Bishop Baylon encourages faithful in Albay to help Taal evacuees National Historical team rescues Amorsolos, artifacts from Taal “There’s never been an indication that I wouldn’t be back, and there’s never been an indication that this is something messing up my career,” Thomas told ESPN.“Maybe I am not going to be back as soon this season as everyone wants me to be, but I’m going to be back, and I’m going to be the same player again. No doctor has told me anything different than that.”Thomas said he had remained in touch with Cleveland since a physical on Friday but was in the dark about the team’s plans.“I don’t know what [the organization] is doing,” Thomas told ESPN. “It’s out of my control. I just want to talk about what I can control, and I know that this (hip) won’t be a problem into the future.”ADVERTISEMENT NBA player Isaiah Thomas attends the super welterweight boxing match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor on August 26, 2017 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. AFPLos Angeles, United States — Isaiah Thomas insisted Tuesday that he would return to fitness from a hip injury as concern over his condition threatened to stall his move from the Boston Celtics to the Cleveland Cavaliers.Thomas is poised to join Cleveland with several teammates in a blockbuster trade that saw Cavs star Kyrie Irving head to Boston.ADVERTISEMENT Jake says relationship with Shaina ‘goes beyond physical attraction’ Police seize P68-M worth of ‘shabu’ in Pasay MOST READ Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to give up royal titles Kerber goes from champ to 1st-round loser at rainy US Open Search on for 5 Indonesians snatched anew in Lahad Datu Sports Related Videospowered by AdSparcRead Next LATEST STORIES Hotdog’s Dennis Garcia dies Marcosian mode: Duterte threatens to arrest water execs ‘one night’ Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to give up royal titles Don’t miss out on the latest news and information. Filipinos turn Taal Volcano ash, plastic trash into bricks PLAY LIST 01:40Filipinos turn Taal Volcano ash, plastic trash into bricks01:32Taal Volcano watch: Island fissures steaming, lake water receding02:14Carpio hits red carpet treatment for China Coast Guard02:56NCRPO pledges to donate P3.5 million to victims of Taal eruption00:56Heavy rain brings some relief in Australia02:37Calm moments allow Taal folks some respite View comments However, final confirmation of the trade has been delayed amid ongoing questions surrounding Thomas’ injury, which forced him to miss the end of the Eastern Conference finals last season.Thomas told ESPN on Tuesday that there was no question he would come back from his injury.FEATURED STORIESSPORTSEnd of his agony? SC rules in favor of Espinosa, orders promoter heirs to pay boxing legendSPORTSRedemption is sweet for Ginebra, Scottie ThompsonSPORTSMayweather beats Pacquiao, Canelo for ‘Fighter of the Decade’“I am not damaged,” Thomas said. “I’ll be back, and I’ll be the same player.”Thomas insisted that medical professionals had assured him he would recover his fitness. read more

Wages dispute…threatens to take Govt to court for punishing striking teachersThe Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) on Wednesday called on its members to be on standby as it gears for another round of strike action; this time on a larger scale, if the imposed chairman for the arbitration panel – for the wages dispute between Government and the Union – is not withdrawn. The Chairman of theGTU’s President Mark Lyte along with union executives during a press conference on Wednesdayarbitration panel, Dr Leyland Lucas of the University of Guyana. He was named arbitrator last week and according to the GTU, they did not agree to the nomination but rather Lucas was imposed on them by the Labour Department.According to the Union, it is also prepared to take the Education Ministry, and more so, the Government to court, if any action is taken against teachers who will be going on strike.This was related by the President of the Union, Mark Lyte. He told media operatives that he believes the ministers – both Education and Labour – have literacy issues, since at all times, in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) the Education Ministry has made reference to, the word “nominate”.Additionally, Lyte also said the Union has not taken lightly the threat by the Education Ministry to penalise teachers, who are prepared to strike.He was at the time making reference to the threat issued by the Ministry, after the Union announced its plans to head to industrial action for a second time.The Ministry pointed to the section of that agreement which stated, “during the consideration of the matter in dispute under the grievance procedure, there shall be no strike, stoppage of work whether of a partial or general nature, go slow, boycott, picketing, retardation of production or any other interference with the Ministry’s operations by the Union, nor shall there be any lock out or any other form of interference by the Ministry. Both