Tag: mizoram

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Mizoram complains against Assam’s ‘economic blockade’

A 12 hour shutdown, called by local party Barak Democratic Front, to protest the Monday’s violent border firing and clashes, crippled normal life, business activities and official works on Wednesday in the three Assam districts…reports Asian Lite News.

Mizoram on Wednesday complained to the Union Home Ministry that an “economic blockade” by Assam on from Monday and “destruction” of railway lines on Tuesday badly affected supply of essentials and foodgrains to the state.

Monday’s violent border clashes and firing along Assam-Mizoram border left six Assam Police personnel dead and around 100 civilians and security personnel of the two neighbouring states injured, including an Inspector General of Police in Assam and Cachar Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Chandrakant Nimbalkar.

In her letter to Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Home Secretary Pi Lalbiaksangi said that the National Highways and railway lines are owned and managed by the Central government and no state agency and entity or the general public has any right to block them and restrict the movement of people and goods through them.

She requested that the Centre may intervene and instruct the Assam government to take necessary action for the immediate removal of the blockade to ensure resumption of the movement of goods and passengers along the NH and railways.

“The NH 306 and other roads connecting Mizoram with other parts of the country via Assam have been blocked by Assam from Monday. The NH-306 is the lifeline of Mizoram for ferrying essential commodities and fuels. The blockade is affecting the livelihood of the people of Mizoram adversely. Movement of vehicles along other routes connecting Mizoram and Assam have also been blocked inside Assam,” Lalbiaksangi said.

She said that a “state-sponsored economic blockade” was earlier imposed by Assam from October 17 to November 11 last year and “that 26-day blockade had seriously affected the livelihood of the people of Mizoram, resulting in various hardships”.

“Incidents like this have occurred numerous times in the past in connection with other incidents. Further, it is also reported that unknown miscreants from Assam have destroyed the Mizoram-bound railway tracks at Mohammedpur Railway station and Ramnathpur in Assam.”

Meanwhile, a 12 hour shutdown, called by local party Barak Democratic Front, to protest the Monday’s violent border firing and clashes, crippled normal life, business activities and official works on Wednesday in the three Assam districts — Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi — bordering Mizoram.

In another incident, the Assam Police on Wednesday did not allow a seven member Congress team led by state party President Bhupen Kumar Bora to visit the trouble-torn bordering areas.

The delegation, which also included Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia, was stopped at Dholai Bazar and not allowed to proceed further.

The Congress vehemently condemned the banning of visit of the party delegation.

Bora told the media that it is a big conspiracy of the BJP government to not allow opposition leaders to go to the site of the violence while allowing Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and other leaders of the ruling BJP to do so.

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Amit Shah urges Assam, Mizoram CMs to maintain peace

He said Assam would, at any cost, protect its territory and the reserve forest along the Mizoram border for the sake of the future generations…reports Asian Lite News.

As the Assam-Mizoram border row turned violent on Monday with a spate of clashes and five Assam Police personnel being shot dead, Union Home Minister Amit Shah talked over phone with both the Chief Ministers and urged them to maintain peace and protect the people.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who on Tuesday rushed to the border area, said that to protect the state’s reserve forest, his government would soon move the Supreme Court and deploy three commando battalions, comprising 4,000 personnel, along the inter-state border.

He said Assam would, at any cost, protect its territory and the reserve forest along the Mizoram border for the sake of the future generations.

Paying tributes to five killed policemen, he announced a government job and Rs 50 lakh as compensation to their next of kin and Rs one lakh for the 42 policemen and civilians injured in the border firing and clashes.

Sarmaa said that Shah’s instructions, Union Home Secretary Alok Bhalla would meet the Chief Secretaries of both states.

Referring to Monday’s firing from the other side, Sarma urged his Mizoram counterpart Zoramthanga to probe how a section of the civilians are carrying and using sophisticated arms.

“If the civilians of Mizoram carry sophisticated arms and ammunition, it would not only be very harmful for Assam but would be dangerous for Mizoram as well.”

He also assured that his government would provide security to the Mizo people, traders and students in Assam.

“We would not encroach an inch of land of Mizoram and we would die but would not allow them to take over an inch of our territory as well,” the emotional Chief Minister told the media after holding a series of meetings with officials.

Sarma said that the Union Home Minister, during his meeting with all the eight Chief Ministers of the northeastern states on Saturday in Shillong, had announced that the inter-state border disputes would be resolved before India celebrates 75 years of Independence next year.

Citing satellite imagery, he said that it is evident from many documents and evidence that reserve forest lands of Assam are occupied by Mizo people, who destroy the forest resources.

“It might be that some people in Mizoram are annoyed after the Assam government curtailed the drugs trading chain from Myanmar to other parts of India via Mizoram and Assam,” he claimed.

An Assam government statement said that there was unprovoked firing from the Mizoram side as its senior state officials, led by an Inspector General of Police, had requested Mizoram Police and officials to dismantle unauthorised constructions on the Assam side, leading to the death of five policemen, including a sub-inspector, and injuries to many other security personnel.

“The Assam officials suddenly were surrounded and attacked by a mob of miscreants, brandishing weapons and wearing helmets, from the Mizoram side and that was visibly supported by the Mizoram Police.

