Atono Tsükrü Kense  Kohima | March 18 Since the outbreak and global declaration of COVID-19 as pandemic, key populations viz. People Living with HIV (PLHIV), sex workers, MSM/TG and People who inject Drugs (PWID) who are ‘extremely vulnerable and are at higher risk’ if exposed to COVID-19, seem to have been left in the lurch.  No ‘special advisory’ on how to tackle COVID-19 infection among key populations have been issued either by the central or the stat

Customers seen purchasing masks from a street vendor in Kohima on March 17. (Morung Photo)   Atono Tsükrü Kense  Kohima | March 17 Washing hands regularly is being pegged as the best bet in the fight against coronavirus. But how can one get rid of the possibility of contracting the virus through articles that come in our contact daily - such as currency notes? A study published by the International Journal of Current Engineering and Scientific Research in 2

Limasenla Jamir Mokokchung | March 17 Suwazungla is a self-taught and self-trained traditional jewelry designer. She has been designing and making jewelry for more than thirty years now. At 68, she still crafts and sells traditional jewelry and also crafts dry flowers from scrap and recycled materials.  “My love and interest for jewelry designing began when I was a young girl. I was always interested in modifying things,” she said. Though she has been in the busines

A view of Dimapur Railway Station.  (Morung File Photo)   Morung Express News Dimapur | March 15 The Dimapur railway station in Nagaland getting neglectful treatment from the Indian Railways has often been the accusation. Unfair fund allocation for development and passenger amenity upgrades, despite being the second-best cash cow of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), has rendered the station to rank low and lag behind other smaller stations in the region,

Veroli Zhimo Dimapur | March 15 Growing up in the dusty streets of Kiphire town presented its fair share of challenges for Thripili Sangtam. As a young man with ambition, he found opportunities hard to come by. He eventually took the big step to experience city life moving to Kohima to pursue a bachelor’s degree in sociology at St Joseph College, Jakhama.  After graduation, the 24-year old moved back to his hometown and founded the Kiphire Youth Centre (KYC) in Octobe

Onen Nenty   Vishü Rita Krocha Kohima | March 15 Joining one of the biggest campaigns for a “Rape Free India”, woman biker Onen Nenty is part of the one year bike campaign for ‘Action Against Violence’ wherein 2 riders (1 male and 1 female) will travel on bike all over India covering 32000+ kilometers covering 29 states, 8 Union Territories, 400+ Districts, 700+ Cities and 2000 Villages. Onen Nenty, who was selected among many female riders from across th

Rev Fredrick, Mr Truth, Uncle Peter all- in- one Chuba Longchar is here to keep the amusement on     Morung Express Feature On January 2, 2017, Dreamz Unlimited posted a video titled ‘The Demand’ stating in their YouYube channel – “Made this video by some of our artiste for 1st January 2017 Entertainment Night for a church program so thought will share it here too. Just a funny take on the satanic worship issue prevalent with some youths in our so

N Alemla   Limasenla Jamir  Mokokchung | March 13 For more than forty years, N Alemla’s days have started before the sun. In some ways, it is harder to get up now than it used to be—she is older, and has spent most of her life doing the kind of hard work that wears a body down. Alemla comes from Chuchuyimlang village. A few years back, everyone knew her as the woman who sold wild animals and birds that she bought from hunters. “Now I know that kill

'Flower Show 2020' organized by the Dimapur District Floricultural Association begins on March 12. The 2nd edition will be held under the theme ‘To Earth with Love’ at Dimapur Club, Midland from March 12 to 14.   Kanili Kiho Dimapur | March 11  Dimapur District Floricultural Association (DDFA) is a group of passionate flower growers, (mostly women) who came together in the year 2018. They embarked upon a venture to create a platform and support each other

Chubatoshi at the excavation site in Longsa village.   A scholar’s doctoral endeavour to put numbers to ‘time immemorial’   Imkong Walling Dimapur | March 10 Naga villages abound with stories of the ancient past. These stories, however, stop short at “time immemorial” or in other words— confined to the realm of myths with no dating and archaeological grounding.  But today, researchers are gradually gaining ground endeavouring to att

