Lamka, Jul 22: An official team comprising of two Cabinet Ministers and three local MLAs today visited the paddy fields inside Sangaikot TD blocks and those located along the Khuga canals to obtain a first-hand account on the drought situation.
The team led by K Govindas, Minister Commerce and Industries, Seri- culture, Veterinary & AH and Dr Ratan Kumar, Minister Works and Transport have instructed the IFC Department to supply water through its canals at any cost. ‘Even if it amounts to risking the canals of breaching, you need to release them,’ one of the ministers told the IFC officials.
The IFC officials on their part told the visiting officials, which also include Henglep MLA T Manga Vaiphei, Thanlon MLA V Valte and Singngat MLA GS Haopu, that they have been releasing water through the canals since mid-June with a nominal increase in its quantity each passing day. It is worth mentioning that the restricted release of water through the canals have left many farmers whose paddy fields are located along canals fuming as they have been unable to cultivate their fields for want of rain or water.
Witnessing the grave situation of most of the fields they have visited today the officials have made an elaborate plan to sanction at least 40 water pumps to help out the farmers as well as provisions for delivering the subsidized fertilizers to the farmers.
Local NGOs including ZEPADA and district council members have also accompanied the visiting team.
Source: The Sangai Express / S Singlianmang Guite
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Ministerial team visits CCpur
Kaimuanthang
CHURACHANDPUR, July 22: A special team of Ministers has inspected Churachandpur District in concurrence with the state cabinet meeting held on July 20 to closely monitor the drought like situation in the state.
The team was led by Govindas Konthoujan, Minister of Sericulture, Vety & Animal Husbandry and Dr Kh Ratan Kumar, Minister of Works/Transport.
The team for today’s inspection include three MLAs, Manga Vaiphei, Vungzagin Valte and GS Haopu.
The ministers were accompanied by District Agriculture officers with engineers and officials of IFCD. The team today started the inspection at 9:30 am and inspected fields starting from Churachandpur proceed towards Sugunu road.
The inspected areas include Lailoiphai village, Sangaikot village, Serou, Valbakot, Khuga canal and lastly inspected Khunga Dam.
Speaking during the inspection, Minister Govindas said that a state cabinet meeting was held on July 20 and formed a task force to inspect the drought like situation in the state.
He further said that the teams have completed the inspection in the four valley districts of the state yesterday, and from today they have started inspecting hill districts. The report of the inspection will be submitted to Chief Minister before 7:30 pm today itself.
He said that during the inspection it was found that 95 percent of fields in Churachandpur District cannot be cultivated due to scarcity of water. The rainfall in Churachandpur District was even than 63 mm leading the farmers to face scarcity of water in the district.
He further continued that the Chief Minister took serious note regarding the matter.
And for immediate action to face the drought like situation, 40 water pump sets will be distributed to the farmers of the district. If necessary diesel will also be provided to run the water pump sets free of cost to the farmers. Fertilizers will also be provided at the subsidized rate of Rs 280 per bag by the agriculture department, he added.
Source: Imphal Free Press
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Pranab is India's 13th President
NEW DELHI, July 22 (Agencies): United Progressive Alliance (UPA) candidate Pranab Mukherjee wins the presidential race by beating NDA-backed PA Sangma by a huge margin as he scored more than 558,000 votes crossing the required half-way mark of 5,25,140 votes.
His rival, former Lok Sabha speaker P.A. Sangma, was way behind with 239,966 votes as counting continued, Mukherjee's polling agent Pravin H. Parikh said. "He has crossed the halfway mark. He is the president-elect," Parikh said.
The win was anticipated as Mukherjee had the backing of the Trinamool Congress, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the DMK, the Forward Bloc and Samajwadi Party but also National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ally Janata Dal-United and Shiv Sena.
"I am very happy. I thank everybody for their love and support. I thank all the people of my country," Mukherjee told a Bengali news channel.
"In the last one month I have covered the entire country. And with the emotions and feelings that I have sensed in the common people revolving round this presidential election, it felt like it was not a presidential election but a general election.
"I am very happy, and I will strive to live up to the expectations and faith that people have bestowed on me," Mukherjee said in his first comments.
Officials opened the ballot boxes in Room 63 of Parliament House with representatives from both candidates present.
