Small hamlet in Manipur’s Ukhrul gets a government school after 48 years

New Delhi: Residents of Varangalai, a small hamlet in Manipur’s Ukhrul district, saw their long cherished dream of having a school turn into reality, earlier this week. The hamlet, with just about 36 houses, is within the jurisdiction of the village Phungcham and is situated about 32 km north of the Ukhrul district headquarters.

Ningkhan Pheirei, local chairman of Varangalai, told the Ukhrul Times that the village was set up on 29 September 1972 but since then there has been little development there. “Due to absence of school, we have been sending our children to Ukhrul town and this has been affecting our economy greatly for more than 40 years,” he said.

The government school building was inaugurated Sunday by Chingai MLA Khashim Vashum in the presence of Executive Member, Autonomous District Council (ADC) of Ukhrul, Paothing Vashum; ADC members Lawrence Tuizar and Ngaranchui R Shimray; CEO, ADC of Ukhrul, Polly Makan and SDO Chingai Nimmi Khamrang; along with a host of other officers and staffers from the education department.

Mizo girl overcomes dyslexia to represent state in Miss India pageant

Lalmuansangi Varte was only five years old when she was diagnosed with a heart disease that led to dyslexia — a learning disability. Now, in 2020, Varte is all set to represent Mizoram in the VLCC Femina Miss India beauty pageant.

Varte, who is 5.6 feet tall, was chosen among 31 state winners for the beauty pageant. She ousted Celina Chakma in an online interview Sunday. The results were declared by the Miss India Organisation the same day. She was earlier the second runner-up in Miss Mizoram 2020.

Varte was born in Champhai in the eastern part of Mizoram, bordering Myanmar. A postgraduate in English literature, Varte is currently pursuing a B.Ed from Mizoram University. She said she wanted to become a teacher to help other children with learning disabilities like her.

Assam agents ferry anglers from Meghalaya to ‘best’ fishing spots 

Passionate anglers from Shillong and Ri Bhoi district of Meghalaya are now being ferried by agents to Sonapur and Khetri areas in neighbouring Assam’s Morigaon district for the ‘best’ fishing spots. This arrangement benefits not only the agents but the pond owners as well.

Soqibul Hussain, a fish-pond owner in Assam, has been quoted as saying that they earn around Rs 300 to 500 each day through this arrangement and with winter holidays around the corner, the footfall is expected to increase.

“As passionate anglers, we know the fish in the hinterland goes for hibernation. But to live with the sport (angling) that we love, the adjacent district in Assam is our preferred destination,” said anglers Hep Cajee and Lurstep Kharwanlang from Meghalaya.

Another angler from Meghalaya said there are scores of agents who usually “induce” them with promises.

Tripura man builds low-cost oxygen concentrator after his mother tests Covid positive

For Ranjan Kumar Dhar, his mother’s struggle through Covid-19 infection was enough to make him sit for hours at a stretch and develop an oxygen concentrator that costs nearly one-third of the existing machines in the market.  An average oxygen concentrator costs Rs 65,000 while the oxygen cylinder came for around Rs 1,500 on rent every day.

“My mother had tested positive for Covid-19 with respiratory issues, and it was painful for me to see her fighting the virus. That was the moment when I decided to devise a low-cost oxygen concentrator,” Ranjan told EastMojo.

Called ‘Life Plus India’, Ranjan’s oxygen concentrator has been built from water bottles, a damaged water purifier, a humidifier bottle, few exhaust fans from a computer store, switches and a circuit. His device would cost nearly Rs 20,000.

Ranjan has also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a request to consider testing his device and adopting it under the ‘Make in India’ initiative.

(With inputs from Karishma Hasnat)

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