Development / Meghalaya

SHILLONG, March 18: The Meghalaya Transport Corporation (MTC) has decided to introduce some new bus services besides resuming several suspended services from March 20. MTC sources said a new daily morning service from Guwahati to Umrangso via Shillong and Jowai and vice versa will be launched on March 20. Another daily morning deluxe service from Lad Rymbai to Guwahati and back will also be started from March 20. The corporation, which is running at heavy losses, will also resume its suspended daily morning services from Shillong to Tura and Shillong to Silchar. The suspended night bus service...

SHILLONG, March 18: For the first time in the history of the Jaintia Hills, development workers and community-based organisations in the district have set aside their differences and decided to pool their resources to achieve their common goal of development. Over 30 representatives of 20 community-based organisations of the district today attended a meeting in Jowai to work out the modalities for a joint development initiative. The meeting, convened by the Jowai-based Mar Chaphrang Development Society (MCDS), decided to create a network of community-based organisations. "There are hundreds of...

SHILLONG, March 17: India's first District Rehabilitation Centre (DRC) for extending ability aid and other help to the physically disabled was inaugurated by the Meghalaya Chief Minister, EK Mawlong, at the Shillong Civil Hospital here yesterday. Observing that the biggest challenge in the effort to provide rehabilitation services to those in need was inaccessibility, Mawlong said, "About 99 per cent of the physically-challenged section of society, numbering 15 million, live in the rural, semi-rural and small towns," Mawlong said. Taking into account this fact, Mawlong added, the policy...

SHILLONG, March 11: The Meghalaya Tourism Development Corporation Employees' Union (MTDCEU) on Saturday threatened to go on an indefinite strike from March 26 in support of their demands including payment of arrears, reports agencies. MTDCEU president SD Marbaniang told newsmen here that the union has already served the strike notice to the Corporation's management, as all the democratic means to get their demands were exhausted. He said the demands included payment of arrears and allowance with effect from January 1996 to April 2000 on the recommendation of the Meghalaya Pay Commission, house...

SHILLONG, March 10: The Meghalaya Tourism Development Corporation Employees' Union has opposed the government's branding of the corporation as a sick unit and its bid to privatise it. Addressing a news conference here, union president S.D. Marbaniang and its other members denied that the corporation was a loss-making unit. They asked the government to instead seek out answers to the huge losses by probing into the managerial decisions made over the years. They alleged that the Meghalaya Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) was incurring losses because of mismanagement. The union leaders said...

SHILLONG, March 4: Shillongites may soon have to carry shopping bags to the market as the Meghalaya Government has decided to ban plastic bags. The decision came in the wake of pressures from various NGOs and local 'durbars' who have been expressing grave concern over the extensive damages caused to the environment by the rampant use of low-density coloured plastic bags in the State. The Meghalaya Cabinet, in a meeting on March 2, approved a Bill, the Meghalaya Prohibition of Manufacture, Sale, Use and throwing of Low-density Plastic Bags Bill, 2001, which will be introduced in the Budget...

SHILLONG, February 15: More than private establishments, state government undertakings are reported to be major defaulters of the Employees' State Insurance (ESI). The ESI is a statutory social security scheme for workers in the organised sector and created under an Act of Parliament. Defaulters also include a few newspaper houses of the state. In terms of cash, they have defaulted in payment of more than Rs 60 lakh as the employers' share into the fund. However, many defaulters have now prayed to be allowed to pay in instalments to make up for the loss. Regional director of ESI Corporation D...

SHILLONG, February 15: Meghalaya Government today announced a tourism policy in a bid to attract private investments in the sagginng tourism sector. The policy approved by the State Cabinet in a meeting today offers a whole range of incentives and subsidies on private investments, publicity, power generation, etc, State Finance and IPR Minister AH Scott Lyngdoh told newsmen. He said "the policy is intended to give a big fillip to the economy of the State and also generate additional employment opportunities." All new "units" will also be eligible for exemption from sales tax for a period of...

SHILLONG, February 14: A colourful monograph titled Dances and Festivals of Meghalaya published by the State Directorate of Information and Public Relations was released here on Monday by Finance Minister AH Scott Lyngdoh. Speaking on the occasion, he said, "The Cabinet is shortly considering a tourism policy for the State which will list incentives for the sector." The government is keen to speedily develop the tourist infrastructure in the State so as to tap the tremendous potential in the sector, he added. Scott Lyngdoh, who also holds the charge of I and PR, announced that the department...

SHILLONG, February 3: The R.S. Lyngdoh Training Centre has adopted three East Khasi Hills hamlets - Syniasa, Umsning and Tanglei - as project villages for the Integrated Rural Development Programme. The three villages, which make up a cluster, are situated about nearly 45 km from the capital city. At a public meeting held at Umsning yesterday, the sordars of the villages welcomed the training centre's team led by director Banteilang R. Lyngdoh Nongbri. They said the villagers, who were poor and illiterate, were in need of assistance. The area had been long neglected by the government, they...