Development / Northeast

Guwahati, April 1: A first-time visitor to this capital city could end up checking into a hospital if he is guided by the website addresses mentioned in the latest of the “Incredible !ndia” advertisement series of the Central department of tourism.

The “where to stay” page under the “Guwahati” link of www.tourismofindia.com mentions Hotel Samrat in the “supplementary accommodation” category.

Actually, Hotel Samrat was closed down in 1999 and converted into an endolaparoscopic surgical research institute on June 15 the next year.

Umpteen factual errors litter www.tourismofindia.com and www...

Shillong March 30: The North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (Neepco) has accused the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) of violating a power project agreement. Neepco said it would now sell power from the 291-MW Kathalguri gas-based project to West Bengal and other western states.

According to the agreement signed between the Assam government and Neepco, 49 per cent of the power generated by the Kathalguri project in Upper Assam was to be bought by the Assam government at Rs 2.25 paise per unit. However, the Assam government has fallen out with Neepco over the tariff and is now buying...

GUWAHATI, March 27 — The Bangladesh Government has proposed to open up trade with Assam through Sylhet district in that country through a joint endeavour of the chambers of commerce of Sylhet and Assam. Bangladesh Secretary of Ministry of Commerce Suhel Ahmed who had a meeting with Assam Chief Minister and top State Government officials yesterday, called for more interaction between Bangladesh authority and Assam to increase the volume of trade and commerce in the interest of economic development on both sides of the border.

During the discussion, Ahmed pointed out that banks in the Northeast...

MOREH, March 22 – Though, the Centre has given the go ahead for promotion of Indo-Myanmar bilateral trade and agreed in principle for construction of a Food and Civil Supply godown at Moreh, India’s gateway to the south east Asian countries, the cash strapped Manipur government is unable to translate it into action.

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs had sanctioned Rs 58 lakh to construct a 1250 metric ton capacity Food and Civil Supply godown at Moreh of which 50 per cent is in the form of subsidy while the rest is in the form of a loan. However, the Centre released only Rs 35 lakh after...

Dimapur, March 21: A two-member European Commission team is visiting Nagaland to explore the possibility of extending the partnership between the European Union and India to various sectors of the Northeast.

Francois Massoulie, first secretary at the European Commission office in New Delhi, told The Telegraph during his stay here that there was immense scope to broaden the areas of bilateral co-operation. However, he was cautious not to promise anything to the Northeast.

“I am not going to raise the expectations of the people at this point of time. But perhaps we could think about media...

Shillong, March 20: The customs and central excise department appears to be in no mood to entertain requests by trade lobbies in Dhaka and Sylhet to reconsider its decision to suspend operations along the export routes in the Northeast.

As many as 13 land customs stations in Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura were closed down following the abduction of customs inspector Dipak Mahanta and six traders by militants of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) and the People’s Liberation Front of Meghalaya.

Representatives of the Northeast Customs and Central Excise Federation said land customs...

NEW DELHI, March 19 — The Department for Development of North Eastern Region (DONER) is exploring several options including handing over the B Baruah Cancer Hospital to private sector, even as Minister incharge, Dr CP Thakur, advocated special incentives to attract medical experts to the region.

Returning from his maiden tour of the North-East, the Minister has redrawn his list of ‘things to do’ updating it with the feedback he received in the three States of Mizoram, Meghalaya and Assam.

However, the Health Minister in him seems to have taken precedence as he broadly outlined his plans to...

NEW DELHI, March 16— The Government has undertaken six All India Radio projects to expand the existing network in north-eastern States, especially in Assam.

This was stated by the Minister of Information & Broadcasting, Ravi Shankar Prasad in reply to a question by Dr Jayanta Rongpi in Lok Sabha recently.

Elaborating, the minister said the AIR projects are of Jorhat, Silchar, Karimganj, Lumding, Goalpara and Guwahati. He said the work undertaken at Guwahati includes upgradation of existing uplink facility to digital mode while the proposed FM transmitter at Lumding will cover some of the...

GUWAHATI, March 14 — German Government has shown interest in extending help towards development of hydro power sector, healthcare, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and infrastructure in the North Eastern region. A three-member German delegation led by Dr Wolfhard Behrens, Counsellor and Head of Development Cooperation at the German Embassy in New Delhi made a visit to the State couple of days back to have first hand information about possibilities of German cooperation in development of North East India.

The German team which also had Mrs Andrea Johnston, Director of KfW, a German...

SHILLONG, March 14 – Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DONER), Dr CP Thakur has emphasised on speedy implementation of developmental projects in the region. Talking to media persons at the premises of the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute for Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) in the outskirts of the city today, the Union Minister opined that the North Eastern States should find out ways and measures for revenue generation. “States of the region should not always look towards the Centre for help”, he said.

Questioned on the reason for the tardy pace of...