Editorial

55 deaths and over eight thousand infected Below par recovery rate

The number of infected is climbing and so is the death toll. With Unlock 4.0 on and restrictions lifted on the movement of people, one may expect the number of positive cases to continue to climb and correspondingly..

Shadow of Greater Lim or Nagalim Flag and Constitution ?

Greater Lim or Nagalim. This was/is one of the major demands of the NSCN (IM), under Thuingaleng Muivah. Not hard to understand why such a demand was raised and why Manipur burned for days after the words ‘without territorial limits’..

Disturbing daily spike and total figure Responsibility of all

The daily spike is disturbing and correspondingly so is the total figure. Daily three figure increase, with the single highest surge recorded on September 15 with 293 cases and given the current trend it wouldn’t be long before Manipur ..

Call for only BJP Govt ahead of by polls BJP versus Cong versus NPP

BJP versus Congress. This is the main draw that will attract the attention of the people when by polls are held to the vacant Assembly seats. What however will add that extra dash of taste to the by election is the question of how the BJP squares off..

Nothing to gloat over occupying second slot Daily spike of 90 thousand plus

Second in the world and still going strong  and there is nothing to gloat over this. On the contrary there is every reason to worry over this position and the strong surge. With over 90 thousand cases recorded every 24 hours in the past few days, Ind..

Final pact sans the NSCN (IM)? Uneasy peace

Tough posture from both sides. Flag, Constitution and now renewing the demand for Naga integration or rather bringing all Naga inhabited areas under one administrative unit. This is the NSCN (IM). On the other hand is the vocal..

Need to go in for more after RAT False negatives

The directive of the Union Health Ministry to all States and Union Territories to compulsorily test all symptomatic negative cases of Rapid Antigen Tests through Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR..

21 years of reaching out to the readers From 1999 to 2020

Twenty one years back, that is on September 10, 1999, no one would have thought that The Sangai Express would be braving all odds to make sure that not a single day is missed due to a global pandemic that has got a stranglehold..

Noting post Covid complications Getting more worrisome

This is getting more worrisome. Just a day after a health official informed The Sangai Express that the virus which causes COVID-19 is mutating and has grown ‘stronger’, Medical Superintendent of RIMS, Professor Ch Arunkumar ..

How will voters in the 13 vacant ACs vote ? Countdown to by polls

The interesting question is how voters in the 13 vacant seats of the State Assembly will vote when by elections are held. A certain sense of urgency has been given to the by elections as the Election Commission of India has already..

Targeting young girls : Minds of retards Now get them !

Manipur certainly does not need this at this point of time when everyone, repeat everyone, is reeling under the COVID-19 pandemic and it will need more than tough talks from the Chief Minister to set things straight. Straight as in getting the culprits ar..

Leaving many unanswered questions Increasing local transmission

The death toll is now 38. The number of infected or positive cases, as on September 5 is 6883. These are the statistics, the number of deaths and the number of infection, but what is worrying is the growing number of those with no travel ..

Climbing number of cases, deaths Time to think out of the box

The State Government will need to think out of the box. Despite the restrictions, the lockdowns and the SOPs the number of positive cases continue to grow and the five deaths on a single day should be a grim reminder that this..

How will the Naga CSOs respond ? Challenges before final pact

It is getting more and more interesting and what was once thought unthinkable seems to be staring everyone in the face today. This of course does not mean the last word has been said. Just a few days after the Government ..

Need to follow the basics of new normal Unlock 4 stage on

Unlock 4 is on, but get the bare facts straight. The virus is nowhere near being neutralised, and hence Unlock 4 should be seen as a design to help reactivate economic activities. The line, “move out only when absolutely necessary,” ..

Party-hoppers’ gift: By-poll amid COVID crisis

For long, party-hopping and political horse trading has been one ubiquitous character of electoral politics in Manipur. This disgusting culture is so entrenched in the electoral politics of the State that the Anti-Defection Law ..

NSCN-IM: From spotlight to marginalised bystander?

If the media reports are true, it is indeed a dramatic twist to the protracted dialogue going on between Government of India, NSCN-IM and seven other Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs) based in Nagaland. Of late, there have been several media reports ..