parties shall endeavour to maintain a state of normal industrial relations”. This agreement was signed back in July 1983.No breachHowever, Lyte on Wednesday explained, “we do not see any breach as being committed if we call our members out because as far as we’re concerned, the arbitration panel and the Terms of Reference are the first two steps to setting arbitration… but arbitration, in our view, hasn’t started as yet so if that is to happen, the GTU would have no other course but to walk the steps of the court with them (Education Ministry) because we are prepared to ensure that ourFiled photo: Teachers protesting outside the Education Ministry on September 4, 2018members do not suffer in any way, so we will be prepared to go to court as well”.The Union on Wednesday gave the Ministry seven days to withdraw Lucas as the Chairman of the arbitration panel.Lyte also noted that he believes Government has no intentions to address the issue at hand. It is because of this, he promised that this round of strike action would be much “bigger”, due to the support of its sister Unions, who sat beside them in Wednesday’s meeting.The Union’s head said it believes Government has sinister plans, as it remains reluctant to appoint a neutral Chairman to head the arbitration panel.“I am of the view that there is some sinister plan afoot to thwart the process and not to allow fairness and equity to prevail… we take note of the fact that strike action is always a last resort and we thought having given the Administration an ultimatum of seven days that we would have had a favourable response instead the Minister with responsibility for Labour would have issued appointment letters to the nominee from the Ministry of Education and the Chairperson in the form of Dr Leyland Lucas,” Lyte said.‘Imposed’ ChairmanLast Tuesday, Labour Minister Keith Scott, who is still currently acting in the capacity of a conciliator, took it upon himself to introduce the Chairman for the arbitration panel to address the ongoing teachers’ salary impasse.The move was highly condemned by the Union as they did not get a chance to introduce their nominee for a Chairman to the panel.The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) as well as the Guyana Trade Unions Congress (GTUC) has since vocalised its support for the Union’s call for better wages of its teachers. The GTU have in fact called for Minister Scott to apologise for his unilateral appointment for a Chairman to the arbitration panel and for humiliating the Professor.The last nationwide teachers strike took effect on August 27 during schools’ pre-term activities and lasted for a little under two weeks, as the Ministry gave into the pressure and agreed to arbitration on September 6.A 40 per cent salary increase for public school teachers was proposed for the year 2016. Over time, the percentage would be increased for all categories of represented teachers.For the year 2017, the Union was hoping to have bargained for a 45 per cent increase, which would then increase to 50 per cent for the remainder of the years indicated in the agreement (2018-2020).They recently changed their demands and said they were willing to accept a ‘substantial’ pay-out from the Government even after the GTU rejected Government’s request for teachers to agree to a debunching payoff of $200 million for 2018/19. read more

Man United players celebrate ending Arsenal’s 49-game unbeaten It may have been 10 years ago, but some Arsenal fans are still unhappy about the day Man United ended the Gunners’ 49 Premier League game unbeaten run.A 2-0 victory at Old Trafford, thanks to a Ruud van Nistelrooy penalty and a Wayne Rooney effort (on his 19th birthday), earned all three points for United and saw tears shed in the away end.Van Nistelrooy exacted revenge for the taunts directed at him from Arsenal players following his missed penalty in the same fixture the previous season.However, it is Rooney’s display and referee Mike Riley that seems to irk Gooners the most. The England striker was accused of diving to win the spot kick and Riley is lambasted for awarding it.Check out the comments below and, if you’re a Gooner, read Sport magazine’s excellent Arsenal special – the inside tale of Arsene Wenger’s Invincibles. 1 read more

A YEAR ago Co Donegal fitness guru Michael Black introduced the Urban Gym to the county.Now 12 months on, it’s back – and it’s meaner and leaner than ever!For his urban gym is now…..the Ultimate Bootcamp Experience. Said Michael: “It starts next Tuesday 12th June. We have three instructors with three different Camps in the one session.“You choose whether you want to spend more time on CAMP CARDIO/CAMP CORE/CAMP STRENGTH. Or mix it up throughout the hour, the choice is yours. Unrivaled attention to ensure you get the ultimate workout. Choice of 3 classes a week.