marcos Giron (USA)
6-4, 6-1, 6-3
David Goffin (BEL x7) bt
Lloyd Harris (RSA) 7-6 (8/
6), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE
x4) bt Maxime Cressy
(USA) 7-6 (7/2), 6-3, 6-4
Borna Coric (CRO x27)
bt Juan Ignacio Londero
(ARG) 7-5, 4-6, 6-7 (5/7),
6-2, 6-3
Jordan Thompson (AUS)
bt Egor Gerasimov (BLR) 6-
1, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
Mikhail Kukushkin
(KAZ) bt Christian Garin
(CHI x13) 6-2, 6-1, 3-6, 4-
6, 7-5
Cameron Norrie (GBR) bt
Federico Coria (ARG) 6-3,
6-4, 6-4
Alejandro Davidovich
(ESP) bt Hubert Hurkacz
(POL x24) 6-4, 1-6, 6-2, 6-
2 “The England-Australia
Adrian Mannarino (FRA
x32) bt Jack Sock (USA) 7-
6 (7/5), 7-5, 6-2
Alexander Zverev (GER
x5) bt Brandon Nakashima
(USA) 7-5, 6-7 (8/10), 6-3,
6-1
cricket rivalry in T20 series
SOUTHAMPTON, Sep 3
Denied a Twenty20 World
Cup this year because of the
coronavirus outbreak,
cricket fans might have the
next best thing in the
upcoming days.
They are the top two
teams in the T20 world
rankings — Australia is No.
1 — and their fierce sport-
ing rivalry is deep-rooted.
They also have some of the
most explosive batsmen and
fastest bowlers in world stay in what is termed a the likes of Jos Buttler, Jofra
cricket. “bio-secure bubble,” essen- Archer and Mark Wood are
“I hope it’s a preview for tially meaning its players out of the test bubble.
the final,” Australia captain have done no more than The hosts are missing
Aaron Finch said Thursday, practice and spend time in a key players in allrounder
referring to the next T20 hotel since they arrived 11 Ben Stokes, who is unavail-
World Cup that will now days ago. able for selection following
take place in India in Octo- After a few intra-squad his return to New Zealand
ber-November 2021. matches, their players are to be with his father who
itching for the real thing — has cancer, and opener
rivalry is always huge,” he something they haven’t had Jason Roy, who has a left
added, “regardless of who since mid-March when the side strain. Joe Root, the test
you are playing in front of scheduled ODI series captain, has been left out of
and where you are playing. against New Zealand was the T20 squad but is in the
You could play in a street abandoned. ODI squad for the three-
and it would still be there.” “The way the players match series starting Sept.
This three-match series is have hit the ground running 11.

Mamata plays facilitator as East Bengal find an

taking place at the Rose has been really exciting,” One exciting newcomer
Bowl in Southampton, start- Finch said. “I know not just to the team is Tom Banton,
ing Friday, and will be me but everyone is just ab- a tall opening batsmen who

