Society / Manipur

IMPHAL, April 3: Unidentified militants have forced closure of three schools here for allegedly not paying ransom money, official sources said today, reports PTI. Sources said the Little Flower High School, St Joseph's School and St George School have been closed down for an indefinite period following the demand for payment of huge amount from some underground organisations. School authorities have notified that schools would remain closed until further orders without showing reason. Sources in the schools said that some valley-based insurgent outfits had demanded huge amount from the...

IMPHAL, April 2: After Moirangthem Oken, popularly known as 'Samballei' Oken, it's now the turn of another man from this tiny State who walked into the Limca Book of Records, 2001 for an innovative invention in the field of agricultural science. The new inventor is T Surendranath of Manipur Science and Technology Council (MASTEC), a registered government society, under State Science and Technology department. A scientific officer of MASTEC, T Surendranath has entered the 2001 edition of the prestigious Limca Book of Records, for his landmark invention of a pedal-operated rice mill. The new...

IMPHAL, March 23: Since the slapping of a ban on Hindi movies and songs in the State, people in Manipur have been flooded with a new order of Manipuri cinema and songs in all corners of this trouble-torn State. Manipur's film-maker have got an opportunity to produce more Manipuri films together with new techniques to attract the audience. The age of Manipur films have indeed come. During the past twenty-four hours, two Manipuri films were screened before the press at two different cinema halls of Imphal as the 48th and 49th Manipur features films of the State. The two film are CM Film...

IMPHAL, March 19: The Manipur University, the only university in Manipur faces a serious threat to its developmental activities due to financial constraints. The University falls short of its target for want of adequate resources. The grants-in-aid received from the State government are too meagre even to meet the salary and salary components of the employees. The University has not been able to make payment of salaries in time. Its classes are also disrupted by the frequent strike calls given by the students, staffs and even teachers of the University. The University has also failed to extend...

IMPHAL, March 20: A total of 11,271 HIV positive cases have been detected in Manipur till January, 2001, Governor Ved Prakash Marwah told the State Assembly on March 19, reports PTI. Addressing the Assembly on the first day of the session, Marwah said hundred per cent screening had been achieved in all the blood banks in Manipur. He added AIDS education had also been introduced in the school curriculum from Class VI to X, and 17 targetted intervention projects were in operation in the six high prevalence districts of the State. The Governor said the AIDS control programme was being implemented...

IMPHAL, March 18: Moirang Thoibi, a project play was staged at the Rupmahal Theatre yesterday, the concluding day of the months long project on Moirang Parba held under the theme 'revitalization of traditional performing arts of Manipur'. The project had begun on December 7 last year. Meetings of experts, lectures given by gurus and demonstration by folk performers among others were carried out during the project sponsored by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. Attending on the concluding day as the chief guest, Elangbam Sonamani said Moirang Parba has a deep component of the ancient...

IMPHAL, March 16: Lack of insight, eloquence particularly in English and talent and want of physical elegance are some of the setbacks before the participants from Manipur in beauty contests held outside the state. This was admitted by the new Miss Manipur (Kangleipak Chanu), Rajkumari Mandakini Devi, while speaking to the IFP days after she was crowned Miss Manipur 2001. A second year BE (Computer Science) student in the Govt College of Technology, Imphal, Mandakini, 19, with 34-27-351/2 and 5'7" vital statistics outshone 4 other contestants on March 9 in the final round of the Miss Manipur...

IMPHAL, March 15: Yaoshang, the greatest festival of this border State was formally concluded recently with a series of events. The five-day festival which started from March 9 with the burning of Yao-Shang (Yao-Sheep, Shang-hut) concluded on Tuesday night with traditional fervour. The significance of this five day festival is the observation of birth anniversary of Chaitainya Mahaprabhu, an incarnation of Lord Krishna after the emergence of Hinduism in Manipur. During the festival, people go out for Hali-pala at various places including the Gobindrajee temple while the teenaged boys and girls...

IMPHAL, March 5: Twentyeight lunatics currently lodged in Sajiwa Central Jail, Sajiwa are to be transferred to the Ranchi Institute of Neuro-Psychiatry and Allied Science, Kanke for medical treatment as the facilities for their treatment do not exist in Manipur, the state home department has informed the Manipur Human Rights Commission. The Home Department, in a letter, also informed that a sum of Rs 50,736 has been sanctioned to meet the expenses for the transfer of the mentally ill inmates. On the other hand, according to Commission sources, the deputy secretary, health, has furnished the...

GUWAHATI, March 5: Separatist guerrillas have trained their guns on the Catholic Church in Manipur, threatening to bomb at least two of the prestigious schools run by it in capital Imphal. The reason: failure in paying 'taxes' to the rebels. Manipur director-general of police D.S.Grewal, speaking to TheNewspaperToday on Monday, confirmed that the banned People's Liberation Army has slapped a demand of Rs 5 lakh on all the eight schools in Imphal city run by the Catholic Church. The church authorities have expressed their inability to meet the rebels' demand saying the schools they run are non...