Greater autonomy On the path to exclusivity

It has been quite some time since the demand for a separate autonomous territorial council for the Kuki and Zo communities of Manipur is articulated through different platforms and media...

What is it the common folks want? September deadline

September deadline. It could be the first week, second week, third week or the last week of September to sign a final deal, now popularised as the Naga Accord, and the interesting point is whether the deadline has been ‘selectively leaked’..

Learn lessons from the past Horribly wrong !

Good to see that the Manipur Public Service Commission has spoken out and encouraging to note that it has taken cognizance of ‘the misunderstanding’ that the scrapped MCSCC (Main) examination of 2016 is embroiled in...

From politics of guns to peace talk From 1997 to 2020

From the politics of guns and bush war to the politics of peace and surely no one will know this better than the top leadership of the NSCN (IM). Qualify that peace with the word talk and while the guns have gone silent ever since ..

Fresh MCSCCE 2016: Old wine in new bottle?

It is a terrible mess. Thanks to the infamous Manipur Public Service Commission (MPSC), the mains examination of the Manipur Civil Services Combined Competitive Exam (MCSCCE) 2016 is going to be re-conducted after a gap of four long years. Following a lon..

Community transmission calls for new strategy

There is no denying that something went seriously wrong or there were disastrous lapses in the way the State of Manipur tackles the COVID-19 pandemic. Whereas the whole country has been slowly unlocking or opening up after months of lockdown, Manipur has ..

Increasing number of positives The 3 commandments

The number of positives is climbing and so is the number of deaths. Till late into the evening of August 20, the number of positive cases stood at 4996, just four short of reaching the milestone of 5000 and even as this commentary is being penned down the..

Crossing the Congress-BJP divide Any principle behind the switch ?

At least give it to them. They first resigned from the Congress, quit the Assembly and then joined the BJP. This is about it. Nothing more but then could it have anything to do with a long vision on their political career ? This question is important for ..

Interesting trip to Delhi with CM Knocking at doors of BJP

It is the company that has made the trip to New Delhi more and more interesting. Perhaps this is the first time in recent memory that the Chief Minister of Manipur has deemed it necessary to take six former MLAs, all who have resigned from the Congress as..

4687 cases : Reflecting 3 digit spikes Green zone on May 2 to now

Three digit increase in 24 hours for the past many days and perhaps this is reflected in the total tally of 4687 positive cases that Manipur has seen so far. Not a big number if one goes by what is happening in other parts of the country, but calculate th..

War on Drugs : Understand the slogan Questions that need answers

Heartening that the Chief Minister’s Police Medal for Gallantry has been withdrawn, but there are still many questions that need answers. How did the name of the police official make it to the list of names who were to be awarded on Independence Day..

Understanding call of lockdown Increasing number of cases

Lockdown extended till August 31. Not surprising, for this is in line with the increasing number of positive cases and 16 COVID-19 related deaths in the past few days. Hard to say when the curve will be flattened..

More than a panic reaction Plight of healthcare workers

More than a panic reaction Plight of healthcare workers..

The novelty of the term new Serious charge from NSCN (IM)

Something novel about the word or term new here and the inclusion or rather exclusion of this word has obviously taken the strained ties between the NSCN (IM) and Interlocutor to the peace talks and Governor of Nagaland RN Ravi to a new low. The allegatio..

Community transmission ? How will Imphal respond ?

Not yet clear how the State Government would respond, but it is significant and worrying at the same time that the State Technical Expert Committee on COVID-19 has deemed it fit to propose to the Governmen..

Congress scripting its own demise Crumbling under its own weight

A strong Opposition this is what the people want but with the Congress beginning to crumble under the weight of it own Judases, it is obvious that it will not have the numerical strength to keep the BJP led Government on its toes...

From cluster transmission to local transmission

Indeed the figures do tell a very sordid and sorry state of affairs as far as the COVID-19 situation goes in the State of Manipur. A total of 3853 positive cases (as on August 10) which is inclusive of 886 cases of local transmission give a succinct pictu..

Final settlement Time to take all into confidence

A final settlement to the Naga issue is long overdue. The political dialogue, also given the sobriquet peace process, has already traversed a long and anxious journey. The latest media reports suggest that New Delhi is keen to ink a final ..