Mixed Connection: A woman speaks on phone inside the premises of a hospital where a special ward has been set up for the coronavirus disease in Mumbai on 2020. (REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas)   Morung Express News Dimapur| March 10 If you have been making phone calls in the past few days, you will be familiar with the ‘coughing’ caller tune while the call gets connected. Following a directive from the Department of Telecom (DoT) on March 6 to incorpora

A fishery pond in Kohima district. (Morung Photo)   Our Correspondent Kohima | March 10 A new project to upgrade government demonstration fish farms has been proposed under National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) negotiated loan for a total project cost of Rs 959.40 lakh starting from 2019-2020. The proposed project will be implemented in three phases. This was stated in the Annual Administrative Report 2019-2020 of Fisheries and Aquatic Resou

Passengers line up to be scanned for COVID-19 on arrival at the Dimapur terminal on March 8. (Morung Photo by Soreishim Mahong)   Morung Express News Dimapur | March 8 Anxiety over the COVID-19 outbreak and its spread has gripped the world. However, preventive steps taken by governments to curb its spread have given a semblance of assurance to the public.  Nagaland state was also among the earliest in the country to put preventive measures in place, among whi

(Left) Students learning to weave bamboo baskets at New Creation School, Sekrezu. (Right) Vesalu Swuro. (Morung Photo)   Vishü Rita Krocha Kohima | March 8 Perched on the far-flung village of Sekrezu under Phek district is a 7-year old school that is filled with curious little minds of rural students who come from an overwhelming number of 28 different neighbouring villages.  Behind the ‘New Creation School’ as it is named, is a woman called Vesalu Swuro

Morung Express News Dimapur | March 7  Party manifestos are a contract with the electorate, and the Progressive Democratic Alliance (PDA) Government rose to power in Nagaland two years ago riding on a wave of promises. How far has the government kept that bond?  Exactly a year ago today, The Morung Express published a special edition analyzing the performance of the PDA’s performance in several sectors over a period of one year.  A year on, follow ups o

Morung Express News Dimapur | March 7 In the absence of a comprehensive Sports Policy in Nagaland, the stakeholders including the state government and sportspersons seem to be running between the wickets without a target in sight. The PDA government in its first Cabinet meeting made a solemn promise in the field of sports – to announce a new Sports Policy within 100 days. The  new sports policy is still on the anvil. At the recent Khelo India Youth Games

Some portions of the recently repaired road section from the new flyover to Supermarket were damaged by private parties using machinery to excavate their land adjacent to the newly constructed road near the DC's residence.   Morung Express News Dimapur | March 7 Road repair and maintenance was a major promise of the PDA government. Two years on, the nodal department— Public Works Department (PWD) has claimed that most of the works as envisaged by the government have

Morung Express News Dimapur | March 7  Two years into the PDA government’s tenure, The Morung Express sought opinions from individuals as to whether there has been any positive change in terms of service delivery and reining in the usual suspects—corruption and nepotism.    Meritocracy a mockery Social activist, Barth Humtsoe maintained that the PDA government is far from realizing the promised ‘Change is coming’ catchphrase. “Backdoor appointment is

Morung Express News Kohima | March 7 The passing of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 and the notification of the 4% job reservation for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) have been crucial starting points for ensuring disability rights.  But to flaunt it as a massive achievement is facile, according to observers, as a lot more remains to be done on the ground.  Purnima Kayina, President, Cherry Blossoms Society states that basic entitlements still re

Morung Express News Dimapur | March 7  The Nagaland Industrial Policy, which was supposed to be formulated within the first year of the PDA, remains elusive. The last mention of the proposed policy was in December 2018 where again, the Chief Minister said his government was in the process of drawing up a new industrial policy to help promote Micro and Small Enterprises (MSE) with special focus on start-ups, including the agricultural sector. The lagging economy and the