Arabian Sea storm seen strengthening monsoon

Vinson Kurian

Thiruvananthapuram, June 23 Monday’s low-pressure area in the east-central Arabian Sea spun furiously overnight to become a depression the next morning with a track to the northeast for onward movement.
On Tuesday, India Meteorological Department (IMD) expected this to become a deep depression (a notch below tropical cyclone status) and cross the south Gujarat coast the same evening/night.
NO CYCLONE Even so, IMD joined the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Centre in issuing a cyclone formation alert in the region. But Dr Akhilesh Gupta, leading operational forecaster and Adviser to Department of Science and Technology, ruled this out for two reasons.
For one, proximity to land would mean shorter distance to travel over water and lesser moisture to feed on. For another, increasing ‘shear’ from a westerly trough in the neighbourhood would break the back of the building storm.
The northeast track would take the storm straight over mainland India, heaving in the monsoon to initially over north Konkan and south Gujarat, including Mumbai.
Moisture influx The storm is shown to die out in another 24 to 30 hours, but it would have cleared the way for ‘huge moisture influx’ from the Arabian Sea, besides igniting the Bay of Bengal (cyclogenesis, or birth of a ‘low’).
According to Dr Gupta, the monsoon current would only strengthen with time, and the moderate intensity of the land-falling system would ensure more spatial of coverage of rains than would be the case if it were a cyclone.
Still, the rains are not seen sweeping much deeper beyond the west coast. So central India and the peninsular interior would have to wait a little longer before fresh moisture sweeps in from both the Arabian Sea and a freshly active Bay.
North Konkan, Mumbai and south Gujarat can expect heavy to very heavy rainfall during the next two days, Dr Gupta said.
On Tuesday, the IMD said conditions were favourable for further advance of monsoon over parts of Gujarat and Maharashtra, including Mumbai, and remaining parts of Karnataka during this phase.
Heavy rains Heavy to very heavy falls have been warned of at a few places and isolated extremely heavy falls of above 25 cm likely over Gujarat.
Isolated heavy to very heavy falls are also likely over Konkan, north madhya Maharashtra, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Assam and Meghalaya.
Squally winds speed reaching 45-55 km/hr gusting to 65 km/hr are likely along and off south Gujarat and north Konkan coasts during the next 24 hours.
The sea condition will be rough to very rough along and off these coasts. Fishermen are advised not to venture out.
Heat wave Meanwhile, severe heat wave conditions prevailed over Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Bihar, east Uttar Pradesh, east Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha and coastal Andhra Pradesh.
Heat wave conditions also prevailed over west Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and parts of Uttarkhand, Haryana, Punjab and north Rajasthan. They are likely to continue over these regions during the next two days but would abate from Rajasthan.
Yesterday, the highest maximum temperature of 46.4 degree Celsius was recorded at Sambalpur (Orissa).
Heat wave conditions are expected to continue over most of east and northwest India and parts of central India during the next two days. These will lift initially from central and east India in tune with the advance of monsoon rains.
An IMD outlook until Saturday spoke about the possibility of monsoon advancement into more parts of east India.
Fairly widespread rains have been forecast for the west coast, east India, Chhattisgarh, north Andhra Pradesh, the Northeastern States and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Militants abduct traders in Mizoram

Agartala (PTI): Five traders, including a minor one, from North Tripura district were abducted by unidentified gunmen when they were returning to the State in a lorry at Bhotalbari in Mizoram, police said here on Tuesday.

Gunmen chased Ajoy Roy (30), Talim Miah (50), Nukul Das (27), Sanku Dey (16) and Satya Nath (20), while they were returning from Tuipuibari to Kanmon by a lorry on Sunday.

The driver, however, managed to flee from the hands of militants, they said.

A police team led by a senior police officer has left for Mizoram to seek the State police's help to rescue the kidnapped traders, official sources said.

Mizoram Armed Police (MAP) has also launched an operation to rescue them.

The S word

No, not the sword. I'm talking about the S word. My late cousin who was a big fan of Kung fu movies used to have a long shiny sword. I don’t know where that sword came from; I don’t know what happened to it.

Let’s jump straight into the discussion without any more dilly dallying. The word here is “Senior,” as in “Nula Senior, Tlangval Senior.” I cannot see you but I can imagine the smile on your lips slowly turning into a snicker, and the raised eyebrows and the resigned look. You are thinking, oh just another Nula Senior ranting and raving about something that will never be changed and will never go away from the Mizo society, just another frustrated old maid who cannot catch a husband. Tell me, O great learned person with infinite wisdom, does my being old and/or state of singledom bother you so much that you have to turn it into a joke and use it for your entertainment? I know that you as an individual are not to be blamed; you have grown up in a society where old chestnuts about unmarried people above the age of twenty-five are considered acceptable and funny, but that still doesn’t make you any less guilty. You have willingly gone and signed up to be one of those uncivilized morons who take pleasure in making fun of others and their marital status, which in my books makes you as guilty as Cain. I am not trying to change the society or raise any propaganda here, just airing a few of my opinions.

