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Meal for Rs 1 on Assam highway — how a dhaba owner’s doing his bit in fight against Covid

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

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New Delhi: A dhaba owner in Assam’s Hojai district has decided to do his bit to help in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic.

Debu Saha of Hojai’s Shankarnagar has been offering vegetarian meals for Rs 1 to truck drivers, healthcare workers and police personnel.

“At a normal rate, a meal comprising rice, dal and two vegetable curries would cost Rs 50. Charging a token Rs 1 from truckers, doctors and medical staff, policemen and the staff of the local administration is my way of contributing to the battle against this virus,” Saha has been quoted as saying.

Not surprisingly, Saha’s Rs 1 meal offer has drawn much praise on social media.

Nagaland first state to impose Covid-19 cess

Nagaland became the first state to impose a Covid-19 cess on petrol and diesel sales this week.

With no novel coronavirus case yet, the state has levied a Covid-19 cess of Rs 5 per litre on diesel and Rs 6 per litre on petrol and other motor spirits.

The Nagaland government’s decision has, however, been criticised by both opposition parties and the state’s trade bodies. While the Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee president, K. Therie, said the imposition is nothing but “salt to an injury”, the Dimapur Chamber of Commerce and Industry has termed it “anti-people”.

The Naga People’s Front, likewise, said the new cess was an “extraordinary burden” on people amid the coronavirus pandemic.

While Nagaland has imposed a Covid-19 cess, neighbouring Assam had already increased taxes on petrol and diesel by Rs 6 and Rs 5 respectively. Meghalaya too is charging sales tax surcharge on motor spirits at 2 per cent.


Also read: They all spoke in Hindi’: When Mizoram CM hit translation hurdle at meeting with PM Modi


Manipur’s black, aromatic rice gets GI tag

Chak-Hao, a glutinous and aromatic rice variety from Manipur, has been given the Geographical Indication (GI) tag. Popularly known as black rice because of its colour, Chak-Hao has been cultivated in Manipur for centuries.

The GI tag came after a year-long battle with other states for registration. The application was filed by the Consortium of Producers of Chak-Hao, Manipur and facilitated by the state’s agriculture department along with the North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Limited.

Normally eaten as kheer during community feasts, Chak-Hao is also used in traditional medicines. The rice takes about 40-45 minutes to cook due to the presence of a fibrous bran layer and higher crude fibre content.

Meghalaya village shows way to ending Covid-19 stigma

While numerous reports have surfaced about stigmatising of Covid-19 patients, a small village in Meghalaya is setting an example of camaraderie and support towards its quarantined residents.

A young woman in Mawtharia village, which has 70 households, contracted the novel coronavirus while working as a domestic help in the house of Dr John Sailo Ryntathiang, the owner of Shillong’s Bethany Hospital who died of Covid-19 this month.

While the woman was sent to a Covid-19 facility in Shillong, 35 people from Mawtharia’s 18 households, including her family members, were asked to home quarantine.

Without wasting time, the villagers formed a Covid-19 committee to strictly implement the quarantine measures, taking it upon themselves to provide food, water and other essentials to those under confinement.

The committee also made sure those quarantined did not “feel stigmatised,” said village headman B. Suting.

New frog species in Nagaland, Manipur get tribal names

Three new species of horned frogs — two in Nagaland and one in Manipur — have been discovered by a team of Irish and Indian biologists from the University College Dublin (Ireland), the Natural History Museum (UK), and University of Delhi.

One of the members of this research team also includes a Naga herpetologist Dr Rachunliu G Kamei.

Two of the new frog species have been named using words adapted from local tribal languages.

One of them is called Megophrys awuh (Naga Hills Horned Frog), where ‘awah’ means frog in the Pochury language used by a native tribe from Nagaland’s Melluri district.

Another is named Megophrys numhbumaeng (Tamenglong Horned Frog), where ‘nwmbwmaeng’ means ‘forest spirit’ in the Rongmei (or Ruangmei) language used by a tribe from Tamenglong district in Manipur.

The third species, called Megophrys dzukou ( Dzukou Valley Horned Frog), was named after the only place, Dzukou Valley, that this potentially endangered new species is found.


Also read: Assam cancels annual Kamakhya temple fair, largest Hindu event in NE — a first in centuries


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