“This camp is designed to be fun every step of the way to achieving your chosen goal, weight loss, muscle tone or super aerobic fitness. We guarantee you will not forget your Urban Gym experience!”Boot Camp has become increasingly popular over the past 5 years with a number of celebrities around the world using this type of training to sculpt their body for upcoming movies or appearances. A typical bootcamp class would consist of a circuit based workout comprising of a wide variety of exercises and games to ensure you are working hard on every part. This will include, strength training, core exercise, interval training, boxercise, walking/running, skipping, jumping, throwing and loads loads more.Added Michael: “In addition we can advise you on how best to achieve your results though proper nutrition and training outside of the bootcamp. Anyone who signs up for our bootcamp will receive 10% discount on all our Personal Training Packages in our purpose built Fitness Studio.”So what are you waiting for???? Get that summer fitness and body you always wanted and contact us today.Book your place NOW!!!Call 087 660 3090 GET READY TO FLIGHT THE FLAB! FITNESS GURU BRINGS BACK THE URBAN GYM! was last modified: June 7th, 2012 by BrendaShare this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Tags:GET READY TO FLIGHT THE FLAB! FITNESS GURU BRINGS BACK THE URBAN GYM! read more

Donegal South West Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill has called on the Minister for the Environment, Community & Local Government, Phil Hogan TD, to give approval for Donegal County Council to seek tenders for the construction of the Gweedore Sewerage Scheme.Senator Ó Domhnaill said: “I raised the need for the Minister for give approval for Donegal County Council to proceed to seek tenders for the Gweedore Sewerage Scheme on the adjournment debate in Seanad Éireann recently.“The Gweedore Sewerage Scheme comprises of a treatment plant capable of dealing with effluence from a population equivalent of 4,550 and sewer network of approximately 21km, serving the core areas of Dore, Bunbeg and Derrybeg.” In response, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte TD, on behalf of Minister Hogan said the Gweedore sewerage scheme is included in the Department’s water services investment programme and plans to start construction during the lifetime of the programme.The estimated cost of this work is €11.4 million.In Donegal, there are 15 contracts at, or due to start, construction during the lifetime of the programme, at a total estimated value of €80 million, including major sewerage schemes in Letterkenny and Killybegs. A further 11 contracts are at planning stage.Senator Ó Domhnaill added that Donegal County Council’s design review report for the Gweedore scheme is with the Department. “However, the Department has sought further clarification on a number of issues and say they will continue to liaise with the council with a view to progressing the scheme as quickly as possible.“I will continue to press the Minister to have this scheme progressed at every opportunity,” concluded Senator Ó Domhnaill.APPROVAL MUST BE GIVEN TO PROCEED WITH GAOTH DOBHAIR SEWERAGE SCHEME – O DOMHNAILL was last modified: June 29th, 2012 by StephenShare this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window) Tags:GAOTH DOBHAIR SEWERAGE SCHEMESENATOR BRIAN O DOMHNAILL read more

DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University women’s tennis team returns to the Roger Knapp Tennis Center for a pair of matches this weekend. The Bulldogs will face Illinois State at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon, and then they will go up against Bradley at 10 a.m. on Sunday for their last home match of the season. Drake is coming off of a strong weekend performance where they swept Valparaiso 7-0 on the road. The win brings Drake to an overall record of 12-5, and it remains perfect in the MVC play at 2-0. Liza Petushkova continues to be dominant, winning her tenth straight singles match and bringing her season record to 16-1. Petushkova was successful in doubles play as well, and she won her 15th doubles match of the season. Like Drake, Illinois State is sitting atop the MVC standings at 2-0. The Redbirds’ top singles player is Laura Fitzgerald who has a s singles record of 12-5 this season. Right behind her is Veronika Golanova whose 10-9 singles record is second best on the team. Golanova is also the team’s lead doubles player, with a record of 12-5 on the year.Sunday’s match against Bradley will be the last home match of the season, and the Bulldogs’ three seniors will be honored for their time at Drake. Summer Brills holds an incredible 75-48 singles record throughout her time here at Drake, and is just one win away from setting a career best of 23 wins in a year. In her junior season, she was placed on the MVC All-Select team after a 12-5 record as the No. 1 singles player. Tess Herder has had a very successful career at Drake, including being selected to the MVC Scholar-Athlete team in her sophomore and junior seasons. As a freshman she won a combined 40 singles and doubles matches. This season she has 22 total singles wins, which is a personal best. The third and final senior is Mela Jaglarz. Jaglarz has set personal bests this season with 12 singles wins and 12 doubles victories.Bradley has hit a cold streak and is currently on an 11-game losing streak. The Braves will make a stop at UNI before taking on Drake on Sunday. Alexa Brandt is the lead singles player at a record of 9-7. Brandt is also tied for the team lead in doubles wins with Sandra Maletin and Malini Wijesinghe.After this weekend, the Bulldogs travel to Springfield, Mo. to take on Missouri State on April 22 in their last regular season match before the MVC tournament. Print Friendly Version read more