Let’s admit it, we’ve all laughed at Senior jokes, and even cracked a few ourselves. No self respecting Mizo comedian will do his act without telling something about the lady who was so old even God called her “Ka Pi,” or the lady who was so old her breast milk expired, etc etc. And every so-called jokes section in any of the million local magazines will feature Senior jokes from time to time. I can’t exactly figure out what is so funny about someone being unmarried because of their personal choice or because of circumstances, and I hope you agree with me when I say the people who love these jokes the most will most probably be the same ones who would get offended the easiest if such jokes were directed at them. Does that imply I've laughed my head off at such jokes? Not really. I admit I've laughed, but you’d never catch me saying such insensitive things and trying to pass them off as jokes, sad unfunny jokes.

And the unfunniest part? I am not old at all, at least I don’t consider myself to be. Sure, if you are at that age where twenty five is old and/or are still under the impression that people who’ve hit a quarter century are old fashioned outdated relics from another era, thirty may look and sound ancient. I may not speak in your lingo or type in your incomprehensible language or listen to your music, but if you think that qualifies me as “old” and “Senior”, all I can say to you is, just you wait, your turn will come, nobody gets younger, and the time will come when youngsters laugh at you and everything you do.

Even worse than the young unrefined hooligans are the older lot. You know them, the middle aged men with their paan-stained teeth and ugly potbellies, wearing wrinkly T-shirts or kurtas with big track pants that make irritating scrunchy sounds, sitting on street corners smoking and passing comments on female passers-by. These are the same guys you see on TV and the same guys publishing those innumerable magazines, the guys who think an unmarried woman is the ultimate fodder for their sad little TV shows and even sadder magazines.

To the scholars out there, when and how did this ridicule of “Senior” people first began in the Mizo society? Any idea on this? Can you enlighten us? I am not a psychologist or psychiatrist, and I would sure like to know how people achieved satisfaction from mocking their fellow human beings and embarrassing them, making them uncomfortable to go to any public gathering because of the label attached, heaping upon them an unwanted self consciousness, and making them withdraw into themselves. I would love to know how the brains of these morons are wired; did they ever put themselves in the shoes of the people they laugh at, did they ever stop to think Senior people are also human beings with feelings and emotions? Are they so numbed, so insensitive to everything that they cannot comprehend how their “jokes” might actually hurt the sentiments of others?

I've seen Mizo people from all walks of life, from the most intelligent to the most uneducated, pass these Senior comments. And I've also been on the receiving end many times, and trust me, it’s no picnic. There you are with a bunch of people doing whatever it is that Mizo people do when they hang out in groups and you don’t know something or have never heard of someone, and suddenly out of thin air comes that remark “Oh he/she is too old to know such thing.” That really hurts. You are immediately self conscious of everything you do from then on, think a hundred times before you say anything, and most likely would never go again to such gatherings.

I think I’ll stop now before I reach a thousand words, but let me say this just once more - Senior jokes are not funny at all. You too can be a subject, so please think twice before you speak and remember, even unmarried people too have feelings that can get hurt.

http://aduhi.blogspot.com/2009/06/s-word.html

Indian Govt bans import of Chinese mobiles, dairy products, toys

NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday put quality restrictions on mobile phones, dairy products and toys in a measure aimed mainly to block their imports from China and which may trigger another round of wrangling at the WTO between two of Asia's biggest economies.

The Directorate-General of Foreign Trade said mobile handsets without the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number, which helps authorities to track the sale and use of the phones, cannot be imported from now on. An estimated eight lakh such phones come into the country every month from China. These are unbranded and cost a lot less than the branded variety.

Security agencies had raised concern over the use of these phones, many of which, they said, were being used by terrorists to set off bombs and communicate among themselves. Since these sets do not have the 15-digit IMEI number, or cloned numbers, the authorities find it difficult to track the sale or usage. Approximately 30 million such phones are in use at present.

On June 11, TOI had first reported that import of such phones was yet to be banned as neither the home ministry nor the telecom industry had written to the commerce ministry on the issue.

The DGFT also banned till January 2010 the import of toys that do not meet international safety standards and norms. This move too will hit imports of toys mainly from China and several other countries. India had blocked import of toys from China in January on health grounds, after concerns over their safety were raised in developed markets. But the restriction was eased later after Beijing questioned the restrictions on the ground that New Delhi did not put such curbs on toys from other countries.