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COVID-19 India News

Generous gesture from unemployed doctors in Mizoram

Mizoram

A health official said that responding to the state government’s appeal, 412 unemployed doctors, nursing students and laboratory technicians willingly engaged themselves in Covid-19 related works…reports Asian Lite News

In a generous gesture, over 400 unemployed doctors, nursing students, laboratory technicians and pharmacists in Mizoram have voluntarily agreed to assist the government in Covid management, health officials said on Wednesday.

A health official said that responding to the state government’s appeal, 412 unemployed doctors, nursing students and laboratory technicians willingly engaged themselves in Covid-19 related works including sample collections, screening of patients, contact tracing, and providing care to the patients in Zoram Medical College (ZMC) and other Covid care centres.

“The state government has been facing huge shortages of skilled medical manpower. The voluntary engagement of 412 unemployed doctors, nursing students and laboratory technicians would be a great help for the authorities in dealing with Covid management,” the official said.

Of the 412, 37 are doctors and 144 are nurses, while the rest are laboratory technicians and pharmacists.

According to the official, around 900 doctors, nursing and para-medical students had voluntarily helped the Mizoram Health Department last year to deal with the pandemic.

A total of 8,032 positive cases have detected in the mountainous border state and on Wednesday, the active cases stood at 1,889 with 23 people succumbing to the disease.

Mizoram(Twitter)

Meanwhile, in Nagaland, the government has clamped total lockdown across the state for eight days while Assam and the other six northeastern states extended the timings of curfew and imposed other restrictions to curb the alarming spread of Covid.

Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh have shown continued increasing trend in daily new Covid cases.

In Kohima, health officials said that the High-Powered Committee on Covid-19 decided to impose a state-wide total lockdown starting from 6 p.m. on Friday till May 21.

Officials in Guwahati said that in the past one week (May 5-May 11), 5,215 new Covid cases were reported against 3,466 cases in the previous week (April 28-May 4) while 2,333 fresh cases reported in the earlier week (April 21-April 27).

The Assam government on Wednesday issued new standard operating procedures (SOPs) with effect from Thursday. According to the SOPs, the curfew timings across Assam have been advanced to 2 p.m. from the earlier 6 p.m.

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India News

2 IAF choppers deployed to douse Mizoram fire

wildfires in different parts of Mizoram(Twitter)

IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Ratnakar Singh said the two IAF Mi-17V5 helicopters equipped with Bambi buckets would be positioned to douse the wildfire in Lunglei district and adjoining areas….reports Asian Lite News

The Indian Air Force (IAF) would deploy two helicopters to douse the forest fire in Mizoram even as the state’s fighters and disaster management personnel are battling the blaze in Lunglei district and its adjoining areas, officials said on Sunday.

IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Ratnakar Singh said the two IAF Mi-17V5 helicopters equipped with Bambi buckets would be positioned to douse the wildfire in Lunglei district and adjoining areas.

Chief Minister Zoramthanga on Sunday sought help from the IAF as well as the locals in dousing the major forest inferno in the mountainous district, which shares borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Officials here said that Zoramthanga has earlier asked the Chief Secretary Lalnunmawia Chuaungo to talk to the IAF authority to urgently deploy helicopters to douse the forest fire which has been rapidly spreading in the adjoining localities and small towns of Lunglei and the adjacent district in southern Mizoram.

Assam Rifles, Border Security Force (BSF), hundreds of volunteers, disaster management and Fire and Emergency Services personnel are continuing their efforts to control the inferno.

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An official statement said that the fire was initially concentrated in uninhabited forest areas surrounding the Lunglei town on Saturday and on Sunday have spread to more than 10 village council areas adjoining the town.

“Dry vegetation due to drought conditions, coupled with strong winds, has made the mission extremely challenging, and the unfriendly terrain of the area also poses a very serious risk and hindrance for the firefighters,” the statement said.Lunglei district’s Deputy Commissioner Kulothungan said that the state’s fire fighters and disaster management personnel accompanied by the locals are doing their best but the wind is further increasing the fire spread to newer areas.”There is no casualty in the fire so far. We are unable to assess the gravity and volume of the damages due to the fire right now as we are busy in dousing the inferno,” Deputy Commissioner told IANS.

The Lunglei district blaze is the fifth major forest fire in the four northeastern states – Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Mizoram – since January this year.

The Army’s Spear Corps successfully doused a major forest fire at the Bada Kandun Village of Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh earlier this month.

The IAF’s two helicopters, disaster management personnel and villagers doused a major forest fire at Shirui peak in Ukhrul district of Manipur in the last month end.

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In the mid February Army troops successfully doused a major forest fire in Arunachal Pradesh’s Dibang Valley district along the China border.In January, the Army, Indian Air Force, National and State Disaster Response Force, local volunteers and administration jointly doused a major wildfire in the famous Dzukou Valley on Nagaland-Manipur borders after two weeks of battle.

The forest fire caused huge damage to the flora and fauna, forest and environment of the Dzukou Valley, which is one of the 10 most beautiful places in the mountainous northeast India.

The Dzukou valley, situated at an altitude of 2,452 metres above the sea level and 30 km from Nagaland capital Kohima, is also a sanctuary for the endangered Blyth’s tragopan – Nagaland’s state bird – and other species of birds and animals.

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