Land of Jewels (Sana Leibak)

Rebel Cong MLAs strike confident pose: Imphal, Dec 30: Striking a confident pose, the dissident Congress MLAs who have been demanding a change in the leadership of the Congress Legislature Party have claimed that the AICC may soon take a decision in their favour within the next couple of days. The rebel MLAs, who have raised the banner of revolt against the leadership of Chief Minister O Ibobi for the last few months claim the support of 19 MLAs out of the 31 Congress MLAs in the House of 60. Apart from the deteriorating law and order situation, the rebel MLAs have launched the anti-Ibobi drive on the 'total failure to govern' plank. Significantly, the claim of the rebel MLAs that the AICC may soon take a decision within the next couple of days came after the AICC secretary in charge of North East Prithiviraj Chauhan submitted his report to the AICC leadership after his visit to the State about two weeks back. Apart from getting a first hand account of the law and order situati...

Second home for Sangai suggested: Imphal, Dec 30: After making a detailed study on the survival and prospect of propagating the endangered Sangai at its natural habitat in Keibul Lamjao National Park, the Wildlife Institute of India has perceived a great threat to the lives of Sangai there. Subsequently, the Wildlife Institute of India has recommended the State Government for a second sanctuary for the Sangai. The Wildlife Institute of India based at Dehradun has been studying the lives of Sangai and the bio-diversity and physiography of the Keibul Lamjao National Park for the last few years. The Institute also undertook head count of the Sangai now existing in Keibul Lamjao. In the event of outbreak of any epidemic or any contagious disease in its natural habitat, all the Sangai population may be wiped out as the rare species living in Keibul Lamjao belong to the same stock (in breeding), mentioned a report submitted by the Institute to the State Government, informed a reliable source...

2nd Manipur State League: NISA, Thangmeiband and NEROCA, Laipham Khunou recorded identical 3-0 victories as SSU, Singjamei and AMOFA, Moirang scripted hard fought wins, and KFC, Kakching held MPSC to a 1-1 draw in Sunday’s matches in the 2nd Manipur State League Football tournament. A brace from Th Sankar (37th, 60th) and Charan Rai's 79th minute strike fetched maximum points for visitors NISA against ESU, Wangkhei, while NEROCA steamrolled PYC on goals from T Dhiren (39th), Benjamin Kamson (43rd) and H Rohen (49th).Playing at Kakching ground, MPSC surged ahead on N Deshkumar's 23rd minute goal as L Enel levelled for the home side late in the second half. SSU, on the otherhand won its home match against YWC, Thambalkhong on N Jimmy's 75th minute goal. Playing away from home AMOFA blanked USA, Khurai with S Stephen Hmar (37th) and L Bikram (78th) scoring one apiece. Tent Pegging championship: Army Supply Corps-Bangalore opened its medal account with a gold while BSF added a ...

Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya silver jubilee: The silver jubilee of the DM Dev Sarma Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya was celebrated on Sunday at Hotel Imphal under the aegis of Manipur Sanskrit Parishad. The event was graced by L Jayantakumar, president of Manipur Sanskrit Parishad RK Jhaljit and noted poet Laishram Somorendro as chief guest, president and guest of honour respectively. Jhaljit said the Sanskrit Parishad shall soon produce a Sanskrit-Manipuri-English dictionary. A symposium on legendary poet Kalidas was also held. During the symposium moderated by principal of DM Dev Sarma Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya L Narayan, G Tombi spoke on 'Life and Time of Kalidas', RK Jhaljit on 'Raghuvansa'. Journal 'Heritage' released: The first edition of the journal 'Heritage' to be published in Manipuri bi-annually by Cultural and Historical Research Trust was released during a function at Manipur Press Club at Imphal on Sunday. Another book titled 'Meitrabakki Yotthangi Chak ...

Myanmar, India to step up vigil: Imphal: India and Myanmar on Friday agreed to step up vigil along the international border to curb cross-border smuggling of narcotic substances and help each other in dismantling drug factories. An official source said field officials of the two countries met at Moreh on Friday. The meeting focused on the problems of cross-border drug smuggling and measures to tackle the problem through co-operation. “The meeting agreed to step up vigil along the border and also share information on drug smuggling activities. We also agreed to help locate drug refineries and dismantle them,” the source said. The Myanmarese delegation was led by Lt Col Aung Ten, political in-charge of Tamu district. The Indian delegation was headed by superintendent of police, narcotic and border affairs, Manipur. Senior officials of the Assam Rifles, Narcotic Control Bureau and state police were present at the meeting, held at the office of the Customs Preventive Force. The meeting al...