The ban, however, will not be applicable to toys that come with a certificate from laboratories accredited to the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC). The volume-driven, price-competitive Chinese toys are estimated to have a 70% share in the global toy market. The domestic market is estimated at Rs 2,500 crore.

Import of milk and milk products were banned earlier in September last year to ward off entry of these items, contaminated with deadly whitener. The ban was to expire on June 24. Melamine, used for making plastics and fertiliser, was found in infant milk and other dairy products of several Chinese firms. The dangerous chemical can cause kidney stones as well as failure of the organ.

More than a dozen countries in Asia and Africa had also banned milk and dairy product imports from China, while several others had recalled the products suspected to be contaminated. India, world's largest milk producer, does not import milk products from China. The ban is being seen as a preventive measure.

Meanwhile, the government has asked its missions in the African region to step up vigil against bootlegged drugs being sent to those markets with fake `Made in India' tag. The commerce department last week lodged a complaint with the Chinese embassy here and the Indian embassy in Beijing and sought action against the impostors.

The Indian action comes after Nigeria's pharma regulator reported the detention of a large consignment of fake drugs for treating malaria. The consignment carried `Made in India' labels but was produced in China. A laboratory test of a recent consignment of anti-malaria drugs Maloxine and Amalar tablets proved these were fake. Had the drugs flowed into the market, about 642,000 lives would have been affected.

The Problem of ‘alternatives’

By: Phanjoubam Linthoingambi

It is ironical to say that Manipur has become synonymous with violence. The once flourished place, which has been extolled by the poets as the paradise, jewels, etc., has now lost its charm in the entangled-webs of power, violence, greed, selfishness, insanity. It looks the earth has dried up, the flower has withered. It no longer rains water; it rains of blood, and every day we quench our thirst by the blood of our fellow human beings.
We clever minds have the ‘problem of all the solutions’. It seems it is now woven into our minds that we acted in such a manner as to aggravate any situation that came our way, making it more complicated. How shall we justify these brutal acts of eliminating the non-Manipuris in Manipur, this will serve as the yardstick of another ethnic cleansing? Or, for that matter, the killings of innocent people in fake encounters, or kidnapping and murdering of individuals by gunmen for ransom ?Aren’t we tired of all these bloodshed? Aren’t there any other ‘alternatives’ than to kill the migrants? What will be the outcome? Will killing tackle the problem of influx of the non-Manipuris in Manipur? Is killing justified? Of all the other alternatives, why this?
One should not think, mind is a dangerous thing, when it starts to work so many thoughts come out that it becomes hard to choose a specific one leading to confusion. Well, just as a citizen of India exercising her civil rights, I would like to express that checking the influx by one of the ‘alternatives’ of killing the migrants might not be a very good idea. Has anybody thought of the outcome? Almost every house in Manipur has their siblings or relatives residing or studying outside Manipur. After hearing the news, calls after calls came from families, friends, etc. informing us of these gruesome acts. ‘News’ stating that north Indians have starting killing Manipuris in Delhi started spreading like wild fire, making us shiver with fear. Fingers crossed, we hoped these to be ‘rumours.’ And luckily, it was. One does not wish to die or see the death of their own people. Why on earth are these things happening? Ah! Again, the thought struck the mind. The checking of influx of the non- Manipuris in Manipur. Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh or Mizoram has very less number of immigrants, Why is it not so in Manipur?
Aren’t there any other alternatives than to murder people? Instead of murdering the people, we as a responsible citizen can urge the Government to take up all the necessary steps to prevent such influx. Are our ‘leaders’ morons or unaware of the ‘inner line permit system’ which could be effectively implemented in our state. The system is in force in Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. Why not in our state? Another alternative would be to stop selling lands to non-Manipuris .It is a strict no-no in some other north-eastern states. Shouldn’t we blame our own brethren for this? The citizens should be at least aware of these facts that if they start selling their properties to non-Manipuris then some years down the line we would be licking their shoes in our own land. Let us stop selling our lands to them. Whom shall we blame? The person who is luring or the person who is being lured? Such trivial points will yield larger outcome. These would solve the problem gradually. Let us remember ‘ Rome was not built in a day.’ Every society has a right to preserve its own culture. These influxes are polluting our already polluted state, and these killings are making matters worse. But there are several other ‘alternatives’. At times it becomes very hard to justify the killing of human beings. We could at least give a try if there are other ways of handling problems rather than just bluntly killing people. We don’t fight the rain with a sword, we mend the cracks in our house, shut the windows so that the rain does not come inside our house. How many will be killed? 100s? 1000s? Will that make any difference in this strife-torn state? With hard feelings people will flee from Manipur.
Well, we don’t exist alone in this big world; we need the help of others too. Manipur is just 22,327 sq.km big. How big is the rest of India? Don’t we depend on these rest part for our livelihoods? There are thousands of people residing outside Manipur. We will lament if things were the other way round. We would be really proud if we were little sagacious in handling problems concerning the larger part of the society to whom we depend.
Sometimes these grey cells create too many ‘alternatives’ that these become a problem. A big chaos makes people fed-up, and by leaving all these sane alternatives aside, chooses the most unwanted step – killing.