Senator Marc Mac Sharry says the Government’s latest attempts to justify the setting up of Irish Water as ludicrous. Reports claim that the Environment Minister is to complain to Eurostat over the agency’s findings on the utility company, despite the fact that Eurostat’s analysis is based on Government supplied figures.Senator Mac Sharry commented: “This latest attempt to defend Irish Water is nothing more than another feeble attempt to justify this failed utility.  Minister Alan Kelly’s decision to write to Eurostat following Irish Water’s failure to meet the market corporation test is indicative of this Government’s tendency to put the cart before the horse. “Despite trying to appear assertive while challenging Eurostat on its figures, it seems to have slipped the Minister’s mind that those figures are based on the Government’s own CSO stats.“Irish Water has been a scandalous waste of taxpayers’ money and people across the North West are fed up reading reports about where their money is going.  Hundreds of millions of euro has been spent on consultants’ fees, management bonuses, staff perks and redundant water meters.  Not one extra cent has been spent on improving water quality or fixing leaks or burst pipes.“Just this week, Fianna Fáil demonstrated how, based on the current compliance rates and publicly available information on the costs associated with water charges, the net revenue from domestic water charges in 2015 will amount to MINUS €72m.“The Government cannot continue to throw good money after bad in an attempt to keep this failed entity afloat.  Fewer than half of customers are paying their bills – sending a clear message to the Minister that they have no confidence in this bonus driven super quango.  Minister Kelly needs to rethink his strategy and instead of concentrating on PR campaigns, come up with a strategy to dismantle this bloated utility”.  SENATOR: GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR IRISH WATER ‘LUDICROUS’ was last modified: August 7th, 2015 by John2Share this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window) Tags:Irish WaterMarc MacSharrysSENATOR read more

2 November 2012 South Africa’s major retail banks and the Banking Association of South Africa (Basa) have signed an agreement with the National Treasury aimed at improving responsible lending and preventing households from becoming caught in a debt spiral. In a joint statement on Thursday, Basa, the banks and the Treasury expressed concern over lending to households that could not afford their loans, illegal collection practices such as keeping ID documents, bank cards and PINs, selling inappropriate credit products to maximise margins, and extending unaffordable loans to pensioners and other social grant recipients. The agreement calls for several measures to be taken, including a review of loan affordability assessments, appropriate relief measures for distressed borrowers, reviewing the use of debit orders and limiting the use of garnishee orders. The parties agreed that while there were currently no systemic risks related to unsecured or secured lending, certain market behaviour could result in households, particularly poorer ones, getting caught in a debt spiral. It was recognised that although efficient regulation of South Africa’s banking sector limited the incidence of poor credit practices, some practices were nonetheless “undesirable and reckless”.Preventative measures The parties agreed to support the National Credit Regulator in enforcing the law and stamping out poor market conduct, and encourage it to improve preventative measures. These measures included introducing stronger fit-and-proper criteria for all lenders, ensuring all financial service providers were appropriately licensed or regulated, taking steps to improve supervision of credit bureaux, and requiring credit providers to update credit information at least once a week. Basa and its member banks agreed to review their approach to the assessment of affordability, and ensure the selling of appropriate credit products to their customers. “Basa, the National Credit Regulator and the National Treasury will formulate a standard to measure affordability, which could then be incorporated into regulations as minimum standards,” a joint statement read. “Each relevant Basa member bank will develop approaches to provide appropriate relief to qualifying distressed borrowers by reducing their instalment burden, without additional cost to the borrower.” The association’s members