New Delhi: Kekhriesilie Rio, a 20-year-old from Nagaland, has been ranked second in the world (category A) in equestrian show jumping. The rankings were released by the Federation Equestrian International (FEI) earlier this month.
Kekhriesilie is the first equestrian from the Northeast to represent India at the international level. He is also the first Indian to achieve this rank. Hailing from Touphema village, Kekhriesilie was ranked second from among 47 equestrians from across the world.
Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio took to Twitter to congratulate Kekhriesilie on his success.
Kekhriesilie was introduced to the sport at the age of eight and had won his first major victory in show jumping at a junior national event in Kolkata in 2018. Last year, he won the FEI World Jumping Challenge (South Zone) in category A. In an interview earlier, Kekhriesilie said he aims to compete at the 2022 Asian Games and represent India at the Olympics.
Plastic-shredding unit helps turn economy around in militancy-hit Arunachal district
A plastic-shredding unit set up by a doctor-turned-IAS officer in Arunachal Pradesh’s Changlang district has helped turn its economy around.
Changlang has been troubled for several years due to insurgency-related incidents.
District Magistrate Devansh Yadav had in 2019 set up the unit at Kumung Pathar panchayat in the district. So far, Rs 2.75 lakh has been generated from the sale of over 10 metric tonne of shredded plastic.
“Plastic waste is used in road construction. I thought since so much road construction work going on in and around Arunachal, why not use non-recyclable plastic. Within a year or so, we set up the plastic-waste processing unit,” Yadav has been quoted as saying.
The unit was set up with funds received from the Oil India Ltd. The plastic waste is transported to the unit from urban areas of neighbouring districts such as Lohit, Namsai and Tirap, besides Changlang.
Sikkim mountaineer Shanti Rai scales Mt Ama Dablam in Nepal
Shanti Rai, a mountaineer from Sikkim, successfully scaled Mount Ama Dablam (6,812 meters) in eastern Nepal on 9 January. Rai is the lone mountaineer representing the country for the expedition.
Only five countries had taken part in the expedition — Mexico, Oman, Turkey, India and Egypt — that began on 25 December.
Rai works as an instructor at the Indian Himalayan Centre for Adventure and Ecotourism in south Sikkim, under the Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation.
Short film from Nagaland lone Indian movie to premiere at prestigious French festival
A short film called Angh, written and directed by Theja Rio from Nagaland, is the only Indian movie set to premiere at the prestigious Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France.
Clermont-Ferrand is considered the biggest international film festival dedicated to short films. It is scheduled to be held from 29 January to 6 February this year.
Set in Nagaland in 1963, Angh follows the journey of a father and his son who were the last persons in their village to convert to Christianity. Shot with a Kodak Super 16mm, the film also has a cast of ‘non-actors’.
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