Cabinet to probe faulty contract process: Imphal, Dec 29: Along with revising the cost of Khuga Multipurpose Project which has been under construction since Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh was the Deputy Chairman of Union Planning Commission about 20 years back, the State Cabinet has decided to initiate an enquiry into awarding contract works worth Rs 29 crore which were out of the purview of the project and fix responsibility under Manipur Public Servant Personnel Liability Act. The Cabinet meeting held this evening with Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh in the chair decided to take up action against the engineers involved in awarding the contract works by invoking the provisions of the Act after an enquiry. Out of the contract works of Rs 29 crore which were awarded out of the purview of the project during 2005-06, Rs 11 crore had already been withdrawn while the work orders for over Rs 6 crore had been frozen by the Government after it got wind of the matter. The Cabinet meeting decided...

Will wait for completion in four NE states: New Delhi: Following a lengthy meeting of a Group of Ministers chaired by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee earlier this week, the Government appears to have put implementation of the Delimitation Commission report on a fast-track. The GoM meeting took place days after the Supreme Court stayed the conduct of the delimitation operation in four Northeastern states and also questioned the delay in implementation of delimitation in 25 states for which notifications have already been issued by the Commission. Two decisions appear to have been taken at the GoM’s last meeting. One, that the President should be sent the consolidated delimitation report for final notification (with Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur) and despite the 25 notifications being placed in Parliament, Members of Parliament needed to be further sensitised on the result of the delimitation exercise in their individual constituencies. The Law Ministry, has,...

Thiyam’s Wahoudok to kick off festival: New Delhi, Dec 29: In the recent 38th International Film festival of India held in Goa, Manipuri cinema had been able to show its vibrancy with the entry of three films in the Indian panorama section at a time. And again in the field of theatre, the Manipuri theatre has proved its excellence with the entry of five Manipuri plays in the forthcoming 10th Bharat Rang Mahotsav to be organized from January 3 to 20 in Delhi as a grand event to mark the 50 years of National School of Drama (NSD). It is also a rare honour to Manipuris that the Manipuri play Wahoudok (Prologue) directed by world-renowned theatre personality from Manipur, Ratan Thiyam will be staged as the inaugural performance of the engrossing Indian international theatre festival to be held in Delhi and a satellite festival in Mumbai from January 6 to 17. Apart from Ratan Thiyam’s production, four other Manipuri plays -- Kshetri Jugindro`s Ghashiram Kotwal, L.Kishworjit`s Thouna Phabi I...

MEELAL ready to take to masses: Imphal, December 29: With introduction of Meetei Mayek to students till class III successfully, the text books for class IV to be taught from the next academic session 2008-09 have already been printed and made ready, MEELAL president Ngaseppam Yumjao has informed. As for teaching Meetei Mayek to the general public, Yumjao added, necessary preparations have been made for launching a mass campaign with effect from January 2 next year. Talking to mediapersons at the office of MEELAL located at Kanglapat today, Yumjao said MEELAL has been able to accomplish many tasks including introduction of Meetei Mayek till class III and use of Meetei Mayek on the nameplates of vehicles with the support of the people this year. Along with the success of introducing Meetei Mayek to the students till class III since the beginning of the current academic session, the printing of the text books for class IV which are to be prescribed from the next academic session has also ...

Reservation counter, bus parking opened: Imphal, Dec 29: Along with the inauguration of a Computerised Passenger Reservation System (CPRS) booking counter at the Churachandpur District Transport Office, a newly renovated bus parking was also opened on Saturday at Churachandpur New Bazar. The twin inauguration functions were graced by Transport Minister L Jayantakumar as chief guest. Speaking on the occasion, Jayantakumar said that out of CPRS booking counters approved by the Indian Railway authority in Imphal East, Thoubal, Churachandpur and Bishnupur, the CPRS booking counter in Churachandpur district was taken up on a priority basis. Construction work of booking counter started in November 9 at the estimated cost of Rs 1.60 lakh. For the remaining districts, construction work for CPRS booking counters will be initiated within a short time, said the Transport Minister. Observing that the inconveniences faced by the people in coming to the lone CPRS booking counter at MSRTC complex in ...

