Panic flight could damage image of Northeasterners in the long run

HOME MINISTRY ISSUES NATION-WIDE BAN ON BULK SMSes AND MMSes
EVEN SMS THREATS APPEAR TO BE RUMOURS
RUMOUR-INDUCED EXODUS COULD IRREVOCABLY DAMAGE RELIABILITY AND SET BACK EMPLOYMENT PROSPECTS IN THE LONG RUN FEAR PROFESSIONALS

GANGTOK, 17 Aug: The Prime Minister was joined by Parliamentarians cutting across party lines today to reassure people from the North East that they were safe and welcome all over the country and those who have stayed behind in what has developed as the ‘Ground Zero’ of rumour-induced panic – Bengaluru/ Bangalore  – insist that the city is safe. But these appear to have met with only limited success as people continue to flee Bengaluru even as the situation has normalised even in Pune in Maharastra, the only place where incidents of actual attacks on North Easterns were reported last week. It needs to be added here that panic flights were reported from Chennai and Mangalore as well today although these were at much lower levels than the exodus from Bangalore where special trains to the northeast were pressed into service today as well.
Mikchung Bhutia, an IT professional from Sikkim who has been living in Bangalore for a while now and keeps in close touch with the Sikkimese population there, confirms that neither he nor anyone he knows has received any SMS or MMS threatening people from the North East [as a retaliatory action against the violence seen in Kokrajhar in Assam].
The rumour mongering, however, seems to have gone a step ahead with the purported threat SMSes now appearing to be a rumour in itself.
Speaking to NOW! from Bangalore, Sweta Rai from Sikkim who teaches in a Bangalore school, echoed Mr. Bhutia’s information, confirming that she has not received any message threatening or warning her of attacks and neither has anyone from Sikkim she knows received such SMSes.
“It is all second hand information; someone who knows someone claims to have received such SMSes. There is absolutely nothing of the sort that people are scared of happening here,” Ms. Rai asserted, adding that she has siblings living in different parts of the city and there have not been any untoward incidents anywhere.
She adds that the Bangaloreans have become so conscious of the situation that they are going out of their way to make sure that people from the North East feel secure and welcome in the city. In some instances, to and fro police escorts are being provided to college students to reassure them of their safety.
As evidence of Bangalore being safe, police authorities there inform that the helplines opened there for people from the North East have received many calls, but all to enquire on the situation and none to report of any untoward incident or threat.
The exodus however continues and since the panic is believed to have been triggered by threat SMSes, the Ministry of Home Affairs has announced a ban on bulk SMSes and MMSes for 15 days starting today. More than five SMSes or MMSes from one number cannot be sent in one go. MMSes have been restricted to 25kb. The ban has been imposed throughout the country.
Meanwhile, the Bangalore police today arrested three persons for allegedly spreading rumours regarding the issue. This too, was initially misreported in the media as arrests made for attacks on North Easterns. By evening, it was confirmed that the arrests were not for attacks [none of which, the authorities in Karnataka insist have taken place yet] but, as mentioned, for spreading rumours.
The Bangalore Police have intensified patrolling in localities populated by people from the northeast, including college-going students, blue-collar and white-collar employees, security guards and women working in beauty salons. This was confirmed by students and professionals from Sikkim based in Bangalore while speaking with NOW!
Also as part of the investigation, cyber sleuths attached to the Bangalore city police crime branch have started cracking at the sensational messages sent through SMS and MMS, e-mails and postings on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter that caused panic and fear among the people from the region.
As per media reports, most of the messages received on mobiles through SMS or MMS are originating from Assam and other North Eastern states, Mumbai and Kolkata in Hindi, Assamese and Bengali without names or place from where they were being sent.
“The fact that only northeast people/ students are getting rumours and not others on their mobiles as SMS or MMS reveals that they are being sent from the north-eastern region to their kith and kin living in Bangalore or other cities of the state,” a Karnataka police official was quoted as saying in a national daily.
Most of those fleeing the city have confirmed as much, stating that they were leaving not because they have been personally threatened but because family at home is insisting they return, fearful that something might happen.
Speaking from Bangalore, Mr. Bhutia insisted that all was well there.
“There is nothing to fear, I would particularly like to tell the parents of students here not to panic. Their children have come here to study and if they return home when there is no reason to, their studies will suffer,” he pointed out.
Mr. Bhutia has been receiving frantic calls from parents worried about their children studying in Bangalore for the past three days. “The moment you fear, you are playing into the hands of people ready to take advantage of it,” he adds.
The exodus, especially because it is based on rumours, has severely, possibly even irrevocably, undermined the credibility of North Easterns working here, Mr. Bhutia points out, adding, “Those working here, who have left, do you think they will get their jobs back when they return?”
It will be difficult for them to convince prospective employers of their reliability, a work ethic that the community had earned through years of hard work, he underlines.
About 2,40,000 people from the northeast region live in Bangalore and another 1,00,000 in other cities across Karnataka. Businesses have taken a bad hit with security agencies, restaurants, beauty parlours, which mostly employ those from the North East, suddenly short of manpower. On last count, as many as 20,000 people from the North East are believed to have fled from Bangalore alone.