investor, lifeline for ISL participation

KOLKATA, Sep 3
West Bengal chief minister
Mamata Banerjee’s personal
intervention saw East Bengal
find an investor that might
pave the way for the club to
play in the Indian Super
League (ISL) this season.
Shree Cement,
headquartered in Kolkata,
would be East Bengal’s new
investor, as Banerjee
announced the tie-up at the
state secretariat on
Wednesday. The red-and-
gold brigade will now apply
to the Football Sports
Development Limited
(FSDL) to play in the
upcoming ISL.
“This is a new sunrise for
East Bengal. There was an
uncertainty. Indian football
is incomplete without Ben-
gal – Mohun Bagan, East
Bengal and Mohammedan
Sporting. Mohun Bagan
have already joined the ISL
and now East Bengal will be
there. We will have an ISL
derby,” Banerjee said.
An East Bengal official
made no bones about the
political intervention that
came to the club’s aid at a
critical juncture.
“The chief minister had a
pivotal role (to make this
happen). She took interest
and initiative, and mediated
between us (club and inves-
tor), and finally terms and
conditions have been
agreed. Credit goes to her,”
Kalyan Majumdar, general
secretary of East Bengal
club, told The Indian Ex-
press.
Majumdar, however, re-
fused to disclose the
shareholding pattern be-
tween the two parties. “That
is absolutely a private mat-
ter between the two
entities,” he said.
Asked about East Ben-
gal’s chances of playing the
ISL this season, Majumdar
said: “If you ask a new-born
baby if he/she could speak,
this is like that. It’s not even
a couple of hours that we
have come to an agreement
(with the investor). Yes, we
have reached the shore. We
will find out what is lying in
the shore for us.”
The club’s assistant gen-
eral secretary Shanti Ranjan
Dasgupta, however, told
this paper that East Bengal
would now formally apply
to the FSDL to play in the
ISL apart from doing other
paperwork, including de-
positing the annual franchise
fee of Rs 15 crore. He also
informed that East Bengal
would retain their red-and-
gold colours and the club
emblem (flame torch).
Ever since Bagan merged
with ATK and confirmed
their participation in the
country’s top-tier football
league this year, East Ben-
gal had been under serious
pressure from their fans to
play in the ISL this term.
But as Quess Corp severed
ties with the club earlier this
year, East Bengal seemed to
be fighting for a lost cause
without an investor. The
club officials approached
the chief minister, who
promised help.
special because it is being solutely pumped to be is a 360-hitter and likes to
played without spectators in playing international cricket go on the attack immedi-
accordance with Covid-19 again.” ately. He scored 71, 20 and
restrictions. Then again, Having won both of their 46 in the recent games
East Bengal joining the that’s nothing new particu- test series — against the against Pakistan.
ISL fold this season will be larly for the English, who West Indies and Pakistan — Australia has a tried-and-
subject to FSDL’s approval. have managed to fit in a full England’s focus is totally tested T20 lineup that has
FSDL has already commu- international summer of on the white ball now. A 1- lifted the team atop the ICC
nicated to the ISL cricket in all formats against 1 draw with Pakistan in a rankings in the format, so
stakeholders that the 2020- the West Indies, Ireland and three-match T20 series was batsman Marnus Labus-
21 season of the tournament Pakistan despite the pan- a good way to prepare for chagne will likely need to
will be played in Goa with demic. the Australians, and Eng- wait for his debut despite
10 teams. Australia is the latest na- land will have a stronger impressing in both the test
At the same time, tion to fly to England and squad at its disposal now and ODI teams. AP
though, it hasn’t put out the
tournament fixtures yet. On
the face of it, an extra team
in the time of a pandemic
might cause added logistical
problems. But with the West
Bengal chief minister look-
ing after East Bengal’s case,
the matter could be sorted
out.
East Bengal are celebrat-
ing their centenary this year
and Majumdar pointed out
how the club went through
a very frustrating period.
“The centenary was very,
very frustrating for us. The
dreams that we had at the
beginning of our centenary
celebrations weren’t fulfilled
because of real reasons
(Covid-19).”
He informed that the new
investor has also “expressed
its interest” to look after the
club’s other sporting activi-
ties, like cricket, apart from
football. The Indian Express