Workshop on child rights held: Imphal, Dec 29: A one-day advocacy workshop on child rights was organised under the aegis of the State Core Group on Coalition on Children's Rights to Protection, Imphal at Manipur Press Club here on Saturday. Member of Manipur Human Rights Commission Retd Lt Col RK Rajendra Singh and president of Mahila Kalyan Samiti M Purnimashi Devi attended the inaugural function of the workshop as chief guest and president respectively. Giving the key note address of the function, member of the State Core Group K Pradipkumar said that the impact of the prevailing armed conflict situation should be taken into account while discussing the rights of children in Manipur. The state, as well as other International human rights organizations, has not been able to pay attention to this aspect of the problem, he observed. The State does not regard the prevailing armed conflict situation in Manipur as armed conflict while maintaining that it is only a law and order problem...

28th anniversary observed: Imphal, Dec 29: The 28th anniversary of the Meira Paibi movement was observed on Saturday at Iboyaima Shumang Leela complex by women leaders of different communities. The function was organised by the All Manipur Women's Social Reformation and Development Samaj under the theme "Responsibility of Meira Paibi in Resolving Conflict Situation in Manipur". Addressing the gathering, Nupi Samaj secretary Ramani recalled that women came to the forefront in the campaign against drugs and intoxicants in 1975. A few years later, the Government allegedly started resorting to various repressive measures against the youths of the State who refused to acknowledge Manipur as a part of India Union. The youths were then declared outlaws, she said. From 1980, security forces started committing various excesses and violation of human rights against civilians in the State. With the changing situation, the Meira Paibi movement earlier launched to check drug abuse and...

Bullet in beer smuggler's leg: Imphal, Dec 29: As a follow up action to setting ablaze a truck laden with smuggled can-beer at Thoubal on December 25, the owner of the truck, who surrendered to the proscribed outfit RPF, was paraded before mediapersons somewhere in Senapati district on Saturday before punishing him with a bullet on his left calf. Along with having found out that the can-beer were smuggled in from Myanmar, the details of the cash amount and other gifts allegedly given to police personnel and AR posts for giving safe passage to the smuggled goods have come to light. Parading the truck owner identified as Thounaojam Inao alias Dhananjoy (35) s/o Thounaojam Budhi of Khongjom Papal, a spokesperson of department of communication and publicity of the proscribed outfit informed that Inao would be shot on his leg as punishment for defying the prohibition on foreign liquor and drug trafficking imposed by RPF with the support of the people since 1990. Inao was found with a bu...

Three suspected UGs shot by AR: Troops of the 18 Assam Rifles have killed at least three suspected militants in an encounter early Saturday morning in the Kuljang area of Chandel district, official sources have said. A statement issued by the PRO, HQ, IGAR (South) said columns of the 18 AR had launched a massive operation in the thick jungles of the Kuljang area last night based on specific intelligence, and early this morning at approximately 5:40 am, troops established contact with the UGs. The area was surrounded by the troops and the UGs fired at, which continued till 6:10 am. In a subsequent search of the area, the bodies of three unidentified UGs were recovered. Two automatic weapons, including a US made carbine and a 9 mm Sten carbine were recovered from the spot. The bodies along with the recovered arms were handed over to Tengnoupal police station today, the statement said. Source: The Imphal Free Press One shot at the leg: A man identified as Thounoujam Dhananjoy, son of ...

Barak Valley Adventure Academy in the offing: Imphal, Dec 29: For the formation of Manipur Levy 2008 to undertake a "historic march of Manipur diaspora", the Barak Valley Adventure Academy will be set up in Bon Tarapur, Cachar in January. The name of Manipur Levy is closely associated with the history of Manipur as it was this same Levy which assembled at Barak Valley under Gambhir and Narsingh and marched on to Manipur to liberate the kingdom from the invading Burmese soldiers at the fag end of Seven Years' Devastation period (1819-26). After about 200 years, the unarmed Manipur Levy 2008 will be constituted together with the Manipuris now settling in Assam and Tripura. The Levy will set out on foot for Kangla from Cachar through Jiribam on December 16 next year. Speaking to reporters on Saturday, chairman of the Bir Tikendrajit Anniversary Celebration Committee and managing trustee of the Tikendrajit Memorial Trust RK Ranendrajit said that after arriving at Kangla, the ...

