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05/18/2005: "Muivah’s demands impossible: Meinya"


18 May 2005 Wednesday
Muivah’s demands impossible: Meinya The Imphal Free Press

IMPHAL, May 17: ‘The demands of Th Muivah, general secretary of the Nationalist Social Council of Nagalim, NSCN-IM which seek to disintegrate the territory of Manipur is just impossible’. This was stated by Dr. T Meinya, MP Inner Manipur Parliamentary constituency while speaking at the 37th World Telecommunication Day observed today at the Kuki Inn, Imphal. People should have no apprehension of the territory of Manipur breaking up; Dr. Meinya who was also the chief guest at the observation function, said. While stating that he joined politics because of the three words “beyond territorial limit”, the MP also assured the people of the state that territorial integrity will not be affected. Asserting that Manipur is a land of peaceful and talented people, he said that in such a developed age as of today we should think of what is good for our society rather than remaining worrying. Dr Meinya stressed that conflict resolution is possible with the participation of all the people and requested the non professional politicians to join politics in the interest of the people.

The chief guest also said that the world has become a very small place but unfortunately we find widening gaps in our state. He further said that the concept of management and especially time management is absent among the Manipuris. The observation was organised under the theme “creating an equitable information society: time for action” by the Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers, IETE Imphal centre and sponsored by BSNL, Manipur. If we don’t develop an equitable information society, we will lag behind in all respects, the MP observed during his speech. He also appealed to all to give whatever thrust is required on education to avoid a bleak future and asked IETE to make a project profile and assured all possible help for it.

General manager BSNL Manipur M Haridasan and director of DoEACC, Akampat Imphal Dr S Birendra Singh also attended the function as president and guest of honour respectively. M Haridasan, the president of the function, said that not even 2/3rd of the villages in Manipur have telephone connection. This is mainly due to geographical conditions and lack of infrastructures. As part of BSNL’s ambitious plan, BSNL Manipur will incorporate more WLL equipment to provide more coverage, the GM added. He said being the only service provider, BSNL is trying to provide a good service if not all the services. On the issue of increasing problems with mobile service connectivity, Haridasan said that by August end this year BSNL will be able to provide mobile services without obstacles which the subscribers are facing now. The introduction of mobile services with General Package Radio Services, GPRS, and broadband at around the time will help Manipur make a giant technological step in mobile connectivity, the GM said. However, he lamented that BSNL Manipur has already incurred a loss of Rs.10 crores and he blamed the poor paying habit of Manipuri customers.

He also made it known that there is an instruction to disconnect those who fail to pay their bills and added that a decision has been taken not to provide post paid connections in future. He appealed the people to clear their dues on time and help BSNL serve better. Dr S Birendra Singh in his keynote address said that change has become the order of the day in the field of information technology (IT).
Elucidating the advantages of telemedicine, e-education, etc., Dr Birendra said that connectivity can replace remoteness through IT. He appreciated the government’s decision requiring minimum computer education for its employees and added that the Central government is targeting to provide IT access to all by 2008 and 6 million internet connections, half with broadband facility, is expected by this year end. Salam Priyo Kumar of the BSNL spoke elaborately on the advantages of broadband services. He said that the introduction of broadband service will enable Manipur to be connected by the information highway to the rest of the world. He further said that the service will overcome the geographical remoteness of the state and will facilitate the software engineers to take part in outsourcing business and other web-based services thereby generating employment opportunities.

