iMizoram : Blog Title the same as above

Thursday, September 27, 2012

CM briefs central team of poor BSNL service

Chief minister Lal Thanhawla today brought up the issue of the prevailing problems that internet users in Mizoram have been facing due to the poor services rendered by the largest service provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, in a brief meeting with a central team. Information communication technology department's joint secretary Dr Ajay, who led the central team, assured the Chief Minister to forward it to the central authorities.

Asuni Kumar Sharma, managing director, NEILIT and A K Pipal, additional director, NEILIT, were part of the team. The NEILIT managing director informed the Chief Minister of the plans to upgrade Aizawl NIELIT centre and the plans to set up another centre at southern Mizoram district Lunglei. Among others, Lal Thanhawla praised the ICT department's efforts to boost IT development in Mizoram and assured them that the implementation of the different IT programmes would be monitored from the CM office.

Mizo parents are indulgent with their sons and daughters

Pagan or Christian, Mizora is Cupid’s own territory

Mizo parents are indulgent with their sons and daughters and would not deprive them of the freedom they had known in their youth. The Mizo society is tolerant love peccadilloes. This does not mean permissiveness of laxity. On the contrary, marriage is both a sacred sacrament and a civil contact to the Mizo and today marital instability is perhaps less than what it used to be. The old custom of paying a price for the bride is still in vague. The bridegroom pays money to the bride’s father and it is distributed among relatives. All those who receive this money have a responsibility to the girl, should she fall upon evil days.

In the midst of hardship and suffering, the Mizo villager retains a rare serenity of spirit and the capacity to laugh at everybody-including himself. Old festivals like `Chapcharkut’ and `Mimkut’ are still observed. Traditional dances like `Chraw kan’, Chheih lam’ and `Solokkia’ are popular, and one still hears about someone seeing spirits in the jungles (Ramhuai).

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Demand to resolve Assam-Mizoram boundary dispute

Silchar (Assam), Sept 21 : A protest march was taken by several organisations here today demanding immediate solution of the long-standing boundary dispute between Assam and Mizoram.

The organisations, All Barak Youth and Students Association, Dalit Sena, several local clubs among others, alleged that a few days back the pillar between Assam-Mizoram border was destroyed by unidentified miscreants in the area and tension has been prevailing since.

The organisations urged both Assam and Mizoram Governments to resolve the issue at the earliest or else it may lead to law and order situation, spokesperson of All Barak Youth and Students’ Association Baharul Islam Barbhuiya said.

The organisations also alleged two prominent organisations of Mizoram, Young Man Association (YMA) and Mizo Zirlai (MZP) were primarily responsible for occupying Assam’s land in Cachar district since 2007.

The organisations also submitted a memorandum to Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi through Cachar Deputy Commissioner Haren Dev Mahanta.

Friday, September 7, 2012

Pangolin scales seized in Mizoram

More than 386 kg of pangolin scales were seized by the officials of Customs department from Tuirial Airfield village near here, sources said today.

Customs officials said that the scales of pangolin held yesterday would cost more than Rs 2.3 crore in Myanmar where the scales were intended to be smuggled.

Lalchungnunga of south Mizoram's Saiha town, now residing in Zuangtui area in Aizawl, was arrested.

Earlier, Customs officials had seized Rs 37 lakh worth of pangolin scales on September 2 from a man called Manga in Aizawl.

The scales of pangolin, also known as 'scaly anteater', now highly endangered species, are used for making garments and other purposes, officials said.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Pangolin scale haul in Aizawl

Silchar, Sep 5 : The central customs and excise sleuths in Mizoram have seized 63kg of pangolin scales, worth Rs 1.2 crore, from Bawgkawn in north Aizawl.

Sources in Mizoram central customs last night said the scales were yesterday seized from the residence of K. Manga, who has been handed over to Aizawl police.

They said the scales were procured from south India and would have been smuggled from Mizoram's western district of Champhai across the 404km Indo-Myanmar border to south Asian countries like China, Taiwan, Hongkong and South Korea where they are in high demand for their medicinal values.

The scales are used to prepare aphrodisiacs and painkillers, central customs officials here and in Aizawl said.

The scales of this insectivorous animal are also used to stitch jackets in south Asian countries, they added.

The sources said this tropical ant-eating mammal, mostly found in South American countries, is reared in south India.

Pangolins are also regularly hunted in south India though their hunting and killing is banned in India under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, they added.

This is the second such haul of pangolin scales in Cachar district and adjoining Mizoram in the past two years.

On October 21 last year, the central customs department intercepted an Aizawl-bound passenger bus and confiscated 144kg of pangolin scales worth Rs 1.9 crore from two Myanmarese Mizos.

The two Myanmarese nationals Lalengliana, 46, and M. Chaona, 39, were taken into custody.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Mizoram finance commission office inagurated

Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla today inaugurated the new office of the state Finance Commission which would formally function with a full-time chairman and secretary.

Van Hela Pauchua, who retired on August 31 as the chief secretary and Lalthansanga, who retired on the same day as finance secretary were appointed as chairman and secretary respectively of the commission.

The commission would make recommendations to the state government on the amount of funds to be allocated to local bodies and how they would manage their finances better.

Lal Thanhawla said that the state finance commission was established to look after the finances of local bodies like the Municipal Council, Village Councils and the three autonomous district councils.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Mizoram free from female foeticide

Aizawl, Sep 3 : If child sex ratio is any indication, Mizoram with the highest child sex ratio in India, is free from female foeticide which still remains one of the biggest menaces in India.

While the child sex ratio in India has dropped to 914 females against 1,000 males - the lowest since Independence - in the provisional 2011 Census, Mizoram has 971 females against 1000 males, the highest in India.

Even though there no case of sex selection abortion has been reported in Mizoram, it is learnt that there has been a number of misuses of ultrasound technologies by curious pregnant women who wanted to know the sex of their babies.

A state level meeting on the Pre-conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection act, 1994) chaired by health minister Lalrinliana Sailo today was informed that some doctors have also violated the Act by revealing the sex of babies to pregnant women. " Even though it may not necessarily lead to sex selection abortion, using of ultrasound for sex determination during pregnancy is illegal under the Act, " the Health Minister said.

The Act also makes mandatory for all private hospitals and clinics to have their ultrasounds registered. According to official records, there are 40 registered ultrasounds in Mizoram. Though Mizo society is a strict patriarchal one, a girl child is never unwanted in a Mizo family.

With more than 98 percent of the population being Christians who consider abortion, except due to medical reasons, as murder, female foeticide is a non-issue in Mizoram.

Mizoram plans to open ‘branded hotel’ chain to boost tourism

Mizoram Tourism Development Board under the chairmanship of Pu Lalthanhawla, Chief Minister, Government of Mizorma has plans to open up ‘branded hotel’ chain to boost tourism in the state, according to Sinlung News.

The board has also decided to privatise government-run tourist lodges and highway restaurants. “Thirteen of the 38 tourist lodges and highway restaurants will be privatised and management of such lodges and restaurants would be done in the lines of hotels in Nagaland and Sikkim,” officials said.

Three houses destroyed in Landslide

Aizawl, Sep 2 : Avalanche of rocks destroyed three houses in Chanmary West locality in Aizawl today, Police said.

No one was killed or injured in the incident while five other families were being evacuated to safer places, the police said.

Heavy rainfall that hit Mizoram during the past two weeks caused destruction in many places in the state and roads were snapped in many places causing immense inconvenience to travellers. Supply of power and telecommunication were also disrupted in many places due to landslides.