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w w w . m o r u n g e x p r e s s . c o m The Morung ExpressDimapur VOL. V ISSUE 54 www.morungexpress.com

A coward often deals a mortal blow to the brave“ -French Proverb

A Daily Publication of Morung for Indigenous Affairs & JustPeace

”Thursday, February 25, 2010 12 pages Rs. 3

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REFLECTIONSby Sandemo Ngullie

The Morung Express POLL QUESTION

Vote on www.morungexpress.comSMS your anSwer to 9862574165

Yes No Others

Should the NE region have a separate time zone?

HAMMERS FIRST ODI DOUBLE CENTURY

Total sanitation huh? Why waste money on some-thing we already have na!

Home Secy Pillai to visit NagalandNEW DELHI, FEBRU-ARY 24 (ANI): Union Home Secretary GK Pillai is expected to visit Naga-land on Saturday to discuss the ‘current situation’ with senior state government and army officials. Offi-cial sources said Pillai will also attend the 175th an-niversary and Attestation Parade of the Assam Rifles at Sukhovi, around 26 ki-lometers from Dimapur. Director General of Assam Rifles Lt. Gen Karan Singh Yadav would also be pres-ent at the celebration and Attestation Parade.

Rajya Sabha adjourns twice over price rise NEW DELHI, FEB-RUARY 24 (PTI): Ra-jya Sabha was today ad-journed twice over the issue of price rise with BJP alleging that Prime Minis-ter Manmohan Singh was not interested in discuss-ing the matter, triggering angry protests from trea-sury benches. “... Leader of the House, the Prime Minister of the country is not interested in discuss-ing the issue,” BJP Deputy Leader S S Ahluwalia said, evoking strong protests from Congress members, who wanted him to with-draw the remark. How-ever, opposition members led by BJP started shouting slogans against the UPA re-iterating their demand for discussion on price rise under Rule 167 and 168, which entails voting, forc-ing Deputy Chairman K Rehman Khan to adjourn the House till 2 pm. Khan said the process of admis-sibility was not over and it would be wrong to cast as-persions that the Leader of the House has opposed it.

Cabinet expected to clear Women’s BillNEW DELHI, FEBRU-ARY 24 (PTI): The Union Cabinet is likely to take up the much-awaited Wom-en’s Reservation Bill, which seeks to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in Lok Sabha and state assem-blies, on Thursday. Sources said the Cabinet is expected to clear the bill during the meeting. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice, and Personnel in its report in December last had recommended passage of the Bill in its present form and suggested that the issue should not be left to the dis-cretion of political parties.

No Hike in FaresNEW DELHI, FEBRU-ARY 24 (AGENCIES): India’s rail minister an-nounced Wednesday plans for high-speed trains for Asia’s largest rail net-work as she kept fares un-changed -- underscoring the government’s focus on “inclusive growth”. “I am committed to the common man,” Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee told par-liament as she unveiled the railway’s budget for the fis-cal year to March 2011.

“Our objective is inclu-sive growth,” she told the Lok Sabha adding that her main consideration in this year’s Budget was social responsibility rather than mere commercial viabil-ity of projects. “We have set our goals in the Vision 2020 document and we will achieve it,” the min-ister said, referring to the document unveiled in De-cember that has targeted making over 30,000 km of routes into double or mul-tiple lines against 18,000 km today. “It is a fact that administrative and pro-cedural delays discourage potential investors. We will need to overcome this.

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Mamata keeps trains people-friendly

RAILWAY BUDGET 2010: HIGHLIGHTS• Social responsibility top consideration of railways• Railway connectivity is key to India’s growth• Delayed administration and prosecution should be addressed• Railway to come up with 10-year plan ‘Vision 2020’• Special task force to clear business proposals in 100 days• Govt won’t privatise railways• 1000 km of new railway lines each year• 54 new trains in 2010-2011•117of120newtrainsforcurrentfiscaltobeflaggedoff.•Planstoraise10000-20000crorerupeesin2010-2011.• Ppromises new model to develop network• Promises cleanliness ad better amenities on train

• Offers sops for women, minorities, senior citizens• Plans e-ticketing vans at hospitals and universities• Proposes new signalling system• Offers special safety for passengers• Special facilities for ex-servicemen and sportsmen• No hike in freight tariff• Railway to set up 5 sports academies• New housing scheme for senior citizens• Law and order is not Railway but state concern• AC service charge cut to Rs 20 from Rs 40• Cut freight rates on food grains and kerosene by Rs 100 per wagon• No increase in passenger fares

(Left) Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee leaves for Parliament house to present the Railway Budget (2010-11) in New Delhi on Wednesday. (Right) Commuters travel on a local train in Mumbai on February 24. The Indian railway budget for the next financial year presented in the parliament Wednesday has spared freight and passenger fares from any hike. (AP Photo)

GWALIOR, FEBRUARY 24 (PTI): Milestone man Sachin Tendulkar re-wrote the record books on Wednesday, hammer-ing the first double century in

the history of one-day cricket to add another feather to his well-adorned cap. The capacity crowd at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium witnessed history on

Wednesday as Tendulkar, sta-tistically the greatest batsman the game has ever seen, pushed a Charl Langeveldt delivery through the off-side and ran a

Tendulkar makes cricket history

NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 24 (AFP): The publisher of an Indian school textbook that included a picture of Je-sus Christ with a beer can and cigarette said the image was taken from the Internet and used by mistake, a report said on Wednesday.