Kh Rajen Singh, NIC Manipur, highlighting the digital divide said that a society without information and communication technologies, ICT, will not be able to deliver the goods. He said that the traditional information delivery systems will be replaced by newer ones. He remarked that digital divide is most unfortunate in today’s world where equality is the hallmark. In the function the messages from Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General and Yoshio Utsumi, International Telecommunication Union Secretary-General were read out. Kofi Annan in his message appealed to all to a pledge on bridging the technological differences and to promote connectivity for all.
Vizol Angami Nagalim :Th Muivah is not demanding anything from anyone. He is simply stating the fact that the Nagas belong to one home and that all the artificial boundaries must be done away with for peace. Meiteis of 800 square miles Meiteiland will pay a heavy price if the India-Nagalim peace process fails because of Meiteis' greed for land that belongs to Nagalim. Nagas will kill all the Meiteis in Nagalim.
Inter-state bus services likely to resume today The Imphal Free Press

IMPHAL, May 17: The normal service of the inter state passenger buses is likely to resume from tomorrow, even though there were no official reports of a settlement of the problem that lead to the cancellation of service.
Almost all the counters at near the GM hall, MG Avenue and North AOC were open today and fresh tickets sold for tomorrow’s departure from their respective parking in front of their counters.
When enquiry was made by IFP at some counters, they disclosed that till then there had been no settlement of the problem but they were going to resume services only on the consideration of the people’s demand.

Although it was not possible to confirm their claim people rushed for advance booking for tomorrow’s buses at the booking counters. In the meantime, five buses and 15 Tata Sumos and DI Tatas left with passengers from Imphal this morning and ten inter state passenger buses reached Imphal today. Reports from Mao said that all the passenger vehicles had crossed Mao gate without any untoward incidents on the way.

Naga encroachment: People rubbish Rockybul assurance From our Correspondent
MERAPANI, May 17: The non-execution of Minister of State for Home Rockybul Hussain’s recent assurance of appointing a full-fledged border magistrate in the A, B, C and D sectors of the Assam-Nagaland border has evoked serious concern among the people residing along the Assam-Nagaland border. Moreover, Hussain’s direction to remove the nameplates and signboards bearing "Government of Nagaland" in the offices and business establishments set up by Nagas within Assam’s territory has not been executed so far. Elite sections of people here have said that the minister allegedly took the people along the border on a ride by sheer declaration.
It is to be mentioned here that Rockybul Hussain, during his visit to Merapani on March 26, had witnessed the Nagaland State Transport Corporation’s bus stop, Naga Village Council’s offices and several business establishments, shops and a godown illegally set up by the Nagas within Assam’s land. Addressing the mediapersons, Mr Hussain had declared that he would take steps for removal of the nameplates and signboards hung within Assam land. Although, the Deputy Commissioner, the Superintendent of Police of Golaghat and the Border Magistrate of ‘D’ sector were reportedly directed to do so by the Minister, they have not allegedly taken steps in this regard till date. Apart from this, the Home Minister’s assurance to appoint a full-fledged border magistrates in the A, B, C and D sectors has not been executed. It may be mentioned that the BDO of the Gomariguri Development Block has been entrusted the additional charge of Border Magistrate for "D" sector, while the circle officer of Dhanshree subdivision has reportedly been executing as the Border Magistrate of the sensitive A, B and C sectors of the border alone.
Tea, oil, gas production come to a halt in Assam By Indo-Asian News Service Ians
Guwahati, May 18 (IANS) A series of protests for more jobs and salary hikes in Assam has halted production of tea, crude oil and natural gas, officials said Wednesday. A government spokesperson said nearly 850 tea gardens shut down Wednesday for a daylong strike, while production at Assam's gas and oil fields run by India's premier oil and gas exploration company, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGCL), remained disrupted for the third straight day. Assam produces about 55 percent of India's total annual tea production of 825 million kg, while the state is equally rich in oil and gas, besides timber and other natural resources. A tea industry spokesperson said nearly a million plantation workers have joined the daylong strike Wednesday across Assam demanding a wage hike and other incentives. "The strike has paralysed tea production across Assam with the workers organising demonstrations in front of their garden offices," said Madhusudan Khandait, leader of the Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha, the apex body of plantation workers in the state. A tea picker earns Rs.48.50 (a little over $1) a day. "The last time there was a revision of wages was way back in 1996. We want some hike in the daily wage, besides better facilities like adequate drinking water, housing, and sanitation," Khandait said. A government official said the estimated loss due to the daylong strike in the tea gardens will be around Rs.200 million ($4.5 million). India's $1.5 billion tea industry is facing a crisis with prices dropping in the weekly auctions, besides a slump in export figures. The ONGCL, meanwhile, has lost up to Rs.270 million with oil and gas production coming to a halt since Monday. The powerful All Assam Students' Union (AASU) has enforced a 100-hour oil blockade beginning Monday accusing the ONGCL of discriminating employment to local Assamese youths in the company. "Production has come to a total halt and the loss is tremendous," said ONGCL spokesperson Takir Hussain.
"We are negotiating with the AASU leaders to end the strike."
A daylong strike costs the company about Rs.90 million. The ONGCL official refuted AASU's charges of job discrimination to local youths and said the company had surplus manpower. "An international consultancy firm is submitting a report in September and then only we can be sure if at all we need to recruit more people," Hussain said. ONGCL produces about 1.55 million metric tonnes of oil and 467 million metric standard cubic meters of gas in Assam annually.
China astonished at media reports
BEIJING, May 17 – China today expressed astonishment over Indian media reports alleging that Chinese troops intruded into Indian territory last week with a senior official hoping that both Beijing and New Delhi could find a mutually acceptable solution to the boundary dispute based on the political guidelines reached last month, reports PTI. “I feel astonished by your question because of some mixed information. I don’t think that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will enter Indian territory,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan told reporters when asked to comment on a report that appeared on the internet edition of an Indian national daily.