National Road Cycling Championship: H Renubala and K Suchitra respectively pedalled to one silver and a bronze each on the third day of the 13th National Road Cycling Championship at Erode district of Tamil Nadu on Saturday. Renubala's silver medal came in the 50 km road mass start event in the Under-19 girls’ category while the bronze won by Suchitra was in the senior girls' 75 km road mass start. Manipur has, so far, garnered two gold, four silver and two bronze medals. National Tent Pegging Meet: ITBP riders raced ahead of ASC Centre (North) on the medal count as Hc Shashidharan picked his second gold on the third day of the National Tent Pegging Championship at Imphal Polo Ground on Saturday. Shashidharan culled 27.5 points to make the top podium finish in the individual sword event as ASC's Nk Shinde RT secured the silver on 26.5 point followed by his unit-mate Sub Omprakash in third place with a total of 23 points. In the day's other competition, Punjab Police ri...

KSO wants UGs to be flushed out: The KSO Chandel district has urged the security forces to clear landmines and to flush out UG elements from Khengjoi area of Chandel district so that the people of the area can live and work without any fear psychosis. The student body also appealed to both the security forces and the UG groups to avoid collateral damages and to protect the lives of civilians while in the battlefield. The KSO, while appealing to all NGOs in the state to refrain from any misleading rumour or propaganda, warned all concerned not to use local people for the benefits of their vested interests. It alleged that Haopu Haokip, Tonglet Khongsai and Ngamkhojang alias Simthar were forced to appear before media to speak falsehoods in favour of UGs and civil societies in order to gain public support against the operations of security forces. Yet, the KSO sought attention of both the state and central governments towards the plight of the affected villagers in the back drop of the on...

CM, Gaikhangam turn up, no Debendro: Imphal, Dec 28: The 122nd Foundation Day of the Indian National Congress was observed on Friday by the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee, in the absence of several MLAs including some senior ministers, a reflection of the unresolved crisis in the Congress over the demand for replacement of Okram Ibobi Singh as chief minister. However, Okram Ibobi, and MPCC chief Gaikhangam, whom many observers see as the mastermind behind the rebellion in the Congress, were both present, sitting next to each other in all appearance of bonhomie. The pair shook hands before the gathering and were seen chatting amicably. Prominent absentees on the other hand included senior minister Th Debendro, tribal welfare minister DD Thaisii, and most of the other rebel MLAs. FCS minister Y Erabot was however present. The chief minister, in his address to the assembled party workers, said it was natural to have disagreements in a large family like the Congress, but at the same ti...

Mob torches hooch joint: Imphal, Dec 28: Irate over the death of a man at a local drinking joint, villagers of Awang Leikinthabi under Sekmai police station torched the hooch shop late on Thursday night, a police report said on Friday. Police have arrested the liquor vendor after registering a case at the Sekmai police station. Reports said that 43-year old Kshetrimayum Rajen alias Dhojo son of late Bheigo of Awang Leikinthabi collapsed while he was consuming locally brewed liquor at the hooch joint run by one Khangenbam Kumar, 44, son of Kh Ibohal last night around 8 pm. Rajen apparently failed to return to normalcy and died later. A friend of Rajen`s named Haobam Iboyaima, 43, son of late Mohori who was with him at the drinking joint reportedly left the spot quietly after Rajen collapsed, and the family got to know of his death only after the hooch shop owner Kumar delivered his lifeless body at his home at around 9.40 pm. Outraged over the dead of Rajen villagers turned out armed wi...

Hmar students for eviction of NEEPCO officials: Churachandpur, Dec 28: The Hmar Students Association, while expressing its displeasure at what it called "secretive work order" released by NEEPCO to build "temporary quarters" along Tuiroung river at Tipaimukh a few weeks ago, is in favour of evicting the company officials. HSA leaders have agreed to issue eviction order to the contractors and NEEPCO officials from Manipur and Mizoram until further notice, reliable source in the student body said. The "sons of the soil" Hmars have not been consulted till date by NEEPCO on how it planned to implement the hydro-project, claimed the source. It may be mentioned that HSA, of late, has become restless at what it called "taking for granted" attitude of the enforcing agencies. Meanwhile, the student body has convened a meeting with Hmar tribe's apex body "Hmar Inpui" on Saturday at Hmar Inpui's office, Rengkai Road, Churachandpur, to disc...