further agreed to load payment data onto the various credit bureaux systems as soon as was practically possible, preferably overnight in bulk. They also agree to minimum norms and standards for consumer credit insurance practices linked to lending, and said they would work with the Treasury and the Financial Services Board to develop a framework that took into account the interests of customers and the impact of charges on affordability.Garnishee orders Furthermore, Basa members committed not to use garnishee orders against credit defaulters. Garnishee orders are court order requiring the employer of a person in debt to pay part of their wages, with interest, directly over to their lender. “Basa and the National Treasury will promote and support enforcement initiatives against credit providers that issue pre-signed garnishee orders,” the parties said. “The National Treasury will also engage with the Department of Justice about the abuse of garnishee orders and suggest that their use be restricted to maintenance orders.” Going forward, National Treasury, Basa and the National Credit Regulator are expected to discuss how the current system of debt counselling can be improved to remove perverse incentives and eliminate abuses. While the commitments were only made by Basa and itse member banks, other credit providers, such as non-bank micro-lenders and retailers, were encouraged to conform to the good practices committed to by the banks. Source: SANews.gov.za read more

11 March 2013Andy Birkett and Sbonelo Zondi cruised to a comprehensive victory in The Unlimited Non-Stop Dusi Canoe Marathon raced between Pietermaritzburg and Durban on Friday, improving the overall K2 race record by a massive 17 minutes.Having suffered disappointing mishaps in their primary focus of the year, The Unlimited Dusi, two weeks ago, which saw them finish third and fourth respectively, Zondi (Team Kayak Racing) and Birkett (Team Best 4 Kayak Centre) came into the 110km “Dusi in a day” event with just one goal and that was to walk away victorious. Mission accomplished.‘Fantastic’“It’s fantastic to have won. Sbonelo and I combined really well and worked hard together throughout the day,” said Birkett.“I don’t think it was until late in the day that I thought we might have a chance of getting the record, but never did I ever think we’d beat it by as much as 17 minutes.“All my tears from Dusi are gone,” added an ecstatic Zondi. “I’m very happy right now. It’s an amazing position to be in and this is one for my future!The pair tussled with the likes of Thulani Mbanjwa and Zonele Nzuza, Richard and Nhlanhla Cele, Loveday Zondi and Siseko Ntondini and Gavin Shuter and Carl Folscher from the minute the starting gun went off. However, a decisive break on the Yellow Rock portage a third of the way through the day saw them fade off into the distance and remain well clear of their nearest rivals for the rest of the race.‘We sat back initially’“We sat back initially because the guys were quite aggressive and were making silly mistakes, so it was much better once things spread out a bit, and once we opened up a bit of a gap we just looked to go at our own pace and it was a matter of trying to keep it going all the way to the finish, which we managed to do,” said Birkett.Having occupied second place for much of the first half of the day, an unfortunate mishap at Hippo Rapid saw Mbanjwa and Nzuza break their flange, a major part of the steering mechanism, which they were able to repair only some way down the road at the Inanda Dam Wall portage.This opened the doorway for the Gauteng-based pair of Loveday Zondi and Siseko Ntondini to move up from third place and also helped them find a new gear as they aimed for Blue Lagoon in Durban.‘I couldn’t believe it’“We’d been going at quite a steady pace up until Tops Needle, but when our seconds told us we were in second place I couldn’t believe it. We just pushed as hard as we could and it all paid off,” said Zondi.“This is my biggest result ever and I’m very happy with our race today,” added Ntondini.Mbanjwa and Nzuza suffered further heartache as they watched Shuter (Team Best 4 Kayak Centre) and Folscher (Popes Matelec) cruise past them into third place, a position they held all the way to the finish, leaving Mbanjwa and Nzuza to finish fourth and the Cele brothers fifth.A monumental effort from Marc Germiquet saw him claim the honours as the first K1 across the line, in sixth position overall, after a ding-dong battle with Mark Mulder, before Mulder broke just below Island Rapid.DoublesOne of the many hot talking points of the day was the incredible mixed doubles’ and ladies doubles’ results as husband and wife combination Jen and Jacques Theron claimed a remarkable seventh place finish, while ladies winners’ Abby Adie and Hilary Pitchford held off a spirited effort from their male competitors to claim eighth.Adie and Pitchford also added their names to the record book as they obliterated the ladies K2 record by 28 minutes.