The first wooden box that was opened contained the votes of MPs cast in Delhi Thursday when the election took place.
Congress leaders including Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office V. Narayanasamy and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla were in the room.
Mukherjee will be administered the oath of office by the Chief Justice of India on July 25 at the Central Hall of Parliament.
The contest was between UPA candidate Pranab Mukherjee and opposition-supported Purno Sangma, a former Lok Sabha speaker.
The odds were heavily stacked against Sangma the man who has never lost any election from 1977 till 2008. And Sanga's defeat to Mukherjee, would mean that for the first time in 35 years that he would be left without any 'current' designation.
Ever since he threw his hat into the presidential ring, Sangma has been clinging on to the 'conscience vote', 'miracle' and 'hope' rhetoric.
Sangma had indubitably brought in an element of excitement into the 2012 presidential poll which even made former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav fumble during Thursday's poll, rendering his vote invalid'.
Earlier in the day his daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee said the family will celebrate only after he was sworn in. However, celebrations began at Mukherjee's native village Birbhum in West Bengal much before the results were announced. Party leaders have also been visiting his residence with boxes of sweets to be distributed when the results are announced.
The counting of ballots were conducted amidst tight security in Parliament House in the presence of authorised representatives of both Mukherjee and Sangma. The ballot boxes of votes cast in Parliament House were taken up first for counting after which those from the states were opened.
Pranab Mukherjee's win will bring an end the lament of Bengalis of not seeing a local boy occupying the highest constitutional post of the country.
Mukherjee, often referred to as the best Prime Minister India never had, began his political career in 1969 and has served in every Congress cabinet since Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister.
Trinamool Congress (TMC), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), JD (S), CPI-M, YSR Congress and Forward Bloc have also extended their support to Mukherjee along with NDA partners Janata Dal-United and Shiv Sena.
About 95 percent of the 4,896 electorate exercised their franchise to elect India's 13th president at polling centres set up at Parliament House and 30 state and union territories.
The president is elected by an electoral college of MPs and members of state assemblies.
All MPs except those nominated to parliament are eligible to vote. There are 776 MPs; each MP's vote equals 708 votes.
There were 4,120 assembly members eligible to vote. The value of a legislator's vote is variable depending on the population of the state the member represents.
Besides the support of the UPA led by the Congress, Mukherjee enjoyed the backing of the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Janata Dal-Secular.
Constituents of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, Janata Dal-United and Shiv Sena, also extended their support to the former finance minister besides the CPI-M and Forward Bloc.
Sangma, a member of the Meghalaya assembly, is supported by the BJP, Akali Dal, Asom Gana Parishad, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, AIADMK and Biju Janata Dal.
P.A. Sangma, a former Lok Sabha Speaker, jumped into the fray playing the tribal card with the initial support of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).
The BJP and Akali Dal decided to back Sangma, who quit the NCP, the party he founded with Sharad Pawar, to contest the election.
Source: IFP
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Election process partisan : Sangma
NEW DELHI, Jul 22: Opposition Presidential candidate P A Sangma today congratulated Pranab Mukherjee and wished him success but did not rule out moving court on the election, saying the election process was “exceptionally partisan.”
He alleged that non-UPA ruled states were lured with packages and inducements and even given threats.
PA Sangma, who was backed by the BJP and some other parties, said there is a compelling need for formulating an election code of conduct for the Presidential and Vice-Presidential polls, as such a code did not exist. A code will ensure free and fair elections, he said.
“The process in this Presidential election has been exceptionally partisan and political. The public perception is certainly that in identification and projection of its candidate, the UPA did not genuinely build consensus and that it persuaded political parties commanding major sections of the Presidential electoral college by economic and other packages...as well as inducements, threats and promises,” Sangma told reporters in New Delhi.
He alleged that the spirit of secrecy of ballot was “thrown to the wind”.“For election to the Lok Sabha and Assembly, there is a code of conduct for free and fair elections. Such a code of conduct does not exist for Presidential and Vice-Presidential elect-ions...Rs. 57,000 crore were given to UP, Rs 27,000 crore to Bihar and so many other things have happened,” Sangma said.
Not ruling out moving the Supreme Court on the election, he said, “We are meeting a day after tomorrow to review the whole situation where this matter will come up for discussion.”
Source: TSE
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