GM, another official suspended: Imphal, Dec 28: Manipur Electronics Development Corporation Ltd. (MANITRON) General Manager Thounaojam Santosh Luwang and another official of the corporation have been placed under suspension by the MANITRON authorities in connection with various charges of financial and other irregularities. Separate orders in this respect were issued by the managing director, MANITRON, dated December 20, 2007. The other official against to whom suspension orders have been issued is Ng Joykumar Singh, technical assistant MANITRON. The suspension orders were issued in connection with FIR case no. 8(10) 2007 VPS u/s sec 420/406/120-B IPC and 13(a)(d) (II) PC Act registered against the pair by the state vigilance department, and also in compliance with a recommendation made by the commerce and industries department. It may be mentioned, Th Santosh Luwang and Ng Joykumar were among four officials of the MANITRON who were abducted and detained by the proscribed UNLF over all...

State cyclists win more medals: Manipur added one gold and same number of silver to its overnight tally of one gold, two silver and one bronze medal on the second day of the 13th national Road Cycling Championship at Erode in Tamil Nadu on Friday. L Maniton clocked 44:59.59 sec to win the 30 km individual time trial event while N Chaoba, K Suchitra, T Neeta and I Gautamani raced to the 50 km road team time trial silver medal with a timing of 1 hour 27 min 53.08 sec. Meiraa wrest hockey title: K Chinglensana's brace helped Meiraa, Bashikhong, clinch the title of the 19th G Dwijamani Sharma Memorial six-a-side men's hockey tournament with a 2-1 victory over SAI RC, Takyel at Yumjao Lairembi Lampak at Imphal on Friday. The one hour game saw SAI surge ahead in the 49th minute through K Naocha before the eventual champions rallied with Chinglensana scoring in the 54th and 59th minutes. Chinglensana was declared player of the final while Kh Kothajit of PHAM-W was adjudged the best pl...

ASC Centre dominates: Imphal, Dec 28: ASC Centre (North) led the medal tally while Manipur opened its account with one bronze in the National Tent Pegging Championship 2007, organized by Manipur Equestrian Association at Polo Ground here on Friday. In the second round of the championship, the tent pegging individual lance event gold went to Ram Bhan of ASC Centre (North), securing 33 points. Phool Singh of ASC Centre (North) and Suresh Singh of ITBP scored 31 points each and were awarded the silver medals. M Vivekananda of Manipur secured 30.5 and won the bronze. In the Individual Tent Pegging Rings & Peg (2 Runs) event, Shashi Dharan of ITBP scored 36 points and bagged the gold medal. Jaswinder Singh of Border Security Force scored 32 points and won the silver medal while two riders T Sarkar of ASC Centre (North) and Rajaram of ITBP scored 30 points each to win a bronze medal each.

AKRSU withdraws 1,000-hr blockade in Assam: Guwahati, Dec 28: The All Koch Rajbonshi Students' Union (AKRSU) on Friday announced that it will temporarily withdraw its 1,000-hour blockade from January 1. Disclosing this at a press meet here, AKRSU president Biswajit Ray said the decision to withdraw the blockade was taken to facilitate the participation of the public in the three-phase Panchayat polls, which begins from December 31. ''The Panchayat election enables the people at the grassroots to participate in a democratic process. We don’t want to disrupt it,'' he said. He added that the AKRSU would maintain a neutral role in the local bodies' election. On the blockade issue, Ray said the Chief Minister's assurance, through state Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma and press advisor Deba Prasad Bora, of a tripartite meeting involving the AKRSU, state and the centre had prompted the AKRSU to suspend the agitation. ''If the talks don't come through by J...

CM stresses need for commitment, determination: Imphal, Dec 28: The Chief Minister of Manipur on Friday gave a call for firm determination and commitment to meet the challenges of HIV/AIDS in the state. The CM, inaugurating the one day state level convention on HIV/AIDS at Panchayat Bhawan, said that collective effort with mass participation is the answer to the prevention and eradication of HIV/AIDS. Ibobi said that the elected legislative members are going to show their commitment and participation in fighting HIV/AIDS. He said that the MLA Local Area Development Fund Act has been amended to enable sanctioning certain amount for HIV/AIDS related programmes in each assembly constituencies. However, he said that percentage of fund to be allocated is not yet decided upon. Inspiring the zilla parishad members and pradhans to get actively involved in the issue of HIV/AIDS, the CM said that each member of the panchayat should look into the details in their respective villages and do time b...

