Manipur News

Guwahati, May 28 NNN : A research on sparrows has revealed the bird, once common across the urban landscape, are vanishing from relatively greener parts of India such as Assam. The causes have been identified as electromagnetic radiation from communication towers, use of leaded petrol and extensive use of chemicals and pesticides in agriculture.
“The sparrows – both house and tree varieties – are becoming scarce, and this does not augur well for the environment,” Prabal Saikia, chief scientist of Regional Agriculture Research Centre, said from Lakhimpur town in north-eastern Assam.
Saikia said he conducted his research in six districts besides capital city Guwahati. “While the house sparrows are almost gone, the tree sparrows are surviving in sparsely populated area of eastern Assam,” he said, adding thatched houses and traditional attachment to the birds were responsible for the tiny birds flapping about in those areas.
The study is in the wake of a committee the Ministry of Environment and Forests had set up to study the possible impact of ‘radiation from communication towers on wildlife, birds and bees’. The committee is headed by Bombay Natural History Society director Asad Rahmani.
A similar study conducted by Punjab University said 50 foetuses of sparrows were spoilt within six minutes of exposure to electromagnetic radiation from mobile phone towers. Radiation also led to sparrows losing their sense of direction, revealed the study.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/mobile-phone-tower-radiation-killing-sparrows-in-assam/

Imphal. May 28 NNN : Creating history, Mohammad Ismat, a Muslim student of Manipur, topped the all India merit list of AISSCE – 2012 class – XII examination conducted by CBSE.
The terrible situation in the state which present disturbance of all kinds to the people, specially the student community, inspired him to top the class XII examination conducted by the Central Board of School Education, said Mohammad Ismat, s/o Mv Bashirur Rahman, Lilong Haoreibi Mayai Leikai, who is a primary teacher in a government school.
Coming from a middle class family, Ismat, whose mother died when he was just one year old, was looked after by his step mother with the help of his six elder sisters and wants to be a Physicist, but due to the condition of his family he has now decided to become an IAS officer by clearing the UPSC examination.
He studied up to class VII in a local school, class VIII in Kendra Vidyalaya, class IX & X in Sainik School and appeared his class XII examination from Zenith Academy, Sagaiprou, Airport road, Imphal.
His message to all the students is to work hard with a target in mind and success will be easily achievable. His advice is never to compromise with studies and to avoid being a street Romeo.
He said that he studied for 8 – 9 hours daily and secured 100 marks each in Mathematics, Chemistry, Home Science and Fine Arts, while securing 98 and 97 in English and Physics respectively, with a total percentage of 99.6%.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/manipur-boys-aissce-exam/

Guwahati, May 28 NNN : The steadfast stand of the Assam government over last year’s death of labourers in a tea estate in Assam as that of ‘natural deaths’ has been dismissed by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) today. The NHRC not only dismissed the Assam government’s version but has asked the latter to pay compensation to the kins of the victims.
After conducting thorough investigations by the NHRC it was found out that the labourers died of starvation and not otherwise as claimed by the government of Assam.
On Monday, the NHRC as the Tarun Gogoi government to compensate the victims.
Led by Justice KG Balakrishnan, a team of NHRC on Monday heard 50 cases pertaining to human rights violation. The rights commission managed to close 17 cases and then recommended Rs 17lakh a monetary relief in the case pertaining to starvation deaths in southern Assam’s Bhuban Valley Tea Estate last year.
Local rights bodies had attributed the death of 14 labourers to starvation induced by a prolonged lockout in the estate. However, a probe ordered by the Cachar district administration said the labourers died of natural causes.
“Of the 14, only one died of some disease while starvation and malnutrition led to the death of the others,” an NHRC spokesperson said. “We have asked the government to pay Rs 2lakh each to two tea garden workers and Rs 1lakh each to the dependents of 13 labourers who died due to starvation.”
Besides asking the state government to compensate the starvation victims, the NHRC also directed the former to find out whether or not the Tea Association of India has been distributing highly subsidized food grains smoothly to the workers.
Cases such as the reported eviction of 6,000 Adivasis by forest officials in western Assam’s Kokrajhar district, witch-hunting, the rehabilitation of children rendered orphans or destitute in communal riots in eastern Assam, illegal coal mining in eastern Assam’s Tinsukia district besides deaths in encounter and custody, denial of basic facilities to the residents of 22 villages in central Assam’s Kamrup district, witch-hunting and deprivation of source of livelihood to 300 families facing eviction.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/nhrc-on-human-rights/