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This connectivity is an idea,conceived by city-based Thohe Pou who compiles the headlines to be sent vie SMSes to around 2000 subscribers across the country. Introducing Nagalim Times (N Times),a free SMS news service,whose concept is not just to communicate news but also to connect people to the mainland and vice versa through the vital pieces of information. “The media often fails to give required coverage to the northeastern states while the rest of the country needs to know what is happening there. Also the remote regions of northeast receive the newspapers two days later than the rest of the country and remain disconnected from the world. I believe that the local news are reflective of the culture that exists there and through it,the readers can understand people better apart from sensitising the mainland with the happenings in the north east,” adds Pou who is an assistant professor in a city-based college and has been residing here for more than a decade.

Launched in October last year,the free service is managed single handedly by Pou who goes through national dailies and almost all newspapers from the northeast online everyday. Readers and subscribers are however free to inform him about the latest news,which is confirmed and then circulated to others. Started with around seven messages he has reduced them to three each day containing around three news pieces per message. While two SMSes focus on news from the northeast one SMS is on India and world news. He also sends updates on various entrance exams and job notifications. “The main aim being informing people. The news items are picked from various publications,however the receivers are also allowed to contribute. However I confirm them and at times have to edit the headlines after going through the entire story to sound crisp and perceivable. In fact some of my friends in northeast have told me that they stopped subscribing to the newspapers and instead prefer more of SMS news,which is instant. Although some even complain that I don’t have a fixed time for the messages,this is my effort to pitch in the stories on time and acclimatise people to the happenings around them,” he concludes.

Type: JOIN NTIMES and send to 09219592195 for the free sms service