One More Tests Positive For H1N1 Virus in Mizoram

With a non-tribal from Delhi found to be infected with swine flu, Mizoram now has two cases of the H1N1 virus, Nodal Officer of the state Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) Dr Pachuau Lalmalsawma said.

Lalmalsawma said the samples of the suspected H1N1 patient, sent on Tuesday and again on Wednesday to the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED), Kolkata were found to be positive.

He said the patient, first treated in a private hospital in Aizawl, was shifted to the ICU of Aizawl Civil Hospital and was being treated there.

Earlier, one Mizo woman who was in Delhi for a brief period, was found infected with swine flu in mid-February, but was completely cured after treatment in Aizawl.

Lalmalsawma said screening of possible H1N1 patients was undertaken at the Lengpui Airport near Aizawl and at the Mizoram-Assam border Vairengte town since February 23.

Screening would also be conducted at other places including border check points along the international border with neighbouring Bangladesh and Myanmar, he added.

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Bru outfit member sentenced to life term

AIZAWL:  Bru Democratic Front of Mizoram (BDFM) member Lochiram Reang has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a court here for abducting five persons in 2013.

Additional district and sessions judge, Aizawl district, in his order yesterday said the convict deserved harsh punishment for his act against fellow human beings and sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment for life and a fine of Rs 10,000. 38-year-old Reang and other members of the (BDFM), backed by the NLFT militants, had abducted five persons working under the Mizoram Environment and Forests department within Dampa Tiger Reserve near Bangladesh border on February 19, 2013. Reang was arrested by the Mizoram Police on April 16, 2013 from the Asapara relief camp, the second largest of the six Bru relief camps in North Tripura district.

Eight others involved in the abduction were still at large. The court held Reang guilty under section 364 (A) of the IPC (kidnapping or abducting in order to murder) on March 4 and announced the sentence on Tuesday. There had been ten incidents of abduction in Mizoram since 2011 till date in which a total number of 38 people were kidnapped, and except for a single case of kidnapping at Mizoram-Assam border Kolasib district, all the abductions occurred in Mizoram-Bangladesh-Tripura border Mamit district by the BDFM and NLFT combine who held their hostages inside the Bangladesh jungles.

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Saiha district in Mizoram selected for Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao programme

The Government of Indias Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (Save Girl-child, Educate Girl-child) programme, which was announced by Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has been formally launched in Northeast and the Saiha District in Mizoram has been selected among 100 districts from across India for this unique initiative.

Disclosing this, Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh said here today, there could have been no better Womens Day gift than this for the underdeveloped region of Northeast. He said, this is also an indication of the high priority and concern that the Shri Narendra Modi Government has for peripheral States of Northeast and Jammu & Kashmir. In addition, the decision is also motivated by a progressive decline in the number of girls in the region, he observed. However, he added that unlike in other parts of the country, the decreasing number of girls in Northeast is not only the result of female foeticide but also due to high incidence of infant mortality rate.

Complimenting the Maraland Autonomous District Council and its Chief Executive Member Shri R.T. Zachono for having formally flagged off medical teams to cover rural areas of the region under the scheme, Dr. Jitendra Singh hoped that the example will be followed by others as well and soon, people across the country will begin to Look East for inspiration in matters of women empowerment.

Dr. Jitendra Singh said Northeast is endowed with rich cultural and vocational heritage, and women folk in the region have always worked shoulder to shoulder with their men peers in every sphere of life. Therefore, grooming the girl child and empowering women can, in fact, prove a great asset for overall development of the region, he added.

Unlike in some of the more developed states of the country, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, Northeastern States suffer from a dearth of appropriate avenues for higher education. As a result, while the boys travel to other parts of the country for higher education, the number of girls travelling out is lesser which adds to lower rate of higher education among women, he said. To that extent, the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao programme will help to create awareness regarding literacy among women in the region, he added.

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3 die, 11 injured in mishap

Three persons were killed and 11 others injured as a cab overturned near Kawnpui town in Mizoram-Assam border Kolasib district today.

