Land of Jewels (Sana Leibak)

Moirang and Shishak's INA flag: It is hard to find a Bengali who has not heard of or read about the legendary Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Many of them also know of the existence of a well-kept memorial to the Indian National Army at Moirang in the picturesque Loktak Lake area, 32 km from Imphal town, but have not visited it. It is built on the site where, on 4 April 1944, Netaji hoisted the INA flag on Indian soil for the first time (Meitei insurgents assert Manipur was never part of India and still is not). A contributor to Imphal Free Press, Waikhom Shana, reported last week that an INA flag, made of khadi and with an emblem of a springing tiger and which was hoisted for the first time on Indian territory, “is still in good shape and is in the custody of YA Shishak of Sangshak” in Manipur’s Ukhrul district. Now in his 70s, Shishak told Waikhom that he had worked for the Maratha Infantry as well as for the Japanese as a peon and that he had also been taken to Japan twice. INA men ...

Employees accuse buying of second-hand item: Imphal, Jan 27: The Loktak Development Authority (LDA) has been accused of purchasing a worn out dredging machine at a rate fitting brand new ones after repairing them. The worn out machine was lying unused at Chilka Lake, Orissa. In this connection, the LDA Employees and Workers’ Association has decided to launch an agitation against the LDA management for allegedly violating the agreement it signed with the association. Briefing media persons at Manipur Press Club on Sunday, general secretary of the association T Ravi disclosed that the worn out machine already laid off in Chilka Lake was sold to the LDA after repairing by TAMAC company at Rs 2.9 lakh. However, the LDA claimed that the machine was bought at Rs 20 lakhs, asserted Ravi. Even as Rs 20 crores was sanctioned to the LDA in 2007 to remove Phumdis from Loktak Lake, there has been little progress in this regard. For removing a chunk of Phumdi or an isolated piece, the LDA often rel...

AMWJU GBM on Thursday: An emergency general body meeting of the All Manipur Working Journalists Union, AMWJU, has been convened on Thursday at 10:30 am at Manipur Press Club, Imphal. This is in connection with two statements received at media offices from the KCP (MC) group. As there has been pressure from a quarter to publish one statement and not to publish the other, the meeting has been convened to decide the AMWJU’s stance. All AMWJU members and media editors have been asked to attend the emergency meeting. National Tent Pegging meet begins on Thursday: The National Tent Pegging Championships being held for the first time in Manipur, commences on Thursday at the Imphal Polo ground. The five day long competition is being organised with the theme, ‘Save Manipuri Pony’. Altogether eight teams, plus the hosts, will be participating in the competition, including the ITBP, Haryana; ASC, North Gaya; Assam Rifles, Jorhat; UP police; ASC, Bangalore; West Bengal Police, Kolkata Police and E...

Kaladan deal awaits Myanmar seal: Silchar, Dec. 26: India is eagerly waiting for Myanmar’s foreign minister U Nyan Win’s New Year visit to Delhi for finalising the 00-million dollar Kaladan multi-model link project. The project envisages building of roads and waterway links to ensure the landlocked states’ easy accessibility to the Bay of Bengal through Myanmar. The detailed report of the infrastructure development project was discussed at a meeting at the Prime Minister’s office in January this year. The project had already been granted financial approval by New Delhi and Yangon, said senior officials of the border trade department of the Mizoram government in Aizawl. Sources pointed out that the alternative road, river and sea access via Myanmar’s southwestern flank had been extensively surveyed over the past six years by engineers of the two countries. The cabinet is likely to give a final nod to augmentation of the project once Win lands in India. Dhaka’s vacillation on providing t...