Development / Northeast

IMPHAL, March 18: The transaction volume of the Indo-Myanmar border trade has come drastically to an all time low of just Rs 3 crore from the earlier Rs 70 crore involved annually. Officials have attributed the decline to the hike of custom duty on the trade items. Talking to media persons in Moreh yesterday one official of the border trade expressed hope that the decline would be checked as the Customs duty has been reduced by 10 percent after the introduction of the Union Budget in the Parliament. He said the trade method continues to be in the barter system but the rate of export is greater...

GUWAHATI, March 16: "It was the master craftmen of the Northeastern region who taught us what bamboo is all about and its enormous potential as a material for future industrialisation," said MP Ranjan of National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. Ranjan who has been associated with research on bamboo for the last 20 years or so, was speaking at the inauguration of "Bamboo Boards and Beyond", an exhibition being organised at Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre here. He said bamboo had enormous potential as an industrial material in the Northeast region and called for a change in the mindest to...

IMPHAL, March 15: MPs of the Northeastern states have urged the Union Minister of Civil Aviation Sharad Yadav to immediately make operational services in Guwahati airport by starting Indian Airlines flights to capital cities of neighbouring countries like Dhaka, Kathmandu and Bangkok. The common body of the MPs of the NE States, Northeast MPs Forum led by its Chairman and MP from Meghalaya PR Kyndiah also urged the Civil Aviation Minister to start morning flights between Guwahati and New Delhi, besides making Guwahati airport the hub of regional air service. The Lok Sabha MP from the outer...

GUWAHATI, March 12: The Coconut Development Board has allotted Rs 350 lakh for implementation of various coconut development programmes in the Northeast for the year 2000-2001, its chairman, P Rethinam, said here today, reports PTI. "Northeast is a goldmine for coconuts but its full potential has remained unutilised and underutilised," Rethinam said at the inaugural function of a workshop organised for extension workers here. He said that under area expansion programme, the physical target is 1250 HA while the financial target is Rs 76.69 lakh. "During this financial year, the Board has given...

SHILLONG, March 11: The ad-hocism practised by the Centre in appointing the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the Northeastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) has adversely affected the morale of the employees as also the functioning of the Corporation. The pioneer infrastructure development organisation of the north eastern region in the field of power generation has been functioning without a regular CMD since November 1 last year following the retirement of P K Kotoky. The Director (Finance) of the Corporation, PK Chatterjee, who was holding the additional charge of the post of CMD...

NEW DELHI, March 8: The National Highways in Northeast are finally likely to witness repair work, with the Ministry of Surface Transport (MoST) sanctioning Rs 250.80 crore for its development. The earmarked amount being 10 per cent of the total budgetary allocation of Rs 2508 crore of the MoST. The sanction of the entire 10 per cent of the allocation earmarked for the region on development of NHs is part of the proposal to attach top priority for development of infrastructure including airports, railways, power and NHs to remove the sense of isolation. The detail of the project work undertaken...

NEW DELHI, March 8: A high-level committee has been constituted by Union Civil Aviation Minister Sharad Yadav to asses airport infrastructure in the Northeast. The committee will resolve aviation problems of the region in a time bound manner, Yadav said on Thursday. The committee comprises representatives from the civil aviation ministry, Indian Airlines, Airports Authority of India, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Pawan Hans helicopters. Members of Parliament from the Northeast have also been asked to suggest ways to improve the sector in the region. While expressing concern at...

GUWAHATI, March 7: A number of Western nations have officially warned their citizens not to venture into Northeast, including Assam, citing "civil unrest, insurgent attacks and political killings" occuring in the region. The warning, also posted on government websites of these countries, has evoked a sharp response within the Northeast tourism industry. Apart from recommending remedial measures, the industry here has also blamed the ministry of external affairs and some of the big Indian tour operators for their failure to present the correct picture of the prevailing security situation in...

SHILLONG, March 6: The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), despite being the smallest among the nine zonal railways in the country, has achieved the dubious distribution of claiming the highest number of derailments during the year 1999-2000. In fact, of the about 329 train derailments in the country during the year, the NFR accounted for as many as 67 or so such accidents. A report on the Safety Performance of the Indian Railways has revealed that derailments accounted for 71 per cent of all train accidents in the country during 1999-2000. However, in NFR, derailments constituted about 85 per...

SHILLONG, March 6: "Follow and advocate local and safe building codes for earthquake resistant construction," seismologists here are unanimous in their opinion in view of the fact that it was not the devastating quake as such but the toppling buildings which killed thousands in Gujarat on January 26. It is also important to upgrade poorly-built structures, specially the multi-storied buildings, in the urban areas in the Northeastern States. They have prescribed the following precautions to be adopted before, during and after an earthquake as also some do's and don'ts so as to minimise damages...