Death in childbirth in the 21st century ! The tragedy of it all

The sense of foreboding has turned out to be tragically true. Barely 24 hours after nine major student organisations of Manipur, AMSU, ATSUM, ANSAM, KSO Ghq, MSF, DESAM, KSA, SUK and AIMS issued a statement..

Wanted : Total figure of local transmission Set right priority

Local transmission is real. It is not something unthinkable here now. This is what is worrying the people the most. What is also worrying is the failure of the department concerned to give an updated figure of how many have been ..

Art of running a coalition Govt Peeved NPF hitting out

The art of running a coalition Government and perhaps no one will understand the need to fine tune this art to ensure that nothing rocks the coalition boat. As the captain of the coalition Government, Chief Minister N Biren ..

Focus on the local transmission Time to act sensibly

The Government should change focus. The people too need to come to the realisation that today they are no longer facing an ‘alien’ virus which piggy rode on the thousands of returnees who came back recently from different parts of the country...

Making it to the list of probables Stand on ST demand

It is interesting. First time MP but already included amongst three personalities who may make their way into the Council of Ministers in the next expansion of the Narendra Modi Government and certainly titular King of Manipur, Leishemba Sanajaoba has com..

Rise from July 1 to August 1 Rapid spread in 30 days

From 1260 positive cases on July 1 to 2756 such cases on August 1 and clearly the rate of infection has been steeply climbing, especially when viewed against the fact that on April 14, Manipur had just two cases. ..

More deaths, more concern More awareness needed

Not a case of the virus getting more lethal but the fact that five people have died due COVID-19, all in a span of less than 72 hours, should perhaps tell the Government that it needs to think out of the box. ..

Recording death tally at four Dealing with the bodies

In just 24 hours the death tally has climbed from one to four and death due to COVID-19 is something which the Government should have ideally anticipated. The question is, has the Government managed to work out the finer ..

Manipur on the map of COVID death Disturbingly real now !

Not at all unexpected, but then again when it did come, it managed to send Manipur into a pall of gloom and a sort of a panic. After the first COVID-19 positive case was detected back on March 24, making her the first in the North East ..

Making sense of lockdown People central to it all

The Government is serious and perhaps this is best demonstrated in the manner in which the current phase of lockdown has been enforced, especially in Imphal. Just how serious is the Government about effectively enforcing..

Seeking to set house in order Show cause notice

Seeking to set its house in order and this is something expected from the oldest political party, especially after the drubbing it received at the hands of the BJP and its allies in the recently held election to the lone Rajya Sabha seat. Politics can cer..

Understanding total figure of 2212 Two digit increase

The total now stands at 2212 (as on July 25), with 1520 persons having recovered leaving 692 active cases putting the recovery rate at a somewhat healthy 68.71 percent. The figures apart, what is worrying is the spread of the virus..

Central observers here after trip to Delhi : From July 14 to July 24

It is getting interesting, yet at the same time one wonders whether this is the right time or not. Must have been brewing for some time and from the barely a whisper here and there today one sees this hush-hush move blooming ..

Lockdown and opening doors to outsiders : The twain shall not meet

The Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS) and the Indigenous People’s Association of Kangleipak (IPAK) have a point. The Government do need to seriously try and understand the point they have delivered...

Nonsensical rush for fuel : The mentality sucks

The mentality sucks. It makes no sense but the people exhibiting this mentality are perfect ladies and gentlemen-the well heeled men and women who would rather be caught dead than to let anyone see them wear shoes that do not match their socks!..

Needed : Responsible conduct From Jiribam to Thoubal

Jiribam and now Thoubal. The unfolding situation is indeed disturbing. This is not to press the alarm button, but a clear message that no one can afford to let their guards down. After a Pradhan, a Member of the Gram Panchayat..

Raising community spread concern Rising cases of infection

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Union Health Ministry have a different take on the matter but to the Indian Medical Association (IMA), community spread is here in India. To stress this, it has pointed to the huge spike in the number ..

Best result in last three years Hats off to all students

At 86 pass percentage this year’s Class XII examination conducted by the Council of Higher Secondary Education, Manipur is the best in the last three years. Not bad going at all and the splendid performance of the students should be acknowledged. It..

