Manipur hockey player Sushila Chanu and weightlifter Mirabai Chanu have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics 2021. Also, the Manipur Board examinations for secondary and senior schools stand cancelled, while the state government has asked parents to pay 50 percent of the tuition fees of school going children and private schools will be paying 70 percent of salaries due to their employees. There was good news for farmers during the week with 1.2 MT of pineapples on its way to markets in north India.
Manipur’s Sushila Chanu in Hockey Squad for Olympics
Midfielder Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam is the lone woman hockey player from Manipur who has made it to the final squad of the Indian women’s hockey team for the Tokyo Olympics.
Reports said Sushila is among the 13 women hockey players from Indian Railways selected for the national team for participation at the prestigious Olympic Games.
Hockey India on June 17 announced the final list of the 16-member women’s squad for Tokyo Olympics scheduled to be held in July-August this year. The 16-member team comprises eight players who represented India at the Rio Olympics and eight other Olympic debutantes.
This will be the third appearance of the Indian women’s hockey squad at the Olympic Games, with previous appearances in 1980 and 2016.
Mirabai Chanu Qualifies for Tokyo Olympics
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) on June 12 confirmed that Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu has qualified for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics in the women’s 49 kg category. Mirabai, the 2017 world champion in weightlifting, had secured her place in Tokyo by winning a bronze medal in the Asian Championship in Tashkent in April with a world record in clean and jerk.
Reports said 26-year-old Mirabai qualified on the basis of her standings on IWF’s Absolute Ranking list. The Indian lifter is ranked second in the 49 kg category with 4133 and 6172 points in her kitty. She was earlier ranked fourth but North Korea’s withdrawal from the Olympics lifted her to the second place.
This will be Mirabai’s second appearance in the Olympics, five years after a disappointing outing in Rio, where she failed to lift any of the weights in clean and jerk to bow out of the showpiece, reports added.
State Cancels Board Exams for Classes 10 to 12
Uncertainty of conducting High and Higher Secondary Examinations amidst the COVID-19 pandemic came to an end as the Manipur government on June 16 decided to cancel the state board examinations for Classes 10, 11 and 12 for the academic year 2020-2021.
As per a notice released by the COHSEM secretary, Ch Biren Singh, the award of marks and certificates to students shall be given after taking approval from the government.
High School Leaving Certificate Examination 2021 has also been cancelled due to concerns over the growing cases of COVID-19 in the state.
50% Tuition Fees, 70% Salary for Private Schools
The Manipur government has told all private and government-aided schools to collect 50 percent of monthly payable fees from parents and ordered to pay 70 percent of the monthly payable salary to teachers and staff.
However, if any parents wish to pay more than the prescribed 50 percent in the interest of the teaching community during COVID-19 pandemic, the department has no objection to consequent increase in the salary of the teachers and staff, a government order said.
However, tuition fees of the students whom both the parents were lost owing to COVID-19 should not be charged.
Delta Variant Found in 18 Manipur Samples
Highly transmissible Delta Variant of COVID-19 has been found in 18 samples sent from the state for testing to Hyderabad.
Chief Minister Biren informed at a function that 20 samples were sent to Hyderabad from Manipur for testing, of which 18 were found positive for the Delta Variant, reports said.
Mentioning that the said variant had been the major cause of rapid spread, he said that patients under home isolation would be provided additional medicines useful in treatment of the variant and also 20 triple layer masks each, hand sanitizers and extra medicines from June 18, reports added.
20th Great June Uprising Day Observed
Amidst restrictions to fight the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 20th Great June Uprising Unity Day was observed on June 18 at Kekrupat, Imphal by maintaining strict SOPs, with few numbers of people turning up as most of the local bodies observed the day at their respective areas to avoid mass gathering.
On this day in 2001 people of Manipur took to the streets to protest the ceasefire agreement between the Government of India and the NSCN (IM) which is known as Bangkok Declaration of June 14, 2001 without territorial limits.
People of Manipur were demanding to withdraw the words “without territorial limits” and 13 protestors were killed by the security forces. Later, another 11 protestors died, raising the same demands on the following days.
Upendra Commission Report goes Public
On the occasion of the 20th Great June Uprising Day, Extrajudicial Execution Victim Families Association, Manipur (EEVFAM) and Human Rights Alert (HRA) presented the Report of Upendra Judicial Commission of Inquiry constituted by the State Government to inquire into the incident of June 18, 2001 to the public at large.
On this day, 20 years ago, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) shot down protestors in the heart of Imphal city, killing 14 persons and injuring more than 800, a joint press release issued by EEVFAM Secretary Edina Yaikhom and HRA Executive Director Babloo Loitongbam said.
It maintained that more than a decade later, in the course of the proceeding of the EEVFAM) and HRA PIL, WP (Cril) 129 of 2012, seeking justice in the 1528 extrajudicial executions, the Supreme Court directed GoM to submit all the relevant Commission of Inquiry reports. This report was one amongst half a dozen others, so submitted. The court handed over a copy of the reports to the petitioners, the release stated.
Anxious about the present perplexing state-of-affairs of the official institutions and driven by the compelling need to preserve the remaining pieces of evidence of this historic event, EEVFAM and HRA are reprinting the Report of Upendra Judicial Commission of Inquiry.
1.2 MT Pineapples Flagged Off
The first consignment of 1.2 metric ton (MT) of fresh organic pineapples grown in different parts of Manipur is on its way to Gurgaon and Jaipur, flagged off by additional chief secretary P Vaiphei from Bir Tikendrajit International Imphal Airport on June 13.
Reports said Krooshi Karma Naturals Private Limited, Imphal in collaboration with Manipur Organic Mission Agency (MOMA) has set a target to export at least 250 MT of pineapple to Gurgaon, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Jaipur. It will benefit around 900 farmers.
