scorecardresearch
Friday, March 29, 2024
Support Our Journalism
HomeNEyeNew Mexico now has a 'Dr Jonathan Iralu Day', in name of...

New Mexico now has a ‘Dr Jonathan Iralu Day’, in name of Naga-origin doctor on Covid frontline

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

Follow Us :
Text Size:

New Delhi: Dr Jonathan Vilasier Iralu, a Naga-origin doctor, was recently honoured by the US state of New Mexico for his services during the pandemic.

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham declared 19 July as ‘Dr Jonathan Iralu Day’ throughout the state in honour of the physician who took several measures to protect residents of the state from the virus such as establishing a drive-in Covid testing centre weeks before the first confirmed case was reported in the state.

Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio also tweeted a congratulatory message for Iralu last week.

A Harvard graduate, Dr Iralu traces his origins to Nagaland’s Khonoma village.

“My father was a parasitologist, my mother a microbiologist… and my grandfather was one of the first doctors (a general practitioner) in Nagaland trained in Dibrugarh under the British in the 1920s. He was a passionate man who was very good to his patients, and that is what has inspired me,” he told The Indian Express.


Also read: ‘Apply what you can eat’ — Manipur woman uses grandma’s recipe to build her skincare brand


5 all-women vaccination teams trek for hours to reach remote Meghalaya villages 

Five all-women vaccination teams in Meghalaya undertook a journey through steep hills, valleys and dense forests, carrying heavy backpacks, to reach the remote villages of Kulang, Amarsang, Thadteja and Pormawdar.

All four hamlets had been cut off due to bad weather and the previous two attempts to reach these villages were unsuccessful. They fall under the Ranikor Community Health Centre in Meghalaya’s South West Khasi Hills district.

The five teams set out for their destinations around 5.30 am on 14 July and were able to return to the health centre only by 1.30 am the next day.

“We even joked amongst ourselves as to who received the highest number of leech stings as we encountered many leeches and snakes as well on our journey. Despite all this, our teams managed to vaccinate a total of 147 beneficiaries in all these villages,” read a report by the Medical Officer In-Charge Dr Patmos Warjri of Ranikor CHC.

Vaccination drives to remote spots in the state have been difficult due to bad roads, increase in humidity during monsoon and no network connectivity.

Twitter-powered donation drive in Nagaland helps children continue studies

A donation drive for textbooks, initiated by Dr Imlikokla Longkumer from Nagaland, has helped around 300 underprivileged students around the India-Myanmar border to continue with their studies.

Called the ‘NBSE Textbooks Donation Drive’, Longkumer had tweeted about the initiative sometime around April-May and it soon garnered support from people across the state.

As part of the drive, she has not only received books but also clothes, shoes and school bags.

“I thought about it and just tweeted it, and it gained so much attention. I want to extend my gratitude to my Twitter friends who commented and shared. Most of them are complete strangers to me but their support is so tremendous,” Longkumer told The Morung Express.

With the Nagaland state board results being declared recently, she hopes that students will donate their books to be reused by others in need. “The most important thing is saving your books. Save them for someone else,” she added.

Sikkim houses 27% of all flowering plants in India

Sikkim is home to 27 per cent of all flowering plants in the country, according to a new publication by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI).

Titled ‘Flora of Sikkim – A Pictorial Guide’, the publication was released earlier this week and notes that the tiny Himalayan state has 4,912 naturally-occurring flowering plants.

“The total number of naturally occurring flowering plants in the country is about 18,004 species, and with 4,912 species, the diversity of flowering plants in Sikkim, spread over an area of 7,096 sq km is very unique,” Rajib Gogoi, lead author, has been quoted as saying by The Hindu.

The researchers also said 532 species of wild orchids, 36 species of rhododendron, 20 species of oak and over 30 species of medicinal plants are found in the state.


Also read: Rare, non-venomous snake species discovered in Mizoram, named after ‘powerful’ warrior


 

Subscribe to our channels on YouTube, Telegram & WhatsApp

Support Our Journalism

India needs fair, non-hyphenated and questioning journalism, packed with on-ground reporting. ThePrint – with exceptional reporters, columnists and editors – is doing just that.

Sustaining this needs support from wonderful readers like you.

Whether you live in India or overseas, you can take a paid subscription by clicking here.

Support Our Journalism

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Most Popular