High Court cancels 10,323 under graduate, post graduate and graduate teachers

The Tripura High Court on Wednesday issued order on the case relating to recruitment in Under-Graduate, Graduate and Post-Graduate Teachers under the Department of School Education and cancelled the entire recruitment process of 10,323 teachers. The Court said that all candidates inducted in the said posts can continue service till December 31, 2014.

The Court order said that all recruitment made under the Department of School Education in the past three years under the categories of Under Graduate Teachers, Graduate Teachers and Post Graduate Teachers would be held cancelled after December 31, 2014. A division bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice SC Das ordered the government to start fresh recruitment process soon.

A total of 1100 teachers were recruited in the posts of PGT, 4617 were recruited in the posts of Graduate Teachers (GT), 4606 were recruited in the posts of Under Graduate Teachers (UGT). The Tripura Pradesh Congress and Tripura Progressive Grameen Congress welcomed the decision of the High Court and sought fresh recruitment process.

Virat retains top spot in ICC ODI rankings

Star batsman Virat Kohli has retained his numero - uno spot in the ICC rankings of ODI batsmen while his compatriot Ravindra Jadeja is among the top - five in the rankings for both bowlers and all - rounders.

India remained second in the list of teams with 112 points as Australia maintained their top rank with 115 points.

Kohli, with 881 points, topped the list of the batsmen, followed by South African AB de Villiers with 872 points.

Team India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was sixth with 783 points while opener Shikhar Dhawan was ranked eighth with 723 points.

In bowling, Jadeja remained at fifth with 676 points while Ravichandran Ashwin was 14th. Among all- rounders, Jadeja is ranked fourth.

AMC turns Corporation, 10 new municipal councils start functioning

The Agartala Municipal Council, northeast India's oldest municipal body, on the day of 42nd Tripura statehood day on January 21 turned into a corporation.

On the 42nd statehood day the up-gradation of Agartala Municipal Council into a municipal corporation took effect while 10 Nagar Panchayats including Dharmanagar, Kailasahar, Ambassa, Khowai, Teliamura, Mohanpur, Bishalgarh, Melaghar, Udaipur and Belonia in the sub-divisional towns were promoted as municipal councils.

Official sources said that on the occasion of the statehood day on Tuesday the 21^st January, 2014, these urban local bodies have been upgraded, including newer areas to give better services to the people of the state.

On the 42nd statehood day, two new Nagar Panchayats Panisagar and Jirania have also started functioning.

With the up gradation of municipal councils, nagar panchayats, now Tripura have 10 municipal councils, nine nagar panchayats and one municipal corporation.

It may be recalled here that the under the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganization) Act, 1971, Tripura, Manipur and Meghalaya became full-fledged states on Jan 21, 1972.

With a population of around five lakh, the Agartala Municipal Corporation would look after the urban areas of 76 sq km.

Agartala is the second largest city in northeast India after Guwahati in Assam.

The Agartala Municipality was constituted in 1871 during the reign of erstwhile king, Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya (1862-96).

The first British Political Agent, A.W.B. Power was appointed for princely ruled Tripura in 1871 and become the chairman of the Agartala Municipality.

Tripura merged with the Indian Union Oct 15, 1949.

The state’s Urban Development department sources added that Dr Prafullajit Sinha and Samar Chakraborty, the incumbent chairman and vice-chairman of the Agartala Municipal Council (AMC), would be the first Mayor and Deputy Mayor of the Agartala Municipal Corporation, respectively.

English club side all out for three

England's cricketers may have suffered the embarrassment of a World Twenty20 defeat by the Netherlands and a 5-0 Ashes thrashing in Australia but even they were never bowled out for three as happened to one club side on Saturday the 26th April, 2014.

Wirral, from north-west England, were dismissed for just three away to Haslington in a Cheshire League Third Division match - with extras the top-scorer courtesy of two leg-byes.

There were 10 ducks in the Wirral innings, with No. - 11 Connor Hodson, supposedly their worst batsman, the only member of the visitors' side to score a run off the bat.

That Wirral managed three was something of an achievement after they were reduced to none for eight.

Ben Istead took six wickets for one run and Tom Gledhill four for none in an innings that lasted fewer than 10 overs.