Pineapple farmers in Manipur have earned over Rs 78 lakh during the period 2018–2020 by exporting around 220 MT of the fruit outside the state, reports added.
Apart from pineapple, the company has also been marketing kiwi and avocado outside the state since 2018. The pineapple being marketed is mainly the queen variety, cultivated in Thayong, Andro and Chiru-Waithou areas.
Speaking on the occasion, additional chief secretary, P Vaiphei said a state government market intervention scheme had created a corpus fund of Rs. 3 crore to buy all the horticulture produce from farmers and store it in cold storages for supply to different markets, reports added.
Manipur Targets 9 Lakh MT of Rice
Manipur Agriculture Minister, Oinam Lukhoi said that the State Agriculture Department is working along with ICAR with its full scientific and technical support with a strategy for self-sustained agriculture through double cropping targeting production of 9 lakh MT of rice against the present production of 5.10 lakh MT by increasing the seed replacement rate from the existing 20 percent to 60 percent.
According to reports, Lukhoi said with new varieties of rice coming up from ICAR, the target production of rice would be achieved within five years in the State.
Wholesale Markets Open 7 am to 12 Noon
The state government on June 13 issued new orders for opening of vendors, grocery stores and wholesale markets in Imphal valley in view of the COVID-19 situation in the state.
The order stated that local vegetable vendors can open from 7 am to 10 am on June 16, 19, 22, 25, and 28. Vendors must maintain a distance of at least six feet from one another and wear masks.
One in three grocery shops shall also be allowed to open on rotational basis. For shops or vendors located in congested rows, only alternate rows will be allowed to open. On major roads like the national highway, both sides may open with a queue system.
Wholesale grocery and food essentials in Thangal bazar and Masjid road will be allowed to open from 7 am to 12 noon every day. The wholesale section will be open on Sunday for retailers from Imphal West and Imphal East; Monday for Senapati, Kangpokpi, Kamjong; Tuesday for retailers from Bishnupur, Noney and Tamenglong. The wholesale section will be open on Wednesday for retailers from Ukhrul, Chandel and Pherzawl; Thursday for Thoubal Kakching and Tengnoupal. On Friday, the wholesale section will open for retailers from Churachandpur and Jiribam. The wholesale section will be open on Saturday for retailers from Imphal East and Imphal West, it added.
HC Directs Centre on Oxygen Plants at RIMS
The Manipur High Court on June 15 directed the Central government to ensure that the two oxygen plants which were allocated recently to RIMS, Imphal are made operational by June end without fail.
Reports said the division bench of the High Court issued the directive during the hearing of a PIL filed before the court, seeking direction to procure sufficient oxygen and ICU beds for COVID-19 patients.
Earlier, the Central government informed the court that two oxygen plants are proposed to be commissioned by June 30 at RIMS; however, the counsel of RIMS informed during today’s hearing that only 30 per cent of the construction works for installation of the two oxygen plants at RIMS has been completed.
Drugs Worth Rs. 75 Lakhs Seized
Tengnoupal District commandos arrested a drug trafficker with illegal drugs worth around Rs. 75 lakhs at Imphal-Moreh Road on June 14.
Reports said a team of Tengnoupal District commandos detained the van and a thorough search of the vehicle revealed 29 soap caps containing suspected brown sugar along with one soap cap containing suspected Heroin powder.
The drugs along with the vehicle were seized, and the driver of the van, Paongam Haokip, 48, from Tuibong Laizon Veng of Churachandpur district was also arrested under the NDPS Act 1985.
CPI-M for Excise and VAT Rollback
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), Manipur State Committee on June 15 demanded withdrawal of excise duty hike by Centre and VAT by state government from petrol, diesel and cooking gas, in public interest.
Reports quoting a release issued by the state secretary CPI-M Kshetrimayum Shanta said the hike in excise duties come at a time when international oil prices have fallen with the base price for petrol being Rs 47.12 in 2014 to Rs 29.34 in 2021 which is nearly 38 percent.
Unexploded Bomb Found at Tuinom Village
Churachandpur police along with a team of bomb disposal squad from Imphal disposed off an unexploded bomb at Khuga Dam waste site on June 14.
Reports said one 51 inch para-mortar bomb was found at Tuinom village on June 13 (Sunday) by some villagers in the jungle while searching for mushrooms and they reported to the police.
Kangpokpi Opens with COVID Negative Shopkeepers
Kangpokpi has become first district to reopen markets for COVID-19 negative shopkeepers on June 14 after more than a month-long complete lockdown, under the initiative of the seven Covid Task Force of Kangpokpi Assembly Constituency constituted by MLA Nemcha Kipgen.
New Ambulances for 6 ADCs
As a part of the government’s initiative to strengthen the state’s health sector, Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren on June 16 handed over 10 Basic Life Support ambulances to six Autonomous District Councils (ADC) of the state at a programme held at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.
Reports said two ambulances each were provided to the ADCs of Churachandpur, Chandel, Kangpokpi and Ukhrul districts, while one ambulance each was handed over to the ADCs of Tamenglong and Senapati district.
IE BLOs to Identify Non-Vaccinated
All Booth Level Officers (BLOs) of all the polling stations in Imphal East district have been directed to identify electors who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit the list of such electors in a prescribed format to their respective AEROs for onward submission to the SDOs. Imphal East Deputy Commissioner Khumanthem Diana issued the order on June 17.
Aid for Remote Villagers and AMWJU
Medical aids to fight COVID-19 were distributed to All Manipur Working Journalist Union (AMWJU) and poor villagers living in far flung areas by the All Manipur Indane Distributors’ Association (AMIDA) on June 16.
