Development / Northeast

DIBRUGARH, Dec 1: Generally ?Vinegar? Joe Stilwell must be grinding his teeth wherever he is. For the urgency with which his forces built the road later named after him is today caught in the quagmire of international politics and policy differences. At the end of the two-day deliberations on the problems and prospects of re-opening the Stilwell Road here on Saturday the matter continues to be as complex as it was two days ago whether to expedite the process of re-opening the road at all and if yes how to go about it. A local tea planter, Manoj Jalan, who is involved in the matter, today said...

Dibrugarh, Nov. 30: Experts have once again mooted the idea of reopening the historic Stillwell Road ? albeit while sounding a note of caution ? during the inaugural session of the two-day national seminar on ?Reopening of the Stilwell Road ? problems and prospects? here today.

?Smuggling of narcotics and illicit arms into the country from Myanmar, irrespective of the country of origin, has been going on regardless of the presence or absence of the road. ... This must be eliminated,? said former diplomat A.K. Ray, delivering the keynote address at the seminar. It was organised by the...

GUWAHATI, July 14? Introduction of Jan-Satabdi service between Guwahati and Dimapur within this year is likely to pose a stiff challenge to the road sector as the new train will provide faster and comfortable journey to the passengers. Railway sources revealed that Jan-Satabdi trains, which have been introduced to commemorate 150 years of Indian Railways, will bring about a change in the concept of inter-city travel. The coaches and seats of the trains have been specially designed for maximum passenger comfort while a mini-pantry will be provided in each coach. A rail mart will also be...

GUWAHATI, July 12? The Airport Authority of India (AAI) is spending over Rs 30 crore per year for arranging adequate security cover in all operational airports in the North Eastern region, while it is incurring heavy losses from its operations in the region. The Regional Executive Director of AAI, Sri Srikrishan informed newsmen here that in view of the security threat in the insurgency-hit north eastern region, AAI has to avail of ?very expensive? service of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to look after security in airports at Guwahati, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Bagdogra and Agartala. AAI...

NEW DELHI, July 10 ? The power situation in the country in general and the North-east in particular may be grim but the power ministry has drawn up an ambitious programme targeting 41,000 MW of power generation including 1017.92 MW in the north-eastern region (NER) in the next 10 years. The targeted figures were worked out at a two-day national conference on capacity addition during 10th Plan and advance action for 11th Plan organised by the Union Ministry of Power that concluded here yesterday.

?Mission 2012: power for all?, however, does not envisage completion of the mega hydro-power...

SHILLONG, July 9? The north-eastern States have received funds totalling Rs 1,444.87 crore from the non-lapsable Central pool during the period 1998-99 to 2001-2002 for implementing various development schemes. Official sources said that an amount of Rs 121.95 crore was released from the pool during the year 1998-99, which jumped to Rs 509.92 crore the next year. The following year, the releases from the non-lapsable pool slipped to Rs 313.04 crore. During 2001-2002, funds released to the North-east from the Central pool was Rs 499.96 crore. Assam secured Rs 293.16 crore (about 20 per cent) of...

AGARTALA, July 9 : Due to a massive landslip on the railway line between Bandarkhal and Damcherra about 75 kilometres from Badarpur, rail link between Tripura and Assam has been snapped. The two-kilometre stretch of railway line between Bandarkhal and Damcherra was washed away by the sliding mud and rocks from the adjoining hills early Sunday morning. ?It would take at least three weeks to restore the railway link between Tripura and Assam,? sources said. Though restoration works have started from both sides, but due to incessant rainfall for the past two days, works could only progress at a...

GUWAHATI, July 4 ? The Department of Women & Child Development (DWCD) released an amount of Rs 158.71 crores for NE States and Sikkim in 2001-2002. During the year, significant initiatives were taken up for the region. These include: A special proposal for construction of Anganwadi Centre in NE States, under the Integrated Child Development Service Scheme of the Department was processed for Rs 60 crore to make good the shortfall in constructed Anganwadi Centres, and Rs 30 crore released in 2001-2002, stated a release. The Department approved expenditure of Rs 1.33 crore for opening of three...

GUWAHATI, July 3 ? Uncertainty has hit travel plans of many prospective Bangkok going tourists from this part of the country in view of the repeated cancellation of both ways flights in Mumbai-Kolkata-Guwahati-Bangkok route. Sources informed that there was virtually no operation of the Bangkok flight to and from Guwahati since the beginning of June this year till date causing hardship to travellers besides adding to the loss of Air India.

Although about 75 Bangkok bound tourists were waiting to catch the Bangkok flight from here tomorrow (Thursday), the Air India once again cancelled it...

AGARTALA, June 30 ?The Northeast Frontier Railways expects to invest Rs 500 crore by next financial year for extension of rail services in the north-eastern region. Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, general manager of the NF Railways Vipan Nanda said, the railway extension will also ensure employment of about 2,500 persons. As a part of its railway service improvement schemes, the NFR has already proposed to the Railway ministry for introduction of Passenger Reservation Systems (PRS) in some of the district headquarters of the north-eastern States.

Moreover, the general manager...