Arunachal’s ‘invisible men’ and why nature activists are opposing an IAF bombing exercise

Snippets from the vibrant Northeast that capture politics, culture, society and more in the eight states.

Mountains of Arunachal Pradesh | Representative image | Wikimedia Commons

New Delhi: Many in Arunachal Pradesh have opposed the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) proposal to carry out live bombing exercises in the high-altitude Lal Ane mountain range of the state.

A group of nature lovers have expressed strong resentment over the proposal, which they say will prove disastrous to the rich biodiversity of the range.

The group is led by research scholar Rohan Maity of the Botanical Survey of India; Gollo Tadik, chairman of the Lal Ane Community Reserve Area (LACRA) committee; and Gollo Nagu, managing director of an organisation named Clean & Green Sagalee.

Tadik argued that Lal Ane is a wildlife and biodiversity area notified on 17 March 2012 by the state’s principal secretary of environment and forest.

“Neither the IAF had obtained consent from the local public for the proposed bombing exercises nor any official notice or circular was issued by the local administration,” he was quoted as saying by The Sentinel.

The mountain range is considered sacred by the state’s Nyishi community who believe it to be the home to ‘invisible men’, called Mig-Mirre by residents.

Situated 3,776 metre above the sea level, Lal Ane is the highest mountain peak of the state’s Papum Pare district. It serves as the catchment area of rivers flowing into several districts of Papum Pare, East Kameng, Pakke Kesang, Kurung Kumey and Kra Daadi.

Lal Ane is also a repository of rich flora, including different species of rhododendron, and wildlife such as the capped langur, Himalayan black bear, white eagles, etc.

Assam forest ranger helps smugglers turn into eco-warriors

Sanjib Bordoloi, a range officer in Assam’s Dharamtul Western forest range, has helped transform small-time timber smugglers and poachers into conservationists by creating awareness drives on afforestation.

Bordoloi and his team started visiting villages in and around the reserved forest to educate people about the importance of trees in their lives. He slowly also began roping in locals for conservation projects.

“My aim was to make them understand that preserving the forests was for their own good. Earlier, they would poach wild deer and often smuggled timber. After roping them in for our conservation projects, instead of killing deer for venison or smuggling timber out of the forest, they on the contrary, report it to us,” Bordoloi reportedly said.

He also often engages surrendered smugglers and poachers as daily wagers during plantation drives and other forest work.

Anti-drug squad that’s helping reformed addicts get jobs

An anti-drug squad (ADS) in Arunachal Pradesh’s Roing has been using counselling and community-based approaches to help reformed drug addicts become self-reliant.

The Roing ADS’s rehabilitation unit, which was formed in October 2019, reaches out to the families of addicts, involves healthcare professionals and anti-addiction experts to keep drug abuse victims off the habit.

Local organisations and traditional village bodies are also tapped to create an intelligence network for information about drug-peddlers in the area.

Many of the reformed addicts have been employed as counsellors at the ADS’ rehabilitation centre, besides being appointed in a public sector undertaking.

Sanjay Kumar Sain, superintendent of police, Lower Dibang Valley, has been quoted by The Hindu as saying, “The main challenge is to motivate the addicts to get rid of the habit, to ensure constant supervision of the boys so that they will not relapse and above all, create awareness amidst their families and society that the boys are not the problem, their drug habit is.”

27 unexploded World War II bombs found in Manipur town

An excavator dug up as many as 27 unexploded World War II bombs during construction work for a house in Manipur’s border town of Moreh.

Around 43 empty cases of bombs and 15 empty boxes were also unearthed when the excavator was levelling the plot of land at Lhangnom Veng in Moreh. The land belongs to 35-year-old Kampu Doungel.

The discovery was made Thursday, a day after six unexploded bombs, also from WW-II, were found at a house construction site near the Indian Army War Cemetery in Imphal.

Experts have been quoted as saying that these bombs, on exploding, can cause an impact up to a 50-metre radius.

Meghalaya Police ‘blunt’ message a Twitter winner

Meghalaya Police’s tweet on a marijuana consignment that was confiscated has been praised by social media users for its interesting spin on words and humour.

“Weed like to inform the general public that, of all the Essential items permitted in the times of #Corona, Marijuana ain’t one of them. Sorry for our bluntness, but that’s just how we roll! Kudos to Ribhoi Police for intercepting a Truck carrying 500 KGs of Marijuana,” read the tweet.

Weed like to inform the general public that, of all the Essential items permitted in the times of #Corona, Marijuana ain't one of them.

Sorry for our bluntness, but that's just how we roll! ?

Kudos to @RibhoiPolice for intercepting a Truck carrying 500 KGs of Marijuana. pic.twitter.com/bhgfvZO4S1

— Meghalaya Police (@MeghalayaPolice) July 17, 2020

Nazarius Lamare, superintendent of police, Ri Bhoi, reportedly said, “Acting on a tip-off, we intercepted the vehicle that was reportedly flagged off from Silchar at Byrnihat around midnight. As per our report, 456 kilos of smuggled marijuana have been recovered. The case has been registered and we are conducting further investigations.”