Chief Secretary and DGP speak to counterparts in Karnataka, receive reassurances that Sikkimese are and will remain safe in Bangalore

RUMOUR-MONGERING WINS, PANIC FLIGHTS CONTINUE FROM BANGALORE AND PUNE

SIKKIMESE STUDENTS IN PUNE AND BANGALORE CONVEY THEY ARE SAFE, BUT WISH THEY HAD REPRESENTATIVE BODY THERE TO FEEL MORE SECURE
GANGTOK, 16 Aug: Rumour-mongering has won the day, and reassurances from every concerned agency have failed to calm the panic which has gripped the people from Northeast in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. For the second consecutive day today, students and professionals from the North East based in these three states continued to flee in droves, fearful that retaliatory attacks on people from the North East following the communal violence in Assam will eventually reach them if they stayed behind. The mainstream’s established ignorance about the people of the North East has convinced people from these parts that any backlash against the communal violence of Bodoland Territorial Autonomous District of Assam will sweep all people who might look like that they are from the North East. Needless to add, this includes the many from Sikkim who work and study in the cities in the grips of the latest wave of rumour-triggered fear psychosis.
Speaking to NOW!, Swabhaw Gurung of Sikkim who is working in Pune at present, informed that although there were reports of attacks on some North Easterns in the city last week, no new incidents have been reported so far.
Panic and fear have however gripped people from the North East residing in Pune, he said, adding that most choose to remain indoors while others are planning to leave the city as soon as possible. “Though the violence has largely died down, people from the North East are scared and most students are planning to head home... My brother who is also studying here is planning to leave in a day or two,” said Swabhaw.
The pall of fear is real even if the threat is largely imagined or instigated, but given that so many from Sikkim live in the panic-struck cities in question, the State Government, through the Director General of Police and the Chief Secretary enquired after the situation in Karnataka and sought special consideration for people from Sikkim based there.
The Director General of Police was approached by concerned parents and representatives from the civil society today regarding rumours of violence coming in from Bengaluru.
Following this, it is informed that the DGP contacted the Karnataka Police to check on the situation. The Karnataka police, as they have been maintaining all along, is also reported to have asserted to the Sikkim DGP that claims of targeted violence in Bengaluru are just rumours and reassured that all necessary action to keep people from Sikkim safe would be taken if required.
The DGP is also reported to have provided names and locations of where Sikkimese students live in Bengaluru and the Karnataka police, in turn, assured to send police personnel to provide security to the students in case of any untoward incident.
The Chief Secretary of Sikkim, Karma Gyatso, also spoke to his counterpart in Karnataka, SV Ranganath, today and conveyed the Sikkim Government’s concern about the safety of Sikkimese residing in Bengaluru, an IPR press release informs.
In response, the Karnataka CS gave full assurance as regards the safety of Sikkimese in Bengaluru and added that the law and order situation in Karnataka was under control.
Mr Gyatso has also requested the Speaker, KT Gyaltsen to take up the issue with the Karnataka Government during his visit to the State which is scheduled for 18 September.
The backlash against people from the North East came to the fore when a Muslim rally against the Assam riots held in Mumbai went out of control killing 2 and injuring some others. Following this, rumours of more attacks spread in other cities as well, especially in Bengaluru where there is a sizeable population from the North East. As the country celebrated the 66th Independence Day, news reports on the mass exodus of North Easterns from Bengaluru started pouring in. There are now reports of such mass exodus from Hyderabad and Pune as well.
Although attacks on North Easterns were reported from Pune from where there have been reports of almost 12 attacks on people from different parts of the North East, in Bengaluru the fear rides mostly on the basis of rumours - whether by SMS or word-of-mouth - about alleged attacks and alleged preparations for an attack.
