Development / Northeast

SHILLONG, April 28: Despite the immense tourist potential of the Northeast States, the flow of incoming tourists, both domestic and foreign has remained minimal. For instance only few thousand of the 2.6 million foreign tourists to the country in 2000 visited the NE. The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has identified the reason for the aversion of the tourists to visit the region. "The facilities for stay, food, shopping and entertainment are either non-existent or mostly primitive in nature", the Ministry said in its annual report for 2000-2001 released in New Delhi recently. It...

IMPHAL, April 20: In order to boost Indo-Myanmar trade, the State authority has urged the Union Minister for Commerce and Industries, Murasoli Maran to provide permission for Indian registered vehicles for its entry into Myanmar territory. The member of the Parliament from this tiny state representing half of the population, Holkhomang Haokip had apprised the matter by submitting an official letter to the Union Commerce minister-recently. Elaborating the steps which are being taken up by the MP in connection with the upgradation of the Indo-Myanmar trade agreement, which was formally signed in...

GUWAHATI, April 15: Bamboo and cane are integrated to the culture and economics of Northeast, and with two-thirds of the 80.4 million tonne of the growing stock in this region, they have been recognised as an eco-friendly industrial material of the future, reports PTI. Experts have pointed out that cane and bamboo are easy to work with, requiring basic tools and simple machines giving craftspersons and entrepreneurs exceptional opportunities to realise incremental employment and income with little capital and investment in infrastructure. "The development of the sector would promote eco...

AIZAWL, April 13: Central power corporations like the NEEPCO, NHPC and Power Grid Corporation, which have been undertaking high prices power projects, have become soft targets of the insurgent groups in the Northeast region, a top police official said here on Thursday, reports PTI. Citing the example of abduction of Power Grid Corporation officials by Manipur's Hmar People's Convention-Democrats (HPC-D) on Wednesday in Mizoram-Manipur border area, the police official, on condition of anonymity, said the rebel groups were indulging in extortion and found the Central power corporations as soft...

IMPHAL, April 11: A tremor of moderate intensity rocked the Northeast India and neighbouring Myanmar at 0338 hours with its epicentre at Churachandpur. According to the data recorded by the Seismological Observatory located at the Manipur University, the magnitude has been recorded at 5.2 on the Richter scale. The first motion arrival time of the shock was recorded at 3 hr. 38 min. 36:59 seconds, and the origin time of the shock is estimated to be 3 hr. 38 min. 18 sec. (IST). The epicentre is located at Sinzang-Kaihlam-Umtal region of Churachandpur district (24?N latitude and 94.4?E longitude)...

GUWAHATI, April 8: The fifth Agricultural Science Congress which concluded here today, has drawn up a 10-point action plan in a bid to give an impetus to the agricultural sector of the Northeast. The action plan, termed as 'Guwahati Declaration' of the Congress, land emphasis on gearing up the marketing system and preservation of 15,000 agriculturally important species which are facing extinction, in the Northeast. It also suggested preservation of ecosystem and aromatic plants of the region. The four-day congress had a marathon deliberation on the agriculture sector covering all aspects and...

SHILLONG, April 5: The North Eastern Council (NEC) has sanctioned an amount or Rs 6 crore to the Border Road Development Board for construction or 'inter-state' roads and other roads of 'economic importance' in the north eastern region. The amount is part of a Rs 17.02 crore scheme, sanctioned during March, the NEC said in a press release. The NEC has also accorded administrative approval to schemes amounting to Rs 20.74 crore. The NEC scheme for development of integrated muga project and muga silk industry in Meghalaya received a sanction or Rs 45 lakh as grant besides a loan of Rs 5 lakh...

ITANAGAR, March 26: Country's first Bharat Gramodaya Darshan Park would be set up at Doimukh in Arunachal Pradesh to propel and showcase rural development, reports PTI. The multi-disciplinary training centre for rural people at Doimukh would be transformed into the BGDP which would be among six such units to be set up all over the country. The chairman of Central Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Mahesh Sharma, laid the foundation of the BGDP project at Doimukh on March 25, a project sanctioned by the Department of Culture, Union government. The initial cost of the project would...

NAHARLAGUN, March 25: The Arunachal Pradesh Government is making concerted efforts to reopen the traditional border trade routes with China, Bhutan and Myanmar to make this tribal-dominated state a nerve centre of border trade in near future. "My government is pursuing the matter with the Centre for taking up bilateral talks with the governments of our neighbouring countries on priority basis," Mithi said while responding to a private member resolution on border trade routes moved by the former chief Minister Gegong Apang in the Assembly. Moving the resolution, Apang said: "This Assembly is of...

NEW DELHI, March 21: The Union Cabinet has approved establishment of 22 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in the Northeastern States and Sikkim through a Centrally sponsored scheme at a cost of nearly Rs 50 crore and upgradation of 35 existing ITIs at an estimated cost of Rs 49 crore, reports PTI. Stating that the Cabinet took the decision last night, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan told reporters today that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had recently announced an agenda for the socio-economic development of NE region which included doubling of the number of ITIs for...