Dear reader, Debraj here stepping in for Tora this week. By this time, you probably know about the wildfire in Nagaland’s Dzukou Range, which has spread to adjoining districts of Manipur like Senapati. While Indian Air Force (IAF) choppers equipped with bambi buckets for firefighting were pressed into action in Dzukou valley, a second forest fire was reported from a hillock near St. Joseph College in Kohima on January 7. The fire ravaged over 100 acres of vegetation, amidst ongoing efforts to contain the raging flames. The wildfire was largely brought under control on the Nagaland side. But it has cost the life of a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel from Manipur engaged in firefighting operations. Read here. The fire destroyed vegetation on Mount Iso, Manipur’s highest peak and was found spreading towards Yangkhullen of Senapati district. In other news, BJP officially took charge of the Tiwa Autonomous District Council in Central Assam as its elected members took oath of office on January 6. Jiban Chandra Konwar took oath as the new Chief Executive Member. Congress lost its opposition leader status in the Assam assembly as its legislative party leader Debabrata Saikia lost the position following defeats in by-elections, deaths of two MLAs and two recent defections to the BJP. Read here. In efforts to boost collaborative activities in NE India, Israel has appointed Joysree Das Verma as honourary Consul in the region with jurisdiction over Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura and Sikkim. Assam, Nagaland, Tripura have issued advisory and alert to prevent and contain avian influenza outbreak as 1.60 lakh poultry birds are about to be culled in Haryana to contain the disease. Read our piece here. In Meghalaya, the Airport Authority of India has informed that IndiGo would resume flight operation on the Kolkata-Shillong route after a gap due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, the Border Security Force (BSF) has said there is a decline in illegal cross-border movements in Tripura, even as insurgent activities have resumed in the last few months including abduction of three border fence workers from a patch of unfenced border in Dhalai district. The kidnapped victims returned a week later. Their families claimed they returned in exchange of ransom though the police have denied such reports. BSF Tripura IG Sushanta Nath said 131 people were apprehended for illegally crossing the Indo-Bangla international border in 2020 while in 2019, it was 236. Read our copy here. Until next week,
Debraj Deb | 
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