“As for the specifics you mentioned, I have to further confirm it,” the spokesman said.

“I think we have very good momentum for our bilateral relations, especially the visit by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (in April) which was a very successful one during which the two sides established a political guideline to settle the boundary issue,” Kong said at a bi-weekly news briefing. He noted that the political guiding principles to settle the India-China boundary issue was reached with efforts from both sides.

“With this in mind, we can start our boundary negotiation with mutual understanding and seek for a solution which is acceptable to both parties,” he added. The report mentioned that a Chinese Army patrol allegedly intruded deep into Indian territory and stayed there for close to 24 hours before withdrawing last week. The border violation took place in Asafila area of the Upper Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh, it said, adding the incident took place in the same area where on June 26, 2003, a Chinese Army team allegedly intruded into India, stripped Indian intelligence officials of personal weapons and held them hostage for several hours.

AAMSU calls Assam bandh on May 24 By A Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, May 17: The All Assam Minorities Students’ Union (AAMSU) has given a call for a 10-hour Assam bandh from 5 am on May 24 in protest against the alleged harassment of Indian citizens in the name of driving away Bangladeshi nationals from Dibrugarh. AAMSU president Nozir Uddin Ahmed told this correspondent this evening that the AAMSU would also hold a mass rally in Goalpara town on May 28 to highlight the issue. He blamed the State Government for the present situation and said that no organisation has the right to take the law into their own hands. He said that majority of the people driven away from the upper Assam districts were originally from the districts of Goalpara, Dhubri, Bongaigaon and Barpeta and they were compelled to go to other places in search of livelihood after they were affected by floods. The AAMSU president said that it is the duty of the administration to identify the Bangladeshi nationals and alleged that the parties like Congress and BJP were trying to gain political mileage out of the issue. Meanwhile, the State Government has decided to form police station level committees comprising members of political parties and senior citizens to receive public complaints on presence of foreign nationals. The committees, to be formed within a month would inform the concerned authorities about the complaints for taking action as per law, said an official release.
NESO warns illegal migrants NET News Network
Kohima May17: North East Students' Organization (NESO) has warned the north east state governments of exodus of illegal migrants from neighbouring Assam following pressure on them. ''Thousands of suspected Bangladeshi nationals residing in Assam are likely to cross over to neighbouring states following economic sanction on illegal migrants.'' Said NESO general secretary N. S. N. Lotha.
NESO has sounded ''red alert'' to all the northeast chief ministers, chief secretaries, apex student bodies and other social organizations of the region over the possible exodus of illegal migrants from Assam. ''Economic sanction was imposed on suspected Bangladeshi nationals in certain parts of Assam covering Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Sibsagar and some other places. Approximately over 10,000 such people already left for greener pastures in other states of north east,'' Lotha claimed. The NESO leader also urged upon the authorities concerned to take immediate measures to stop inter-state migration of illegal settlers.
FINER marches ahead for tapping resources in NE NET News Network
Guwahati, May17: With a mission to explore the hitherto unexploited potential of the northeast, bringing into fore the infrastructural requirement and also to take steps to meet the vision for the growth of the industries in the context of Government’s Look-East policy, the Federation of Industries & Commerce North Eastern Region (FINER) in partnership with Ministry of DONER and Infrastructural Leasing & Financial Services Ltd. (IL&FS) addressed a press meet on May 16,in the premises of Hotel Landmark in the city. Addressing the press, Sudip De, chairman, organizing Committee spoke at length about the prospects of industries in the northeast, more so in the context of Free Trade Agreement with ASEAN in 2012,with a special mention to industries like tourism, agriculture, which includes bamboos, and education among others. “We cannot afford to stay as mere spectators and so we must decide our policy before 2012 which can be done by making the policy makers aware of the potential north east possesses”, added Mr. De. Mr. Subhash Agarwal, President, FINER, said, “We are trying to provide opportunities to the people of the region but for that roads and air connectivity needs to be improved. I also urge the local industries to upgrade their quality by adopting latest techniques, to remain in the market”.
While throwing light on the investment potential, Mr. R.S Joshi revealed that northeast needs investors badly but it is in better position than other parts of the country to live up to the expectation of the investors, as a recent survey showed that almost 75% of the villages of the north east are crime free which itself says the story .As far as the returns on the money invested is concern, statistics shows that northeast has provided fruitful returns in the past to the investors, he added. The press meet also saw, Mr. Chinmoy Sarma, Director, FINER, stressing on the prospects of the entertainment industry, once the border are opened, which will witness. People from abroad coming and make the full use of the virginity of the location.
ZRA refutes UNLF's claim
IMPHAL, May 17: Reacting to the statement issued by senior publicity officer of UNLF Ksh Yoiheiba which detailed the recent encounter near Dialkhai in Churachandpur, Zomi Re-volutionary Army (ZRA) has stated that it was all concocted and false. In a statement, public information wing of ZRA asserted that the incident occurred when the ZRA cadres posted near Dialkhai village to defend the people, were attacked by hundreds of UNLF cadres and their cohorts on May 10. It is unfortunate, the encounter which lasted till May 12 resulted in the dead of two UNLF cadres, six other persons besides causing injuries to three ZRA cadres, the statement.
This particular incident and the death of UNLF cadres has exposed the clandestine and nefarious designs of the UNLF which has been trying to create discord among the tribals by providing training and sponsoring some disgruntled youths, the statement said. ZRA also refuted the charges that it is working in collusion with Indian Security forces and asserted the Indian security forces who dare not venture beyond Singngat in Singngat sub-division and Tuilaphai in Henglep Sub-Division have nothing do with the recent incident of encounter or those that occurred in the past. Instead the security forces came forward to defend the innocent tribals from the subversive activities of the majority communities, the statement added. The statement further said that ZRA always believe in the principle of peaceful co-existence, mutual respect and resolving any difference through dialogues.

