Locals ban taxi parking in South Aizawl neighbourhood

Locals ban taxi parking in South Aizawl  neighbourhood

Anurag

Aizawl, Sept 28:The volunteers of the local council and a local vigilante group enforced the order of Mission Veng local council’s and prohibited the parking of taxis in the taxi rank starting from 5 am on Thursday. This action made the Sikulpuikawn taxi stand devoid of taxis and passengers had to board the taxi outside the stand causing traffic congestion.

The cabbies have been accused of indulging in immoral behaviour in public like selling liquor,playing cards and occasionally engaged in drunken brawl.

“The taxi drivers did not pay heed to the local authorities’ repeated warnings, forcing us to issue the ban’’, said Francis Lalrammuana, secretary of Mission  Veng Council. The taxi drivers also allegedly charged higher fares compared to other taxi ranks and also often refused to take passengers to some destinations if those destinations were not favourable to the cabbies. The cabbies were also accused of parking beyond the stand limited by city traffic authorities.

Anthurium Festival Pictures

Helicopter service in Mizoram

Helicopter Service runs into teething problems

Anurag

Aizawl, Sept 27:The Helicopter service in Mizoram that was launched recently to ease the communication problem faced by the people of this hilly state is itself facing neglect of the authorities.

Mamit, which is one of the District headquarter has not got helipad till now. The Aviation wing is funded by Ministry of DoNER so that construction of helipad could be carried out in different parts of Mizoram. The Construction work in Thenzawl, Saitaul, Champhai and Mamit is expected to begin by November this year. Since there has been no proper chartered or hire of the helicopter yet, so limited service is provided to the commuters.Despite all these, tickets are full most regularly except the Copter service in Kolasib and Hnahthial.

Anthurium Festival 2012,Mizoram

  Stalls offering food, wine and much more…

Anthurium festival 2012 was held in Tourist Resort  Reiek from 20th  September to 22th September. The three day festival is organized annually by the the Tourism  Department in collaboration with the Horticulture Department with financial support of the Central government. It has a dual purpose- promoting the cultivation and marketing of the enthralling flower and attracting more tourists to the scenic beauties of Mizoram.

All together 32 stalls were put in this festival, with each stall offering different items to the visitors reaching there. Near the main entrance, the stall of State Bank of India was ready with   services like Internet Banking, Mobile Banking and rewarding loan offers. Peace Home, Durtlang,  which has  30 women volunteer at their centre were selling paper made products, decorative items and bed-sheets. Open Doors (NGO) which is funded by NABARD had a stall named “Quality Bag’s” ,selling purse and bags in different size and design  specially made by its members.

Aroma of traditional Mizo food  coming out of  “Hmar Bai” stall was so mouth-watering that most of the food-lovers were seen in and around the stall gratifying their taste-buds. Other  food stalls selling hotdogs, chowmein, momos and snacks were there for enthusiast of fast food. Tandoori stall was  also a centre of attraction. Despite the presence of   local beer and local red wine  stall,”Zawladi”( brand name of grape wine) prepared by Champhai Grape Grower Society was the most sought after product at the festival. One of the visitor, Hlima Pachuau, who had purchased three bottles of  “Zawladi” said, “You can get one bottle of grape wine in 140 bucks only in this festival  which is costly  if you purchase it anywhere else’’.

 Many  Horticulture products were on display for sale by the local  farmers.Local entrepreneurs were selling loom, cane and bamboo products like Ashtray, Bati stand, Coner Stand, Hats at their stall. Mizoram Rifle Association also had a stall and it was conducting Rifle Shooting Competition for which a special Shooting range was prepared. One stall was exclusively for the adventure lovers where one could try rope climbing and other adventurous sports. Festivals  like this, if organized frequently will surely make Mizoram, a hotspot of tourism.