Police said that Sushendra Roy (48) of Karimganj district in Assam and Juresh Yadav (45), head constable of the BSF posted in south Mizoram's Lunglei died at the spot.

Biresh Ch. Das (59) of Karimganj succumbed to his injuries at the Kawnpui Primary Health Centre.


The passenger vehicle was coming from Lunglei towards Guwahati.

Police suspected that the driver, absconding after the mishap, dozed off at the wheels.

All the injured people were discharged after administered first aid at the Kawnpui PHC.

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Korean envoy arrives in Mizoram

AIZAWL, Mar 5  – Republic of Korea Ambassador Lee Joongyu, accompanied by representatives of six big corporations, arrived here today on a two-day visit.

Official sources said Lee will meet Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla this evening at the latter’s residence.

The visiting Ambassador will tomorrow meet Mizoram Speaker, State Chief Secretary and NLUP Implementing Board (NIB) officials. In the evening, he will hold a meeting with Mizoram Chamber of Commerce officials.

After a meeting with Central YMA leaders, Lee will leave Mizoram at 10 am on Thursday.

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Send back tribal refugees to Mizoram: Tripura urges centre

Agartala, Mar 4 :  The Tripura government on Tuesday again urged the central government to take steps to send over 31,000 tribal refugees back to Mizoram to maintain ethnic harmony in the northeastern region.

The Tripura assembly on Tuesday discussed the 17-year-old issue.

After replying to a series of questions of the legislators, Revenue and Relief Minister Badal Choudhury told the assembly: "We urge upon the central government to ask the Mizoram government to take back the refugees."

"The central and Mizoram governments recently took a fresh initiative to repatriate the refugees in view of the Supreme Court directions Jan 16. Union home minister Rajnath Singh and his deputy Kiren Rijiju recently visited Tripura and persuaded the refugee leaders to go back to their homes in Mizoram," he said.

Choudhury said: "Union home minister tried to hold a meeting with the chief ministers of Tripura and Mizoram to finalise a road map to repatriate the refugees to Mizoram. However, Mizoram chief minister did not attend the meeting nor did he send his representative."

"It is very unfortunate that the tribals despite being Indians nationals and permanent inhabitant of a state, are unable to live in their homeland. This is dangerous for the ethnic amity, stability and peace," the minister said.

He said: "A serious socio-economic problem has cropped up due to the long stay of the refugees in Tripura. The refugees have damaged vast areas in forests in Kanchanpur causing serious environmental problems."

"Some refugees are involved in terrorist activities. The refugees also work for cheap wages, creating an awkward situation for local labourers," the minister stated.

The Reang tribals, who call themselves "Bru", have lived in seven camps in Tripura since October 1997 when they fled western Mizoram after the killing of a Mizo forest officer triggered ethnic troubles.

Refugee leaders told Home Minister Rajnath Singh and his deputy Kiren Rijiju that they were willing to return to their homes in Mizoram if their 10 demands, including security and rehabilitation, were met.

The Mizoram Bru Displaced People's Forum submitted a six-page memorandum to the central ministers accusing the Mizoram government of discriminating against them.

The Mizoram government remains ambiguous on the refugees' demands, which also included free supply of foodgrain for two years, and alloting land to them. Mizo organisations have opposed the demands.

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Students rally demanding scholarship

Students took out a rally in Aizawl today in protest against the failure of Mizoram government to contribute its matching share of ten per cent for the post-matric scholarship.

The rally, organised by Mizo Students' Union (MSU), came even after the state government yesterday issued a press note saying that it would make efforts to ensure that the scholarship is disbursed to all the applicants during the current fiscal.

An emergency meeting convened by Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla on Sunday, attended by Home Minister R Lalzirliana, Finance Minister Lalsawta and top officials decided to pull together enough fund for payment of the matching share.

The students accused the state government of negligence and apathy towards the welfare of the students.

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