Four years of Gogoi government— Pabitra Chaudhuri
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi completes four years in office today and one needs to look back to four years to see how much he has succeeded in achieving his promise of providing good quality governance and lead the State to a brighter future. In various fields of governmental activity including law and order, he could probably look back with happiness that much of his objectives have been fulfilled and there is a widespread feeling in every nook and corner, particularly in a rural areas of ushering in a comparatively better quality of life. No longer one sees long queues in the Assam Secretariat seeking government jobs-most of the people who visit the Secretariat come as self-help groups needing advice and guidance. It is heartening to see the self-help groups dotted in various parts of the State doing good work and with Panchayatiraj taking its roots firmly. Rural people are engrossed in various gainful activities there by enriching themselves and the areas where they live. At one time, at Guwahati, one could see the day labourers thonging in many street corners offering their labour but today the scenario is different-even for road building and construction of houses, labour, skill or unskilled has became scarce and this is because the villagers are busy in their own villages working as self-help groups and with rural development spurring ahead with Panchayatiraj as spear-head. Most of the people are absorbed in the developmental works in their own door-steps and even if they may earn slightly less money, nonetheless it is more cost-effective when they work in their own places. Indeed this is one of the significant high points of Gogoi government’s success in rural development.

Today Assam is self-sufficient if not surplus in food grains with high production of agricultural products like vegetables, mustard, pulses etc. As a result with the spurt in the production of vegetables, most of this perish for lack of proper warehousing/cooling facilities, easy and economic transportation to the points of wholesale and retail sales. Here the government has failed to provide better facilities so that the agriculturist can secure better remunerative prices. Fortunately the government has gone about in a serious manner to build up food processing industry. Chief Minister Gogoi has a special knowledge having been a successful Union Minister for Food Processing and he has been taking personal interest to ensure the growth of this industry in Assam. He has also succeeded in persuading people to grow organic fruits and vegetables. He has realised that the future of Assam depends on the development of agriculture, horticulture, floriculture, animal husbandry and dairy farming. If sustained development is made in these sectors, Assam may very well rank as one of the most prosperous States in India. Here again infrastructure has to be built up with proper road and communication network, warehousing/cooling facilities, better seeds, fertilisers etc., alongwith power which at the moment is in very poor shape both quantitatively and qualitatiavely. Not to speak of steady supply of power in the rural areas even at Guwahati there have been frequent power failures and yet the energy bill is soaring high. It is no use of talking of restructure etc., unless there is a good work culture, proper mind-set and committed managerial ethos, which is lacking. People expected a lot from the present Power Minister with the background of corporate managerial experience but sadly he has not been able to make a dent. Being laden probably with the Forest department which takes most of his time it seems he has not been able to look into the intricate power situation which is at its lowest ebb today. With the further deteriorating situation looming large, corrective steps need to start from today onwards. Let not the good work the CM has done over the last four years be sullied by power failures which effect the masses. While talking of good governance, attention naturally goes to the performance of ministers who are fully in public gaze and scanner. Chief Minister Gogoi showed his courage and sagacity in down-sizing the Cabinet and has been able to make it more cohesive. It needed a lot of political will and objectivity to drop some of his intimate senior colleagues from the Cabinet with natural hiccups from various interested quarters. He hung on to his decision and today the public has recognised that the young band of ministers are doing well with a vigour and dynamic outlook. Alongwith the young, the veteran war-horse and Health Minister has shown exemplary good work in medical and health care sectors. Today if not anything the Rural Health Centres are manned by doctors and first line medicines are available. ASTC’s turn around and revival is an achievement for which the Transport Minister can take credit with the Planning Minister’s success in securing funds from the Centre. During the last four years Gogoi has been able to build a foundation for growth and development in various sectors and in every story of success his imprint can be felt and in corporate parlance he has proved himself to be a good manager and a successful task-master. The Chief Minister is conscious that administrative reforms are necessary to streamline the administration, free it from the cob-webs of red-tapism and change the mind-set of the people manning the administrative machinery at all levels. The Assam Administrative Reforms Commission has done very good work and much of its recommendations have been accepted by the government. As he has a positive attitude towards reports of such committees/commissions he does not allow the report to languish. He has made the commission responsible to ensure that its recommendation accepted by the government are properly implemented. It is heartening to see young people making a mark in the field of entrepreneurship. The packaging industry is doing extremely well even in a town like Jorhat so much so that the Hindustan Lever being happy with young entrepreneurship packaging skill that they have outsourced a good deal of their packaging work to them. There are many such instances of skill developed by young people of Assam.