The picture was discovered in a handwriting book for chil-dren in church-run schools in Meghalaya where it was used to illustrate the letter “i” for the word “idol”. “It was a human er-ror,” Inder Mohan Jha, director of the New Delhi-based Skyline Publications, told the Indian

Express newspaper, blaming it on a design agency tasked with the layout and contents of the book. “They seem to have lifted an offensive photo off the inter-net,” he added.

A court has issued an arrest warrant against him for offend-ing religious sentiment. The in-cident also drew condemnation from Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini on Monday. The Roman Catholic Church in India has banned all textbooks by Skyline, while Protestant leaders called for a public apol-ogy. “I apologise for my mistake.

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Publisher of “smoking” Jesus tenders apology

Points to impor-tance of women educationWOKHA, FEBRUARY 24 (DIPR): Governor of Nagaland Nikhil Kumar undertook his maiden visit to Wokha district to-day. Addressing the gath-ering at the Wokha Town Hall, he called upon the people of the district to take advantage of being in close proximity with Ko-hima. Avenues should be explored and advantage should be taken in the field of horticulture to bring de-velopment as well as to up-lift the economic status of the people, the governor said. Expressing concern on the issue of healthcare of the people, Kumar said that

the PHCs and CHCs should be well-stocked with medi-cines and life-saving drugs and manned by profes-sionals. The governor also dwelt on the importance of women education where, he said, women should be given priority.

On the political state of affairs in Nagaland, he called for determination to solve the Naga political problem. He urged all sec-tions of the people to ex-tend cooperation to bring about stable and perma-nent peace in the state. If the situation in the state is conducive, every possi-ble development will take place, Kumar explained. The governor also referred to the problems of road con-nectivity, drinking water facility and power supply.

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Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar reacts after scoring his double-century during the second one-day cricket match between India and South Africa, in Gwalior on Wednesday. Tendulkar on Wednesday scored the first ever double-century in one-day international cricket. (AP Photo)

single to achieve a feat which no other cricketer has achieved.

One-day international cricket, since its 1971 inception, had to wait nearly four decades to see a batsman score 200. The previous best mark was shared by Zimbabwean Charles Cov-entry (194 not out against Ban-gladesh in 2009) and Pakistan’s Saeed Anwar (194 against India in 1997). As the crowd erupted with unbridled joy, Tendulkar, tired but composed, took off his helmet, looked skyward, closed his eyes to offer a silent prayer.

His captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni came down from the striker’s end to shake hands and hug him. And as Tendulkar set on his way back to the pavilion after the completion of the Indi-an innings, a tumultuous cele-bration greeted him. The crowd gave him a standing ovation as the entire stadium erupted in euphoria while his teammates were simply ecstatic as they clapped and hugged each other, basking in the glory of their se-nior teammates. Tendulkar bat-ted like a man with a mission on Wednesday and the South Afri-can bowlers simply had no clue where to bowl.

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Governor concerned over basic healthcare Morung Express News

Dimapur | February 24

IT IS THAT TIME of the year when winds are at their busiest, so are the fire-brigades. Wednesday was one such day as two incidents of fire oc-curred in and around Dimapur dur-ing afternoon, keeping fire person-nel on their toes. This time it was not human dwellings catching fire but ‘plantation fires.’ The first one oc-curred in a small teak plantation site located inside the compound of the Nagaland Mini Tool Room & Train-ing Centre (NMTTC), near the 24th Assam Rifles firing range alongside NH-39 towards Diphu.

The cause of the fire is not known. Residents said that it must have been the result of lighted cigarette or ‘bidi’ stubs thrown away carelessly. The site was dumped with saw-dust making it good ground for fire to erupt. Requir-ing the help of three fire-trucks, the fire was brought under control before it could claim any serious damage.

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Winds bring fire to Dimapur villages 14 people die every hour in road accidentsNagaland has highest death

rate of 92.1 NEW DELHI, FEBRU-ARY 24 (TNN): India’s record in road deaths has touched a new low, as toll rose to at least 14 deaths per hour in 2008 against 13 the previous year. The total annual deaths due to road accidents has crossed 1.18 lakh, according to the latest report of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). According to the report, small states had a dubious record as far as the rate of accident-deaths per thousand vehicles was concerned.

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New proposals for Nagaland;no mention of Zubza rail-linkMorung Express NewsDimapur | February 24

RAILWAY MINISTER Mama-ta Banerjee today announced a proposal to take up construction of 93 multi-functional complex-es in the coming year including one for Dimapur. This was stat-ed in her budget speech pre-sented in the Parliament. The proposal comes under the sec-tion “Upgradation of Stations.” With regard to staff welfare and health, Banerjee announced the setting up of Outpatient De-partments (OPD) and diagnos-tic centres at several stations including for Dimapur.

In another significant an-nouncement the Union Railway minister has included the section Tuli-Tuli road and Naginimora-Amguri under “Socially Desir-able Rail Connectivity Propos-als.” According to the minister, in her last budget speech, she had highlighted the need to take up ‘socially-desirable’ projects con-necting backward areas. “Many proposals for such connectiv-ity have been pending for a long time,” she said while proposing to update the surveys for the fol-lowing lines. They will then be processed through the Planning Commission for necessary ap-proval, she said.

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Armed only with cut boughs, firemen attempt to put out the blazing fire which occurred along the Assam-Nagaland border near Rilan village on Wednesday, February 24. (Morung Photo)