15 cases to be examined: Imphal: Changamayum Manoranjan Khuman alias Khumanlemba alias Baba, 50, of Pishum Ningom Leirak who was nabbed by police with the charge that he was the chief advisor of the Operation New Kangleipak of the KYKL was among the 15 persons being examined by the advisory board on NSA. Manoranjan was nabbed by a team of Imphal west police commandos on November 19 this year with some documents related with fake appointment scam in the state education department. Police charged him of being the chief advisor of ONK of the KYKL but later the outfit denied the claim stating he was not related with the outfit and no such post existed in the outfit. Examination for detention of 15 persons including a woman under National Security Act by the advisory board on NSA began Wednesday, an official source said. In the three-day sitting of the board, the cases of detention under NSA of 15 persons who were in Manipur Central Jail, Sajiwa with regard to the detention order issued by ...

IIT Delhi to help Nagaland, Manipur: New Delhi: The Nagaland Government has sought the technology for preserving fruits and vegetables from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. The request has particularly been made to increase the shelf-life of Mandarin oranges grown in that State. The State Government had approached the National Research Development Corporation to request IIT Delhi to send its experts for training officials and farmers in the technology. “We have an agreement with NRDC. The Nagaland Government has contacted them for a training programme to be run by IIT experts. The Government has already deposited the money. My team will go there in January for a demonstration,” reveals H. M. Chawla of the Chemistry Department at IIT Delhi who led research work on this technology. “The Manipur Government has also shown interest in preservation of passion fruits. The officials of both the State governments had come to the laboratory on our campus to see the experiments being ca...

'Blue Corn' duo mesmerises Delhiites: New Delhi: They share great rapport, are jovial, love western music and have great voices to go with...the perfect combination to form an all-girls pop band! The 'Blue Corn' band popularly known as the "Spice girls of the Northeast" mesmerised audiences with their soulful love songs at a recent performance in the Capital. The two-member band shot to fame with the album 'Christman Nangnen' (Christmas with you) which was a big hit in the Northeast. Mizoram-based girl band duo, which include Kim and Tee had created ripples in the musical scene of Northeast with their debut album 'Lunglawn Akim' (I am fulfilled), which went on to become a bestseller. Their next album of Christmas love songs 'Christman Nangnen' (Christmas with you) was also an instant hit among the northeasterners. "Our music though pop is quite different from the routine stuff, we do not churn out stuff which draws people into danc...

CM condoles: Imphal, Dec 27: Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh has joined the people of the state in condoling the demise of international cyclist Huidrom Tombisana who succumbed to injuries at a Tamil Nadu Hospital on December 25. The CM in his condolence message described Tombisana as one of the best women cyclists and 'her demise is an irreparable loss to the entire sporting community of the state and the country’. Ibobi also shared the grief of the bereaved family and conveyed prayer for peaceful rest of her soul in the heavenly abode. Tombisana met with a fatal accident at Erode on December 22 while practising for the 13th National Road Race Cycling Championship which began at the southern state on Thursday. Her body was brought to Imphal Airport on Wednesday where sportspersons of the state in large numbers received tearfully. A regular medal winner in her favourite event in both the national and international level since venturing into the sports discipline at a young age, Tombis...

Dimapur denizens suffer: Dimapur, Dec 27: There is a possibility of bleak situation prevailing in the Nagaland commercial hub Dimapur following the strong under-current polarisation "among the NSCN factions". According to the NSCN-IM, huge amount of money to the tune of crores of rupees has been collected from the businessmen in Dimapur by the NSCN faction led by Azheto Chophy and Khaplang in just one month's time. Azheto Chophy and C Singson are the two signatories of the November 24 Niuland Unity Declaration. The NSCN-IM then expressed with a serious tone that the "Azheto and Khaplang group" has tested the nerve of the NSCN-IM again. The NSCN-IM said that the outfit has been exercising maximum restraint and patience in the interest of the "Naga nation". "In the name of unification the most provocative incidents had been happening in Dimapur but for the greater interest of the Naga Nation, maximum restraint and patience have been exercised by NSC...