Haslington won the match by 105 runs after making only 108 themselves before, the real drama unfolded after the tea interval.

Wirral's ex-England players includes former captain Michael Vaughan and popular television pundit David Lloyd.

CPI (M) to introduce structural changes in partyline ahead of panchayat polls

The CPI (M) is expecting to make some structural changes in the hierarchy of the party in Tripura ahead of the coming Panchayat election, highly placed sources said on Saturday the 26th April, 2014. The state committee met at the Melarmath-based party headquarters in Agartala and resolved to introduce District Committees between the state committee and divisional committees as an initiative to ensure better efficiency in party activities.

Discussions were held on preparation ahead of the coming Panchayat election scheduled in July later this year. Instructions were issued for all divisional committees to gear up activities ahead of the three-tier Panchayat.

Polls would be conducted in 6,111 seats across 3,385 panchayat constituencies under 591 Gram Panchayats and 419 seats in 35 Panchayat Samity. The election process would be conducted for 116 seats in 8 Zilla Parishads to elect the next committee of the three tier panchayat bodies in the state.

Tripura’s indigenous boy got internationally acclaimed fellowship in Italy

An indigenous boy from the remote Rupaicheri village under Sabroom subdivision in South Tripura district creates another feather in the cap of Tripura’s achievement in higher educational sector.

Thainsuyemong Choudhury of Rupaicheri village got the internationally acclaimed fellowship ‘Erasmas Mondus Heritage Fellowship’ under Indo-Europe joint initiative.

Thainsuyemong Choudhury, proud son of Thaikai choudury, deputy director of ICA department of Tripura government and Criyari Mog, headmistress of Mohanpur Girls High School.

Thainsuyemong Choudhury , completed his B.Tech in Civil engineering from NEERIST and did his M.Tech in structural engineering from IIT, Guwahati. After completion his masters from IIT, Guwahati, Thainsuyemong Choudhury started Phd research from IIT, Guwahati under the aegis of Dr Hemanta B Koushik.

Thainsuyemong Choudhury’s international fellowship will provide him the platform to conduct his research under aegis of the Prof. Gabriel Milani at the Polytechnico D Milano in Italy on civil and environmental sector.

New evidence strengthens case for return of stolen Nataraja idol

With only a few days left for the Australian government to take a decision on the return of the stolen Nataraja idol, which is currently in the possession of National Gallery of Australia (NGA) in Canberra, new evidence has emerged to strengthen India’s claim over its ownership.

An expert assessment report, filed for the first time in this case, by R. Nagaswamy, a renowned scholar on Chola sculptures, has listed new inscriptional and iconographic evidence to establish that the Nataraja idol in Australia was indeed stolen from a temple in Sripuranthan, Tamil Nadu.

The NGA bought the centuries-old Nataraja idol for $ 5 million from Subhash Kapoor, a U.S. based antiquities dealer. The Tamil Nadu police allege that it was stolen and Mr. Kapoor masterminded the theft.

The investigating agencies have so far provided evidence such as shipping documents and confession of Kapoor’s long time manager, but supporting iconographic and historical information was missing.

Recently the Tamil Nadu police contacted Dr. Nagaswamy to study the features of the stolen idol. After comparing the three photographs, taken at different points in time, in India, with the image of the idol in Australia, he concluded that all show “absolutely same details.” The photos are of the same idol, he explained.

Dr. Nagaswamy told that details such as the left hand tenderly holding fire in a cup, the necklaces adorning the chest, the nail of a tiger in the neck chain, and the figure of river Ganga and tiny snake in the matted hair locks are identical. So is the case with the mark in the armlet in the upper part of the left arm. He also pointed out that features such as the eight crane feathers on the head match perfectly.

Similarly, minor crafting errors also coincide. For instance, at the bottom where the ring of fire emanates, there is a carving of a crocodile on the either side of the feet. While the one on the right reaches up to the first flame, the other in the left falls short.

Typical of any royal dedication in the Chola period, this Nataraja idol too was consecrated along with his consort Sivakami. The photograph taken inside the temple in 1994 shows both the idols together. While the Nataraja is now in Australia, the idol of Sivakami, the police say, was also stolen and traced.