Nagaland celebrated the 58th Statehood Day at Nagaland Civil Secretariat Plaza on 1st December 2020. On the occasion, the Chief Minister of Nagaland, Neiphiu Rio, extended his warmest greetings to the people of the State and called to remember with gratitude the leaders, who by their sacrifices, foresightedness and determination ensured the creation of Nagaland with a special Constitutional provision as the 16th State of the Union of India.
He said that the state government convened a consultative meeting on 15th October 2020 with all the representatives of all the Tribal Hohos, Civil Society Organizations, political parties, ex-parliamentarians and various public leaders on the Naga Political Issue. A seven point resolution was adopted unanimously and it acknowledged the sacrifices and contributions of the nationalist workers in the course of the Naga political journey and urged the Naga political groups to honour and respect the Covenant of Reconciliation and maintain the sanctity of non-violence in letter and spirit for a Shared Naga Future as members of One Naga Family.
On preparations for combating the pandemic, Rio said that the State government took every possible step to further develop and improve our entire health infrastructure. He said that the State Government managed to go from a State with Nil testing capacity to 2600-3000 testing capacity per day. The number of ventilators in the State has been increased from 14 to 145 and 110 departmental ambulances. There also has been an increase in the strength of the healthcare workers through recruitment of 109 medical doctors, 5 dental surgeons, 129 nurses, 6 research scientists, 6 laboratory technicians for BSL Laboratories, 10 OT technicians and 13 ECG technicians, and the appointment of 21 AYUSH doctors and 129 nurses is nearing completion. Further, a new Cath Lab has been installed in CIHSR Dimapur and a new Medical College is also being established in Mon, he added.
Rio said that the Department of Employment, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship initiated the introduction of MOBILE SKILL MORUNG, to ensure access to skill development for rural youth and women. It is a self-contained TRAINING WORKSHOP ON WHEELS equipped with machineries and equipment that can travel with trainers across the State. The Mobile Skill Morung was flagged off on the 13th of November, 2020. The Nagaland Joblinks portal has also been launched on which job seekers and employers can register themselves and job seekers can get connected with employers in private sector establishments. The Department has also rolled Out the Multi Skilled handyman program to ensure that every trainee is skilled in 3 or 4 job roles to earn their livelihood. This program was also launched on the 13th of November 2020. He added that, 'LaunchPad' - a career guidance and skills development program - an initiative of the Department of Youth Resources and Sports in partnership with YouthNet was launched on 18th August 2020. It is an online training programme for the 12th Standard Students of all Government Secondary School across Nagaland. The Task Force for Music and Arts (TaFMA) has started Music Incubation Programme, where young artists are being trained to fit into the ever growing Music Industry.
On Agriculture sector, he said that the department has distributed selected Kharif and Rabi seeds on the basis of local needs well ahead of time to ensure that the farmers do not suffer due to Covid restrictions. Also, the Department has initiated an action plan to take up the Naga model of Integrated Settled Farming on pilot basis during the current year. This model is being initiated to attain self-sufficiency and sustain the traditional system of Jhum cultivation. To give a further boost to the economy and to create employment opportunities, special programmes under NEC funding are being launched for Agriculture and allied sectors. The Department of Horticulture has initiated two units of nurseries, one for orange in Kohima and another for kiwi and persimmon in Pfutsero. The recent observation made by the Hon'ble Union Agriculture Minister, that Nagaland should be made 'Kiwi State of India' is proof to the fact that the State has been recognised as a Kiwi producing hub, he added.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Rio said that the Tourism Department has outlined several strategies for the revival of the Tourism industry in Nagaland in a safe and sustainable manner thereby promoting it as a 'Safe Destination'. Furthermore, the Department with the Government of Nagaland is celebrating the 21st edition of Annual Hornbill Festival 2020 completely in a virtual mode only, a first of its kind for the State.
Rio informed that the Department of School Education launched the innovative Online Digital Education in the State which has been working since May 2020 and it also has developed an Online Students Evaluation Portal which could be easily accessed through any Mobile/Laptop/PC and would work efficiently even with 2G internet connections. In order to ensure that the process of Continuous Learning is sustained in all Government schools throughout the State, particularly in remote and rural areas, 'Continuous Learning & Monitoring Cell' has been constituted to monitor learning activities through the newly developed Online School Monitoring System. Further, in order to keep the teachers updated with the latest developments in the field of education and also to monitor the progress of their activities, the Department launched the Teacher's APP in the month of September 2020, he added.
The Chief Minister said that the Higher Education sector received an impetus with the laying of the foundation stone of the Professional College of Music & Fine Arts at Tsiesema, Kohima District, the Inauguration of the Science Laboratory building of Phek Government College and science stream building at Dimapur Government College. The Academic Session of the newly established Government Polytechnic Aboi, Mon, along with Government Polytechnic Wokha and Peren are expected to start from 2021 -22 since creation of posts has been cleared by the Government.
He informed that the Department of PWD has successfully completed the improvement of Kohima and Dimapur City Roads. Under MoRTH, DONER and NEC for various categories, 48 projects covering more than 597 kilometres of road are being taken up this financial year. Under PMGSY, work is ongoing on another 300 kilometres of road. The PHED during the 100 days campaign launched on 2nd October 2020, aiming to provide Water supply to all the schools and Anganwadis, provided piped water supply to 380 Schools and 110 Anganwadis. In MGNREGA, the approved target for the current financial year for the State is 200 lakh person days, out of which 135.38 lakh person days have been generated till date.
Rio informed that the Directorate of Fire & Emergency Services has completed the Construction of the Central Workshop at New Capital Complex, Kohima and the CAWD has completed the construction of residences of 4(four) Deputy Commissioners which will all be inaugurated shortly. Also, the Directorate of Home Guards, Civil Defence and State Disaster Response Force has completed the construction of the 100 bedded trainees barracks multistorey building at Central Training Institute, Toluvi, Dimapur. He added that the Municipal Affairs Department under KSCDL (Kohima Smart City Development Ltd), has resumed 3 (three) uncompleted projects under the Mission namely: 'Multilevel Vehicle Parking at Old Medical Directorate', 'Multilevel Vehicle Parking at Old NST', and the 'Capital Cultural Hall' above NSF Martyrs Park.
The Chief Minister conveyed special wishes to the people of Noklak District, the youngest district of the State, on the occasion of the Statehood day. He said that the State has been able to build good capabilities in every sector, and the unified response in combating COVID-19 is a testimony of it. He also said that there are many developmental areas and sectors, where a lot remains to be done and needs persistent efforts to ensure that Nagaland is at par with the rest of the States in the country.
(Nongozo Rikha & Wepre Kronu)