A Sikkimese studying in Bengaluru, Kunzang Deki, tries to explain why the reassurances or clarifications are not having the desired effect and why fear and panic continues to spread in the city among people from the north east. “The police and the state administration are all saying that the situation is under control and full security will be provided to us but we do not feel safe. I haven’t seen any police patrolling or police personnel on the streets,” she told NOW!
“There have even been incidents of the police here warning students from the North East to be careful which adds to the fear,” she added.
A lot of students have taken a month’s leave from colleges and schools and are returning home, she added.
Kunzang, who stays in a PG accommodation, was leaving for her uncle’s place located in another part of the city, where she plans to stay till it is deemed safe.
Meanwhile, Swabhaw inform from Pune that two students and three working people from Sikkim [whom he knows] are returning home tomorrow. He is planning to send his wife back to Sikkim as well.
“The police have assured ample security for North Easterns here and individual state associations have provided helpline numbers… Sadly Sikkimese don't have an association or any helplines,” expressed Swabhaw.
Kunzang from Bengaluru also said that she is not aware of any association for Sikkim in the city.
On his take on the whole situation as a Sikkimese, Swabhaw says, “People have being misinformed and people with vested interests have taken advantage of the ignorance of the mainland Indians... It makes me feel unwelcome and marginalised in the Indian mainstream”.
Back in Sikkim in the meanwhile, student bodies have approached the authorities conveying their concerns regarding the security of Sikkimese students studying outside the state.
Students’ Union of Sikkim [SUS] convened an emergency meeting today on the recent incidents of attacks on the North Easterns in Pune and warnings spread through SMS in Bangalore.
An SUS press release informs that the meeting chaired by SUS president, Ugen Bhutia expressed its concern over the recent attacks on north-eastern students at Pune and strongly condemned such incidents. SUS also forwarded a letter requesting the “full proof security” for those from the North East, students in particular, to the Union Home Minister, the release informs.
SUS has further appealed to Sikkimese students in different parts of the country to have full faith in the administration and follow the security guidelines provided by the police administration in the respective cities.
SUS has also opened a help-line number to register the grievances of students in Bangalore so that the same could be forwarded to the concerned authorities through SUS. The helpline numbers are: 96478-74611, 80162-05290, 96354-04862 and 98323-08317.
Meanwhile, the Sikkim United Student Association [SUSA] submitted a memorandum to the Chief Secretary today on the security of Sikkimese’s students studying in different educational institutes outside Sikkim.
A SUSA press release informs that during the meeting, the Chief Secretary informed SUSA members that this issue has been taken seriously and informed them of his conversation with the Karnataka CS. Interestingly, the release adds that if some unfortunate incident were to happen to Sikkimese students outside Sikkim, then the Sikkim government will be held responsible.
The Sikkim RTI Forum joins issue with the incidents in the three states and its general secretary, DK Chhetri, in a press release issued today postures, “Its an outrage that our childrens are dying out there and the shameless NorthEast CMs have zipped their lips”. It needs to be clarified here that no incidents of violence against people from the North East have been reported to in Bengaluru and no fatalities have been reported from any of these attacks.
“If politics is a pressure game then, our North East Chief Ministers must speak unitedly to the Central Govt. to provide protection to our children or to form effective Law. We believe the Central Govt cannot bear the pressure if applied from a United North East Chief Ministers,” the release states, even adding, “The discrimination to our childrens has reached its height, and maybe we have reached the verge of retaliation for self protection”.