France's Kristina Mladenovic suffers meltdown

in US Open loss, rips COVID-19 protocols
NEW YORK, Sep 3
It’s been a “nightmare” for
France’s Kristina
Mladenovic at the US Open
— both on and off the court.
Mladenovic led her sec-
ond-round singles match
against Russia’s Varvava
Gracheva 6-1, 5-1 on
Wednesday and was serving
for what looked like an easy
victory. Somehow,
Mladenovic went on to lose
the second set in a tie-
breaker — despite having
four match points when
leading 5-2 — then was
swept in the final set in a
stunning 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-0
setback.
At 5-2, I just collapsed,”
Mladenovic said. “I have
nothing more to say, I’m
completely devastated.”
Mladenovic had plenty
more to say, however, about
the US Open’s “abomina-
ble” treatment under its
COVID-19 protocols.
Mladenovic said she has
tested negative for the
coronavirus 30 times while
at the US Open but is still
being treated like a prisoner.
“The conditions are atro-
cious,” Mladenovic said, via
Reuters. “If I had known
that playing cards for 40
minutes with a player who
tested positive, but ulti- they won the Australian
mately negative, would Open earlier this year. The
have resulted in these con- also won the Aussie Open
sequences, I would never in 2018 and the French
have set foot in this tourna- Open in 2019.
ment.” Another doubles title at
“I don’t want that to be the US Open would surely
an excuse for my defeat,” help ease what has been a
she said. “It’s not the difficult experience so far.
USTA’s fault that I didn’t Agencies
convert four match points,
don’t get me wrong.”
Mladenovic’s time at the
US Open isn’t over yet.
Mladenovic and her playing
partner, Timea Babos, com-
pete in the first round of
doubles on Thursday against
Kaitlyn Christian and
Giuliana Olmos.
Mladenovic and Babos
are the No. 1 seed and are
looking for their second-
straight Grand Slam title as

No agreement between Messi, Formula 1: Mercedes script

Barcelona: Reports
BARCELONA, Sep 3: Lionel Messi’s father and agent met
Barcelona club president Josep Maria Bartomeu on
Wednesday to discuss the player’s wish to leave the club but
the talks ended in stalemate, Spanish media reported.
Earlier, Jorge Messi said it would be “difficult” for his
son to remain with Barcelona, the only club he has ever
played for professionally.
The meeting lasted one-and-a-half hours and was held
in a cordial atmosphere, according to media reports includ-
ing sports dailies Marca and Mundo Deportivo. They said
Bartomeu sees Messi as a key part of Barca’s plans to
rebuild under new coach Ronald Koeman. There was no
comment from the club.
Six-times world player of the year Messi, unhappy at his
team’s failure to win any silverware last season and hu-
miliated by an 8-2 Champions League thrashing by Bayern
Munich, told the club last week that he wanted to leave.
The Argentine insists he has a clause in his contract that
allows him to leave on a free transfer - a claim disputed by
Barcelona and La Liga, who say he can only leave if a
rival club is willing to pay a 700 million euro ($830.20
million) buyout clause.
“I don’t know, I know nothing,” Messi’s father told
Spanish TV channel Cuatro after flying in on a private jet.
Pressed if it would be hard for him to remain, he said
“yes”, and asked how he sees Messi’s future at Barcelona,
he replied “difficult, difficult”.
Messi missed a medical on Sunday and did not show up
on Monday for the first training session of the season.
Reuters
records in 2020 season
Seven races have gone by in the Formula 1 2020 season
calendar so far. It has been a sheer domination by Mercedes,
who lead the show with 264 points.
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton, who is aiming to equal
Michael Schumacher's seven F1 titles, leads the standings
amongst drivers (157 points).
Here we look at the records scripted by Mercedes this
season.
Out of the seven races so far, Mercedes have won six.
Hamilton has pocketed five race honors, with team-mate
Valtteri Bottas winning one. Notably, Mercedes have
snatched all seven pole positions this season.
With five wins this season, Hamilton has increased his
career tally to 89.
He needs just three more victories to get past Michael
Schumacher (91).
After winning the Hungarian GP, Hamilton equaled the
tally of Schumacher for most wins at the same Grand Prix
(8).
Hamilton also registered his seventh victory at the Brit-
ish GP (personal best).
He also has seven wins in Canada.
After winning the Spanish Grand Prix, Hamilton regis-
tered his fourth successive win at this venue.
Hamilton has now won at least one Grand Prix in 14
consecutive seasons.
Schumacher (15) is above him on this list.
With five pole positions this season, Hamilton extended
his career tally to 93.
Agencies