Videos

assam elections 1 – The News Mill

#AssamPolls: Focus on social media as phase 1 campaign ends

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It’s all on the voters now. Campaigning for the first phase of the Assam Assembly polls to be held across 65 Assembly constituencies in the Upper Assam and Barak Valley belt concluded at 5 pm on Saturday. The 65 constituencies will poll on April 4 while the second and last phase of polls comprising 61 constituencies will be on April 11.

The campaign ended on a high note for all the political parties as they roped in top campaigners to woo the voters. With battlelines drawn, the focus has now shifted to door-to-door campaigning and the social media which has been used extensively by the political parties.

Putting out a video message of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP Assam Pradesh Facebook page says, “BJP is the only party which can fulfill the aspirations of the people of Assam. It is going to bring the development for which people of Assam have been waiting since Independence. We need ‪#‎BJP4Assam.”

For Congress, the war-room boys are leaving no stone unturned either. Posting content for youth consumption, the Assam Pradesh Youth Congress Facebook page has been posting interesting Memes targeting the BJP, video bytes of various party leaders and also the theme song for the campaign – a peppy number by Dikshu & Kalpana Patowary. The theme song has been viewed more than 14,000 times in past 12 hours. The video, interestingly, carries a montage of the achievements of the Congress government in the past 15 years of rule in the state. Among the main highlights are roads, sports infrastructure, small-scale industries, petrochemicals, education and financial institutions. The interestingly crafted video gives due credit to the various ethnic groups as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M_wsJKcGbM

Here’s the BJP’s campaign song sung by Zubeen Garg.

The regional parties seem lacking in the social media front as they hardly exist in the new media bandwagon. Maulana Badruddin Ajmal’s All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) has a public group with around 20,000 members on Facebook but there is no official line of communication therein. The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), which is contesting the elections in partnership with the BJP, also has limited presence.

Former Congress minister and current BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma appears much ahead in terms of social media use. The former health and education minister has around 55,000 followers on Twitter while his verified Facebook page has over 1.62 lakh likes. Sarma is using his social media accounts to share his political views, updates from the campaign trail and occasional discussions and attacks on the Congress government.

Chief minister Tarun Gogoi, on the other hand, has seen rapid rise in online reputation as the 79-year-old is seen growing popularity amongst the social media users. Gogoi is doing Hangout sessions and has an interactive website besides being present on the ‘traditional’ Facebook and Twitter.

Gogoi is using Twitter to reach his 30,000 followers with his political views and updates on the election process. The social media accounts are widely used to publicize the ‘15-years of development’ message which is the core campaign message for the party. But, his much publicized website is “under construction” since almost a month now.

With a day to go for polls in more than half of the total Assembly seats, it will be interesting to note where the swing is and in the battle of votes, who wins the chair. Can Sarbananda Sonowal break the Tarun Gogoi spell? Or, will the 79-year-old have the last laugh? That is also an important matter!

saif ali khan 1 – The News Mill

Watch now: Saif Ali Khan jamming at a village in Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh

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It doesn’t happen always – A Bollywood celebrity at a village house in Arunachal Pradesh. Yes! Bollywood actor and producer Saif Ali Khan was recently spotted at a village in Pasighat as he set foot on the Land of Rising Sun for a movie soot. Saif Ali Khan was seen jamming with friends and villagers in an Adi sang ghar as onlookers adore in awe. Well, this doesn’t happen in a lifetime for most.

manipur11 – The News Mill

Floods in Manipur render several families homeless, 21 dead

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At least 21 dead due to landslide in Khenjoy (Manipur) near Myanmar border on Saturday evening. Floods in Manipur hit four districts of Thoubal, Chandel, Imphal East and Imphal West even as the administration is trying hard to provide relief materials. As many as four bridges in Chandel and Thoubal districts were reported to be washed away by flood waters.

Locals in the area reported that moderate to heavy rainfall in the last few days resulted in several rivers flowing above the danger mark in the state. Low-lying areas in capital Imphal and its outskirts have been inundated. While home minister Rajnath Singh visited the state to review the situation, sources said that relief and rescue operation are yet to kick off in various interior areas of the state.

The overflowing rivers have flooded many parts of Thoubal and the adjoining Chandel districts and with water levels continuing to rise, residents have been moved to relief camps set up with the help of local MLAs. Angry locals have alleged that the state government has not done enough to help those affected by the floods. Many are left without drinking water, medicines and electricity supply.

Normal vehicular movement along the Imphal-Jiribam section of NH-37 has been disturbed after damages were caused to a bridge on Barak river.

Aerial Footage of Thoubal Flood 2015

 

maxresdefault9 – The News Mill

‘India’s first carbon neutral film’ captures simplicity of Northeast

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India’s first carbon neutral film Aisa Yeh Jahaan, which released on Friday, depicts the simplicity of people from the northeast and their connect to nature, says singer Palash Sen, who returns to acting with the movie.

“People from northeast are very simple. They think of everybody as friends and are big hearted. There are messages on racial bias, environment and the way we transition when we come to a big city.

“We become greedy and self-centred. We have addressed all this and I hope people like it. We all feel very strongly about the subject,” Palash, lead vocalist of music band Euphoria, told a TV channel here.

Directed by Assamese filmmaker Biswajeet Bora, the film bagged the International Award of Excellence 2015 at the International Film Festival for environment, health and culture among other global awards.

It depicts the relationship between a young Assamese couple, the ever growing human detachment with nature and people’s attitude towards the physiology of a child’s growth which is portrayed in a light hearted yet satirical fashion.

The film stars Ira Dubey and Kymsleen Kholie in lead roles, with Yashpal Sharma, Tinu Anand, Carol Gracias, Prisha Dabbas and Saurabh Pandey in supporting characters. Shot in Mumbai and partly in Assam and Meghalaya, Palash said it showcases the greenery and link of the residents of the northeast to their environment.

One can glimpse the lush greenery and pristine settings of Meghalaya’s Barapani Lake and Golaghat district of Assam in “Aisa Yeh Jahaan”. To be carbon neutral – removing as much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as individuals or organisations put into it – the makers took steps to offset the carbon emitted through the entire production process by a massive afforestation programme.

“When I heard the story, then I felt only I can do this role. I feel very emotional about it,” said Palash, who returns to acting after “Mumbai Cutting”. He had made his Bollywood debut with “Filhaal…” in 2002.

How carbon neutral?

Center for Environmental Research and Education (CERE) is conducting an audit based on certain parameters to measure the emissions associated with producing this film. Based on the audit, CERE will assist the production team of Aisa Yeh Jahaan to take steps to offset the carbon emitted through the entire production process through a massive afforestation program. Essentially, CERE will be helping the producers of Aisa Yeh Jahaan ‘remove’ as much carbon dioxide (as trees absorb carbon dioxide) from the atmosphere as they have put in, making the film carbon-neutral. Isn’t this good?