NE MPs seek Home Minister’s intervention in Assam riots backlash against North Eastern students

GANGTOK, 14 Aug: MPs of North Eastern states including Sikkim MP, PD Rai today submitted a letter to the Home Minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde, calling for his immediate intervention in the alleged violence against North-Eastern students studying in metropolitan cities following the violence that erupted in Kokrajhar, Assam recently.
According to news reports in the national media, two persons were killed when a rally organised against the Assam riots went out of control in Mumbai on Saturday. In Pune, 10 students and professionals were beaten up on 08 and 09 August allegedly by members of the minority community which suffered in the Kokrajhar violence.
In Kolkata, posters and SMSes sympathizing with the Assam riot victims surfaced in various parts of the city while in Andhra Pradesh, two labourers from Assam’s Kokrajhar district were attacked. Incidents have also been reported from Bengaluru, Karnataka.
Providing these details, the MPs have urged the Home Minister to advise the respected State Governments to “take firm and punitive action against the perpetrators of this violence”. The Home Minister in response has assured to take up the matter immediately and advise all State Governments, especially those of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

First bio-fertilizer production unit in the NE Region comes up at Majhitar

GANGTOK, 01 August: A Bio-Fertilizer Production Unit, which is the first in the whole North-East Region, was inaugurated by the Food Security & Agriculture Development Department [FS&ADD] Minister, DN Takarpa, in the presence of Commerce and Industries Minister, Neeru Sewa, at Majhitar in East Sikkim today.
The department has leased out this unit to Balaji Crop Care Private Limited, Hyderabad, at Rs 18 lakh per annum for 15 years. The annual capacity of the unit is 150 metric tonnes per annum. The company will manufacture bio-fertilizers, bio-pesticides, organic fertilizers and plant growth promoters. The unit aims at catering to the needs of Sikkim and the whole North Eastern Region.
Addressing the inaugural function, Mr Takarpa mentioned that after the Chief Minister’s declaration to make Sikkim an Organic State, the department has been working hard towards this mission and now the state is fully equipped to achieve this target. He added that setting up such a unit was required to achieve the vision of being an organic state.
Responding to the company’s request to buy their products, the Minister stated that if the company provides quality products at a reasonable rate then the government would definitely buy their products in this competitive market as the government wants the best for the state. He also assured to provide all possible support to the company and called for joint efforts from all sides to fulfill the vision of the CM to make Sikkim an Organic State.
While congratulating the department and the company for setting up the unit, Ms Sewa expressed that the unit would help achieve the target of becoming an organic state in the stipulated time. However, she suggested the department to create awareness among panchayat members on the importance of the unit to farmers.
Secretary, Vishal Chauhan informed that the government has decided to lease out the unit and following an open bid this company was allotted the task to run the production unit. On the request to buy back the products, he informed that the company has to reach out to farmers to promote their products and the department would purchase their products only if there is demand for it from farmers.
In his welcome address, Chief Engineer, SK Paul presented the technical details of the unit. He informed that such a bio-fertilizer production unit was the first in the entire North East Region and Sikkim has taken the lead in this field.  He informed that the unit has been built at a total cost of Rs 60.88 lakh funded by the North East Council.
Senior Vice-President [Operations] of the company, L Sreekanth informed that Balaji Crop Care Pvt Limited is a unit of Hyderabad-based Sowbhagya Biotech Pvt Limited and is a leading company in this sector. He informed that the company has been supplying its products to many states in the country.
This new unit has already started manufacturing and will do its best to cater to the needs of Sikkim and other North-Eastern States, said Mr Sreekanth and further requested the department to provide additional storage facility and additional land for the expansion of the unit.
The inaugural function, which was conducted by Divisional Engineer, Passang Tamang, concluded with the vote of thanks by Principal Director, Phitook Bhutia.

ADB and GoI recognition for UD&HD

WORK IN GANGTOK UNDER ‘NER CAPITAL CITIES INVESTMENT PROG’ EARNS BEST PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION AWARD FOR UD&HD UNIT 
GANGTOK, 20 Feb: The State Project implementing unit of the Urban Development Department created for the first Asian Development Bank urban project in Gangtok entitled ‘North Eastern Region Capital Cities Development Investment Program (NERCCDIP) has been conferred with the Best Project Implementation award for the year 2011 along with four other NE states covered by the program. The award was conferred to the State by the ADB and Govt of India at a function held in Pune on 07 Feb 2012, informs a press release.
The first phase of the project which was launched in New Delhi on August 2009 by signing of loan agreement by Govt of India with ADB and Project agreements with the States, has the component of water supply and distribution network project in Burtuk and Chandmari and subsequent phases shall address the water supply and distribution network for the rest of Gangtok city and sewerage network and Solid Waste Management for the whole of Gangtok city.
The project is funded by ADB and Govt of India and will be completed by 2016 within which an amount of Rs 220 crore is the detailed investment plan for Gangtok as per the press release of the implementing unit.
The UD&HD, Government of Sikkim has dedicated the national award to the cooperation and assistance extended by the Gangtok Municipal Corporation (GMC) and the public of Burtuk and Chandmari during the project initiation and implementation, the release mentions. The project which is formulated and executed as a Multitranhce Financing Facility (MFF) is implemented as per ADB’s global practices for project implementation and will ensure certified quality and timely completion for achievement of its goals.
The Project Director, JD Bhutia has emphasised that the continued support of various stakeholders of Government, Gangtok Municipal Corporation, NGOs, civil societies and public will be the key to successful completion of the project both in terms of the infrastructure development for provision of urban services of water supply, sewerage and solid waste management to the Capital city in the coming years, as well as the achievement of the Urban Institutional, Financial Regulatory, and Operational Reform Program for urban governance which will facilitate improved transparency and accountability of urban governance  and effective grievance redressal  mechanisms for the urban citizens, according to the release.