Tourism has looked-up and has gone forward beyond Kamakhya and Kaziranga. Still there is a long way to go to make this sunrise industry to really shine. In the education sector, Gogoi has arranged for building/improvement grants to various colleges and schools. However, some sustainable efforts have to be made to add quality, particularly at college level. There has been a drain of almost Rs 40.00 crore per month for Assam students from their parents studying in outside Assam. Even for a pass degree students from Assam are studying at not too reputable colleges at Delhi. We need to improve our education, particularly at college level so that such exodus of students and drainage of money are reduced. Efforts should be made to set up engineering, medical colleges and other technical institutes in Assam and private enterprises should be encouraged. In the cultural front Assam has been shining over the last four years, Sankardev Kalakshetra has become an epicentre for enrichment of Assam’s composite and diverse culture, literature and performing arts. The sound and light show depicting Assam’s history recently setup at Kalakshetra has been a great draw for the tourists as well as the public. Guwahati has come of age as a city. The roads are improved, there is a tremendous spurt in high-rise building apartments, and super markets have sprung up in various localities.

Tax collection in Assam has been all time high during this year and the Chief Minister has set the target to raise it to Rs 4,000 crore in near future. Ten Tax collectors have been rewarded this year in a unique manner with a fully paid 7 day holiday with their families at Bankok. All in all, CM Gogoi has done a good job during his tenure for the last four years and has succeeded in laying foundation for a future leap forward. People expect that he will be able to keep his focus on the need for positive change for a better horizon. He has to infuse his good qualities and positive outlook in the various wings of government.