Setting off tongues wagging : Posers over Delhi trip

Certain things just do not add up. Just two days after majority of the BJP MLAs decided to stay away from a meeting convened by the State BJP president on the ground that holding the meeting at the official residence of the Chief..

The Jiribam and Thoubal experience : Publicity drive needed

Lockdown, restricting movement of people, closing markets, closing restaurants and hotels, schools and colleges yet to open, online examinations etc. All measures to stop the virus that causes COVID-19 from spreading further..

A co-incidence or something more? Interesting developments

It may not be anything much more than a co-incidence, but the timing is spectacular and to be sure there could be many who would have put two and two together and come out with a number of speculations. ..

Batting for revival of Kamjong AC ; Clever approach to delimitation

Young, relatively a greenhorn in the hurly burly world of politics, especially in the type of politics that one sees in Manipur-but spoke like a seasoned politician, taking extra care not to rub anyone the wrong way but in the process ..

Understanding containment zone Indiscipline writ large

The situation at Jiribam is not a joke. It is serious. A hotspot it is now. Everything points to cluster transmission but is the matter given the seriousness it deserves ? A pertinent question that may be raised in the backdrop of the fact that despite th..

Twists and turns in resignation drama : Distasteful volte face

Are the three BJP MLAs who earlier claimed that they have resigned from the party as well as the Assembly still MLAs or are there some technicalities that were not allegedly followed while accepting their resignation papers ?..

Wanted : Cooking Gas, Not Laughing Gas, Tweaking home delivery

Five years back, The Sangai Express launched a campaign against the discrepancies in the distribution of filled LPG cylinders to the consumers, wherein some had received even 20 refills against the then mandated 12 refills in a year..

Time to strengthen party at grassroot level : Better prepare for 2022

It was overt, it was loud and it seemed like a script prepared for the big screen to draw in the crowd, with those raising the voice of dissent pulling up their sleeves to deliver the knock out punch. Not exactly a script drawn from one ..

All eyes now on Thangmeiband, Jiribam. COVID-19 everywhere

Thangmeiband, Lilong, Churachandpur, Ukhrul, Jiribam and again Thangmeiband. Not exactly a case of the virus coming back to the starting point, but more a case of how COVID-19 has been running up and down the corridors..

Understanding spirit of a coalition ; The missing link

Lacking the spirit of a coalition Government. This much is clear. What is not at all clear is what transpired in the meetings between the four NPP MLAs of Manipur and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, NEDA convenor Himanta ..

Crucial days between collection and result Disturbing trend

Disturbing trend. The numbers continue to rise and it will climb in the coming days. As on July 5, the total number of positive cases stood at 1366 and perhaps the only point of comfort to date is the information that the number of recovery cases have sur..

Complete lockdown in Jiribam amid Unlock 2.0

No doubt, something went haywire in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic at Jiribam. Whereas the whole country has been slowly unlocking or opening up after months of lockdown, the entire Jiribam district has been constrained..

Save Nambul River mission : Cry of a dying river

Let the rivers flow freely. This was the unstated, untommed but core message in the ‘Save Nambul’ one day campaign jointly organised by the media fraternity of the State under the aegis of the All Manipur Working Journalists’ Union..

Compulsion behind 5 days ultimatum ; Fate of small time businesses

It is the compulsion behind the 5 days ultimatum that should be understood. The question is whether any steps have been taken up to study, understand and emphatise with the condition of the women vegetable vendors and others..

Design behind ‘abnormal’ growth ? Looking 20 years ahead

If at all there was a design, which seems highly likely, then one has to acknowledge the far sightedness of the brain that sketched the design. Else it is difficult to even entertain the idea that the population of some region would see a..

48 hours later and not yet a word : The Nawa Loude attitude

It is the damn care attitude that is unacceptable. Borders more on criminal negligence. Even 48 hours after reports came in that samples of 25 inmates of a quarantine centre at Ukhrul which were first declared negative were found..

Morphing from negative to positive Fight the virus not the infected

It was an error, no doubt, and a gross blunder. More disturbing is the point that even after 24 hours of the gross oversight coming to light, it is still not yet clear where and how the mistake crept in. How did the results of 25 returnees first came as n..