300 complete DONER sponsored tourism training by TAAS

GANGTOK, 01 Feb: Travel Agents Association of Sikkim (TAAS) successfully completed a set of ten courses for tourism stake holders of North East Region and sponsored by North Eastern Council (NEC), Ministry of DONER and further supported by Government of Sikkim. A press release issued by TAAS also informs that there has been excellent feedback on the programme by the trainees.  All the eight North East States including Sikkim participated in the trainings. A total of 440 trainees had applied for the courses of which 300 participants successfully completed the courses and were handed their certificates. Examinations were conducted for all the courses and the trainees were also asked to prepare a project reports.
The programme included trainings on Capacity Building, Air Ticketing, Marketing and that for Trekking Cooks and German language. As per the press release the last 4 trainings for (1) German   Language, (2) Marketing, promotion Publicity, (3)(Advertising, Air ticketing, Banking &  Foreign Exchange and (4) Trekking Cook. Were completed with the valedictory function held here at Gangtok. Capacity building trainees drawn from all eight states, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and Sikkim.
 The certificates were handed out at a valedictory function organised here at Gangtok by the Chief Guest Mr.Karma Tashi Bhutia, Managing Director, Royal Demazong Hotels & Resorts, Mrs. Lee Pandi Targain, Assistant Director, Tourism, Mr.S.K.Pradhan former President TAAS and the Managing Director Siniolchu International and senior members of TAAS.

World Bank extends $130 mn loan for development in North-East and SIkkim

LOAN TO FUND NE RURAL LIVELIHOOD PROJECTS AND PROJECTS IN 15 PANCHAYAT WARDS IN EAST SIKKIM
New Delhi, 20 Jan: The World Bank today extended a US $130 million loan to India that will be used to fund rural development programmes in the North East region, including Sikkim.
The money will be used to fund the North East Rural Livelihoods Project, which aims to enhance livelihoods of the rural poor, especially women, unemployed youth and the severely disadvantaged people in the North East region, the Finance Ministry said in a statement here.
Eight districts of four states — Aizawl and Lunglei in Mizoram; Peren and Tuensang in Nagaland; South, West and 15 Panchayat wards of East District in Sikkim; and West and North Districts in Tripura will be covered under the project, reports IANS.
The agreements for the North East Rural Livelihoods Project (NERLP) were signed here by Venu Rajamony, Joint Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs, on behalf of the government of India, DL Wankhar, Project Director on behalf of the North East Rural Livelihoods Project, and Roberto Zagha, World Bank Country Director in India.
“The project seeks to develop an institutional platform for the communities, which will help them link up with the private sector, public sector, and civil society and to acquire the institutional, technical, and financial capacity needed for improving their livelihoods,” an official statement released after signing of the agreement states.
Loan will be extended by the World Bank’s concessionary lending arm the International Development Association. The concessional credit has a final maturity of 25 years, including 5-year grace period.

Guwahati International Film Festival invites entries

GANGTOK, 03 Jan: Cine Art Society, Asom (CineASA) will be organising the 4th CineASA Guwahati International Film Festival, 2012 from 05 to 11 February, 2012 at four venues Rabindra Bhavan, Guwahati University, IIT-Guwahati and Dibrugarh. A press release informs that the festival will showcase about 30 highly acclaimed feature films as well as short films from all across the Globe.

Sikkim to host 5th North East FIDE Rating Chess Tournament in Jan 2012

GANGTOK, 13 Dec: Sikkim Chess Association [SCA] is organizing the 5th edition of North East FIDE Rating Chess Tournament- 2012 from 04 to 10 January here at the Paljor Stadium gymnasium hall.
SCA has received this golden opportunity to host this tournament for the first time after the association was formed in 2009 and affiliated with the All India Chess Federation [AICF] in 2010. The prize money of Rs 1 Lakh in the tournament is being sponsored by AICF.

Sikkim’s EMRS thrashes at North East Basket ball tourney

GANGTOK, 10 Nov: Eklavya Model Residential School, Gangyap thrashed Maria Public School, Narangi 92 -0  in the quarter-final match played in the CBSE Cup [Cluster I] North East Region Basketball Tournament 2011-12 in Guwahati today.

Eclectic Model Hunt 2011 on 26 Nov

GANGTOK, 31 Oct: Eclectic Model Hunt 2011, an annual beauty pageant, organized by Eclectic Publications, to encourage young women of the Northeast to showcase their hidden talents will be held on 26 November at the Pragjyoti, ITA Centre, Machkhowa, informs a press release.