Surviving Manipur
Passenger buses on NH-39 suspending services following threats from an underground organisation over non-payment of taxes. Student body threatening to launch an indefinite economic blockade from May 21 to protest the failure of the Government to fulfil their demands. Doctors, students and staff of RIMS staging a protest rally to decry the abduction of a doctor by an organisation which has sprung under the name of protecting human rights ! Different voices being aired over the proposal to implement Meetei Mayek all over the State. The situation is indeed bleak and it may even sound farcical if the issues involved were not so serious, but then the people of Manipur have been conditioned to live and survive under such trying and contradictory times for a long, long time and the biggest lacunae that we have witnessed down the years is the inept handling of matters by successive Governments. Abducting for ransom is not something new in Manipur and the State gained national and even international notoriety when a German national was held captive for days by an armed group some time back. Not only this a school girl was also kidnapped, suspectedly for ransom, and was later done to death. The episode no doubt left a scar on the mentality of the people and the incident continues to haunt the collective memory of the people here, but the biggest tragedy is none of those behind such acts have ever been brought to book. Highwaymen continue to stalk the highways and taxes are imposed at will on all goods transported across the lifeline of the State. The tragedy is there is nothing to even remotely suggest that there is a Government in place to whom the people can turn for help. In fact the only time that we get to feel the presence of a Government is when the VIPs and political leaders decide to breeze through the roads of Imphal with their escorts and wailing sirens !
The fall out of the ineffectiveness of the Government is there for all to see. Chaos with everyone having the liberty to call the shots and proclaim themselves as saviours of the people. Corruption has eaten into the vitals of the Government machinery and situation has come to such a pass that it is something which the people have learned to cope with and live with as something inevitable. People continue to be starved of even the most basic of amenities. Load shedding is something which has become more and more regular and water supply is something of a luxury even in the capital city. However despite all the gloom and doom, the Manipuri people have been able to make their way forward and at times even excel in many fields. Despite the pressure from all direction, despite the hardships faced by all in their day to day living, the people have been able to come up unscatched and make a mark for themselves in their chosen field of profession. Is it about the resilience of the people or the situation bringing out the best from the people ? Or can it be defined as indifference of the common people to the turmoil surrounding them that they do nothing much more than concentrate on their career and work at hand ? Whichever way one looks at it, one cannot help but marvel at the survival instinct of the people. A people who have been forced to live in extremely trying times, but who nonetheless have been able to muster the strength to come out unscathed from the tragedy surrounding them. We doff our hats to the common people for their extraordinary feats.
Border infested with B’deshis, Govt silent From our Correspondent
