New Delhi: Amur falcons, locally known as ‘Akhoipuina’ have arrived in Manipur’s Tamenglong district from their summer breeding grounds in southeast Russia and northeast China.
These raptors visit parts of Manipur and Nagaland in October every year, before migrating to their wintering grounds in South Africa by the end of November. They undertake a yearly journey of around 20,000 km.
The birds, which have been spotted by residents in the past week, are traditionally believed to be the ‘messengers of God’ and harbingers of a good harvest. Feeding on insects primarily, these falcons also help keep the paddy fields free from harmful pests.
The district administration of Tamenglong has been especially waiting for five Amur falcons that were tagged with the GPS last year. These included ‘Irang’ and ‘Chiulon’, two falcons that had reached China on 7 October, according to researchers at the Wildlife Institute of India.
Dr Chambo Gonmei, wildlife warden of Tamenglong and also the chief medical officer at the district hospital, has said, “Tamenglong is the home of ‘Akhoipuina’. Let us give them a warm welcome. Let them roost, let them dance and hover in the sky and protect our paddy fields and crops for a good harvest…”
Reports about rampant hunting of the birds, sometime in 2012, had led to a number of conservation projects in the region. Along with restrictions on hunting, the Tamenglong administration has also banned the use of air-guns during the falcons’ visit.
When Riyan Parag’s Bihu jig added Assamese flavour to IPL
Riyan Parag, an 18-year-old cricketer from Assam, broke into a Bihu dance after a crucial and match-saving innings that propelled his team Rajasthan Royals to victory in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match, earlier this week.
Parag and fellow batsman Rahul Tewatia sustained an important 85-run partnership Sunday night against Sunrisers Hyderabad. While Tewatia hit 45 runs from 28 balls, Parag made 42 runs off 26 balls. Their partnership is also the second-highest sixth wicket partnership in the history of the IPL.
Parag had also hit the second last ball of the match for a winning six, and soon after he was captured breaking into Bihu dance in celebration.
#Assam lad Riyan Parag caps off his match-winning performance with an on-field Bihu dance#Swag #SRHvRR #ipl2020
— Anupam Bordoloi (@asomputra) October 11, 2020
The young player has been quoted as saying, “I love these situations. Whenever the team needs me, I put my hand up and rise to the occasion. That’s the Bihu dance, the traditional dance of Assam. Some of the Assamese boys were up there as well, had a bit of fun after the game.”
Nagaland YouTubers trying to rid Dimapur of ‘dirtiest city’ tag
Three YouTubers from Nagaland — Tiapong Tzudir, Swuyeka Chishi and Lanulemba Jamir — have started a campaign to clean the city of Dimapur after it was listed among the top 10 dirtiest cities of the country in the Swachh Survekshan 2020 survey. The results of the survey were released in August.
Under the campaign called ‘My home, my responsibility’, which has been undertaken in collaboration with the Dimapur Municipal Council (DMC), the three men have been cleaning and painting murals at public places in the city.
Tzudir has been quoted as saying, “We started with three projects and the latest and third one was cleaning and painting the foot-over-bridge near Holy Cross junction.”
Their third project was completed in a week’s time with around 15 volunteers who participated to complete the mural. “There was a need for citizens to come together and do something about cleaning the town. We shouldn’t just depend on the DMC or administration,” Tzudir added.
Arunachal MLA crosses river in JCB bucket, photo goes viral
Jikke Tako, a Janata Dal (United) MLA from Arunachal Pradesh’s Tali assembly constituency, was seen crossing the Kumey river in the bucket of a JCB ‘earth-mover’ along with four others and a photograph of the incident has now gone viral.
According to reports, the photo was taken when Tako was inspecting a road in his constituency.
He has been quoted as saying, “I inspected the under-construction bridge over Kumey river and hope it is completed soon for traffic movement and connectivity to the Tali circle.”
A first-time MLA from Tali, Tako also said, “To cross the Kumey river…only option was…with the help of JCB which I did. I am a youth and son of the soil…happily used the JCB for crossing the river.”
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