Mizoram orders Burmese citizens to leave in 15 days

New Delhi, June 20 (Mizzima News): In a renewed crackdown on Burmese migrants, Mizoram authorities have arrested over 100 Burmese nationals and ordered them to leave the state within 15 days. Mizoram police as of Saturday began to crack down on Burmese nationals and arrested more than 100. They were produced in court in Aizawl, capital of the state, where they were made to pay a fine of Rupees 500 each and ordered to leave the state within 15 days.
“They arrested us and held us for a night in the police lock-up. The court told us that it would give 15 days to us to leave the country. It also warned us that if we are seen again we will be arrested and put in jail,” a Burmese weaver, who was also among the arrested, told Mizzima on Thursday. The weaver said police raided their house and arrested all 12 Burmese weavers.
Explaining the court order he said they had to pay a fine of Rupees 500 each. Those who could not pay the fine were deported to the Burma border forthwith. On Sunday, Mizoram authorities deported 15 Burmese to the Indo-Burma border for they could not pay the fine imposed by the court. However, the Burmese weaver and others were bailed out by their employers, who paid the fine for them.
“Yes, it is true that we have deported the Burmese. But there were only 15 of them. We deported them on Sunday. I cannot recall how many we have deported in the past,” Rozara, a police officer at the Aizawl police station, told Mizzima. He said they had acted on the order of the court, which is also going through the legal steps following an order from the state government. He clarified that they had not targeted any particular section of the Burmese community.
According to the Chin Human Rights Organisation (CHRO) office in Aizawl, the police have mainly targeted Burmese nationals trading in alcohol and drugs. “As far as my understanding goes, the police have arrested mainly those who sell alcohol and drugs. The state government must have pressurized the police to do so,” Tehra, in-charge of the CHRO office in Aizawl, said.
But unlike Tehra’s view of the situation Burmese living in Aizawl believe that the police are making random arrests as several from the Burmese weaving community were also arrested along with others. A Burmese weaver, Phoeni said “Now the weavers are scared. It is not safe for them anymore,” he added.
According to him, there are an estimated 2,500 Burmese weavers working in various weaving houses in Aizawl town. Mizoram, which is contiguous to Chin state in western Burma, hosts more than 60,000 Burmese nationals. This is not the first time that Burmese have been deported. In 2003, after a Burmese raped a minor girl, locals forcibly evicted several Burmese nationals from the state.
Sources said the influential Young Mizo Association (YMA), a youth organization in Mizoram, has been compiling a list of Burmese living in the state. However, the purpose of collecting the list of names is still not clear. Local newspapers have highlighted the increasing number of Burmese nationals year after year and linked the increasing crime rate to the influx. Most Burmese nationals find jobs in weaving, as gold-smiths, in construction sites, work as housemaids, farm hands and do other manual labour.

Mizoram to get new power plant

Silchar, June 17 : The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) will install a mega hydel-power plant between Lawngtlai and Saiha districts in Mizoram.

Senior officials in the state’s power department, who are in touch with the NTPC top brass in New Delhi, said the state government had signed an MoU with the NTPC a few months ago regarding the project.

The power project is expected to generate 460MW of hydel power.

Officials said Jairam Ramesh, the former Union minister of state for power, was instrumental in pushing this project in Mizoram.

Sources said the NTPC would require Rs 3,000 crore to set up this power plant, which would be one of the biggest in the Northeast.

The MoU between the NTPC and the Mizoram government states that the corporation would supply 13 per cent of free power from its total output at the plant.

The NTPC had approached the Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and the JBIC, an investment bank in Japan, apart from other domestic and overseas funding forums for bankrolling this hydel project.

Massive outbreak of locusts hit Mizoram

Aizawl, Jun 15 : Massive outbreak of locusts hit Mizoram as hordes of locusts were seen in the state capital Aizawl and South Mizoram's Lunglei town during this week.

Some guests of the State Guest House here, including the state Advocate General had to flee their rooms as swarms of locusts entered there rooms, police reports said.

Rochana, a local journalist of Lunglei town told PTI over phone that vehicular traffic came to a stand still in Lunglei on Tuesday night as the oil coming out from the locusts killed by the cars on the main road made it too dangerous to drive.

People had to sweep the road to make it possible for the vehicles to ply again.

Horticulture scientists, who studied the outbreak, opined that the outbreak might be caused by a week's dry days after monsoon sets in.