“To finish in the top 10 overall and break the record is just amazing,” said Pitchford. “We had a really great race, with a couple of swims around Hippo, but Abs (Adie) was so strong and I couldn’t have asked for a better partner out there today.“It was my first Non-Stop Dusi and I had a really great time out there. It was really tough and I definitely took strain at times, but it was great!” reckoned Adie.RESULTSOverallAndy Birkett/Sbonelo Zondi 7:30.01Loveday Zondi/Siseko Ntondini 8:06.31Gavin Shuter/Carl Folscher 8:11.01Thulani Mbanjwa/Zonele Nzuza 8:19.06Richard Cele/Nhlanhla Cele 8:26.31Marc Germiquet 8:38.17Jacques Theron/Jen Theron 8:43.02Abby Adie/Hilary Pitchford 8:52.04Greg Carter-Brown/Kyle Dohne 8:54.29Shaun Dias/Luke Chalupsky 8:55.41WomenAbby Adie/Hilary Pitchford 8:52.04Mixed DoublesJacques Theron/Jen Theron 8:43.02Jakub Adam/Anna Adamova 8:55.48Kelvin Trautman/Sabrina Chesterman 9:11.33SinglesMarc Germiquet 8:38.17Craig Rees 9:25.31Mark MulderSAinfo reporterWould you like to use this article in your publication or on your website? See: Using SAinfo material read more

It took eastern Assam’s Namrup almost 500 years to transform from ‘Kalapani’, or death valley, to an industrial town. The place had earned the Kalapani tag because it was where the medieval Ahom rulers banished criminals and rebels to.Namrup took more than 60 years to honour Mohini Nath Phukan, the man who prevented the town from relapsing into the wilderness after the Chinese attack in 1962, by installing his statue in front of the Namrup Fertiliser Complex on Saturday.Mr. Phukan, who quit as a civil service officer to manage the fertiliser factory – India’s first gas-based one – had dissuaded former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru who wanted it to be shifted to West Bengal in the backdrop of the Chinese aggression.“The Chinese soldiers had in 1962 almost reached Assam. The former PM was reluctant to invest in the fertiliser plant as he feared it could be targeted if there were more conflicts. But Mr. Phukan had to fight more battles than the one with Mr. Nehru,” Tileswar Bora, general secretary of the Namrup Fertiliser Employees’ Union, told The Hindu from the town about 450 km east of Guwahati.Mr. Bora said the people of the town, apart from the employees, crowd-funded the statue. “It took us many years, but as they say, it is better late than never,” he added.‘Club of death’Work for the plant began in 1960 and about 50 residential quarters had been built before the 1962 year. Brought under Fertiliser Corporation of India (FCI), work resumed in 1963 but the Centre had in the following year said the land was not hard enough to withstand the weight of a plant that would produce 200 metric tonnes of ammonia and 167 MT of urea per day besides other chemical products.Mr. Phukan fought again and had another spot identified where the supply of natural gas from oilfields in neighbouring Naharkatiya and Duliajan, and water from the Dilli river was ensured. He also convinced some villagers to give their farmlands.Commissioned in 1968, the British technology-backed Namrup-I turned out to be FCI’s most viable of three plants – the others were Dadri in Jharkhand and Nangal in Punjab – that produced the cheapest fertilisers. This spurred the government to start Namrup-II in 1972 with Italian technology.The FCI set up seven new fertiliser plants across India, including Haldia in West Bengal, soon after Namrup-II was commissioned in 1976 to produce 600 MT of urea daily. In 1978, the Janata Party government split FCI into four separate companies. Namrup was clubbed with the Haldia, Durgapur and Barauni plants under Hindustan Fertiliser Corporation Limited (HFCL).But while production and profitability of Namrup increased, the Durgapur and Barauni ran into losses while the ₹300 crore Haldia project had to be abandoned after 14 years of uncertainty. “We were in the club of death,” Mr. Bora said.Namrup, nevertheless, continued to be on an expansion mode with the third and a much larger unit being commissioned in 1987. But the poor performance of the other plants in West Bengal and Bihar impacted Namrup. In 1992, HFCL was declared a sick company and referred to the Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR); maintenance suffered and salaries remained frozen as in 1987.The BIFR’s suggestion saw the government sanction ₹350 crore for revamping work in 1998 while formulating a plan for the closure of Barauni, Durgapur and Haldia. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, then the Railway Minister, opposed the plan in 2000.But Namrup Fertiliser Complex was given a fresh lease of life in April 2002 when if was bifurcated from HFCL to be renamed Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation Limited.“The fight for the plant has not ended as some units are past their expiry date and need revamping. This is resulting in frequent accidents, like the one in an old ammonia unit today (Sunday),” said Abani Kumar Gogoi, general secretary, Dibrugarh District Students’ Union.The plant, he added, needs someone like Mr. Phukan for reviving its lost glory. read more