‘Kumudini’ enthralls audience: Imphal: It is not often that a play provokes the audience to think. So when one comes along, it is an experience that not just entertains but also plays on your mind long after the curtain comes down. Watching M.C. Arun’s Kumudini, directed by M.C. Thoiba of Banian Repertory Theatre and staged at the Jawaharlal Nehru Dance Academy in Imphal on December 20, one was impressed as much by the intricacies of the unfolding plot as by the skill and craft of the director and his actors. Kumudini is a commentary on Manipuri women and their social status in relation to men. It deconstructs and reinterprets the social fabric of 19th century Manipur and the life and times of the queen of the same name, the widow of King Gambhir Singh, who liberated Manipur from the Burmese. The queen’s involvement in governance began when her husband died, leaving behind a two-year-old heir, King Chandrakriti. She not only became involved in palace intrigue but succeeded in it, too. ...

AMWJU stand on contradictory statements of UGs: Imphal, Dec 27: An emergency general body meeting of All Manipur Working Journalists' Union (AMWJU) held at Manipur Press Club on Thursday unanimously decided against publication of any contradictory statement/release of the banned KCP till the armed group resolves its internal differences. A release issued in connection with the said meeting highlighted that members present minutely discussed statements and diktats respectively issued by Lanheiba Meetei and KC Meetei of the KCP factions. The meeting also called upon both the KCP groups to respect an earlier general body meeting resolution wherein the armed groups were urged to amicably settle their differences rather than resort to mud-slinging through the media taking into account interest of the general public. AMWJU expects the KCP groups to uphold stand of the media community, added a statement. Posted On: The Sangai Express

Unidentified gunmen kill two youth: Imphal, Dec 27: Two youths were shot dead by unidentified armed persons atop the hill of Changamdabi Sagol Lou Khabei Leikai about 8 kms North of Yairipok police station on Wednesday night. The slain youths have been identified as Mohd Izu Khan (17) s/o Alimuddin of Yairipok Tulihal Mayai Leikai and Mohd Raju Khan (16) s/o late Abdul Matlib of Yairipok Tulihal Konjil Leikai. According to inputs received from family members of the deceased, Raju Khan left home for Changamdabi at about 11 am yesterday to deliver invitation cards for the marriage of one of his maternal uncles. As the two failed to return till late evening, the family members started searching for them at Changamdabi. Unable to trace the duo, local people joined the families in searching for the missing duo this morning during which their corpses were found atop the hill at about 6 am. The hands and legs of the two youths were found tied. A bullet which hit Izu Khan near his lip exited t...

Manipuri student dies in Delhi: A Manipuri student doing his degree course in Delhi University identified as Mesak Sinate (22) s/o Damhau Sinate of Reng-kai, Churachandpur died after falling down from the second floor of a building at Lajpat Nagar, Delhi in the evening of December 25. Five militants nabbed: Five militants, belonging to three separate organizations, were nabbed during the past 24 hours in three different incidents in Manipur. Police said one militant was apprehended by Manipur Police and 39 Assam Rifles (AR) troops and Rs 70,000 was recovered from his possession. Imphal West commandos nabbed three people, suspected to be Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) cadres. In another incident, AR troops nabbed a People’s United Liberation Front (PULF) cadre and handed him over to the police on Wednesday. Source: United News of India (UNI) Another Story: Whip cracked against illegal hoardings: Acting on the instruction of the Union Ministry of Road Transport (Highway), Public Works ...

AR CO extends aid, 11 still critical: Imphal, Dec 27: Out of 31 persons who sustained injuries in the December 16 bomb blast near Pourabi Lamjing Meira High School, eleven are still undergoing treatment in critical condition at JN Hospital, RIMS and Shija Hospital. This is in addition to eight killed in the blast. A statement issued by the ‘JAC Against the Pourabi Huidrom Bomb Blast’ informed that of the injured victims undergoing treatment in RIMS, Konthoujam Michael's right leg is in a critical condition even after his left leg had been amputated at knee. The JAC has also expressed its gratitude to the CO of 39 Assam Rifles, Col Bikramjit for extending financial help to the tune of Rs 55,000. Hit by splinters at legs, hands, back with a part of his left heel already severed, Okram Imobi (36) is also battling for life in hospital. Mangjam Abung (20) is suffering from broken back bone and spinal cord. With his two fingers already severed, Heikrujam Herojit (30) is also staring at p...