MERAPANI, May 17: While the opposition parties and a section of the citizens of the State have been alleging that the Tarun Gogoi-led Congress Government is trying to protect the Bangladeshi nationals who have fled from the upper Assam districts of Dibrugarh, Golaghat and Jorhat, the surprising silence of the State Government over the unabated influx of these nationals in the A, B, C and D sectors of the Assam-Nagaland border has raised many an eye brow here. Taking advantage of the State Government’s welcoming attitude towards them, the Bangladeshi nationals have set up colonies denuding the forest cover in these sectors of the border areas. The people here have alleged that a section of the Government officials, especially those of the State Forest Department, are maintaining a cordial relation with these illegal migrants to gain mere benefits.
The local goons here have also been providing shelter to the Bangladeshis. With active support from the ‘anti-national’ elements Bangladeshis have been taking shelter in Rajapukhuri, No 3 Na-Khuti, Gelajan and Tengajaa in B Sector; Kherbari, Bidyapur, Doyalpur, Madhabpur, Dalanipather, Pithaghat, Chilanijan and Da Pather in Sector C of the Assam-Nagaland border. These nationals have also encroached on vast tracts of land in Diphu, Rengma and in the southern side of the Naambar Reserve Forest in Dhanshree subdivision. It may be mentioned that a section of the people here have also been providing shelter to these Bangladeshis who are working here as rickshaw pullers, thelawallas, daily wage labourers, etc., in rented houses. Hundreds of Bangladeshis after staying for a period in Nagaon, Morigaon, etc., come to the district in search of jobs and get themselves engaged in brick kilns, betel nut factories, etc. It is further alleged that due to the patronage of the Congress party, the Negheribil Muslimgaon has been converted into a colony of Bangladeshi nationals.
Illegal migrants must go: AISF Staff Correspondent
DIBRUGARH, May 17: Expressing serious concern over the unabated Bangladeshi encroachment in the State, the Dibrugarh district unit of the All India Students’ Federation (AISF) has said that the illegal migrants, whichever religion they belong to, must quit Assam. Urging the people to maintain peace and harmony in the State, the AISF, Dibrugarh said that the illegal migrants should not be classified on the basis of religion. "It is the duty of the State Government to identify the suspected migrants and deport them immediately," Subhash Dutta, president of Dibrugarh district unit of the Federation said, alleging that the ruling Congress Government in the State, instead of taking steps for deportation of these nationals, is more inclined to give constitutional safeguard to them. The Federation has termed Congress MP Anowar Hussain’s attempt to raise the issue of ‘exodus’ of Bangladeshi nationals from upper Assam districts — namely Dibrugarh, Jorhat and Golaghat — in the Parliament as a nefarious agenda of the party. The students’ body has also criticized the BJP of trying to communalize the issue to get political mileage. "Both the Congress and the BJP are trying to get advantage from the issue which has posed a serious threat to national security," the Federation members said, adding that the democratically-elected State Government, instead of taking steps to deport the foreign nationals legally, was trying to safeguard the migrants. "This is a glaring example that the Congress party wanted to use these suspected nationals as its vote bank only," the Federation added. Meanwhile, the issue related to the ‘exodus’ of illegal migrants from here following the awareness programme launched by the Chiring Chapori Yuba Mancha has caused much sensation in and around the district. Despite the denial of the Mancha that they had not issued any directives or put pressure on any individual to leave the place, the inquiry team constituted by the State Government under the leadership of the State Home Commissioner, Dr BK Gohain, has been examining the reasons of the reported exodus of Bangladeshi migrants and trying to find their nationalities.


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