Development / Northeast

Dhubri, Dec. 27: West Assam and North Bengal will soon be connected by railway network. Railway minister Nitish Kumar has assured the joint convenor of New Moinaguri-Jogighopa Railway Extension Demand Committee, Tazmul Hoque, that a new broad gauge railway line from New Moinaguri to Jogighopa will be completed soon.

Hoque said tenders for the three-phase work ? from Moinaguri to Changrabandha, Golokganj to Gauripur and Mathabhanga to Jogighopa (Abhayapuri) ? have been completed following a final location survey by the Rail India Technical Economic Services (Rites).

The railway network in the...

IMPHAL, Dec 16?A two-day long seminar on ?bamboo for employment and economic generation? which concluded on Friday at the Hotel Imphal conference hall, categorically highlighted the economic potential of bamboo in North-east region.

Projecting the North-eastern region as blessed with abundant natural resources for employment generation and expansion of economic activities, most of the speakers end experts during the two-day brain storming session, stressed on exploration and tapping of bamboo.

Manipur governor Arvind Dave who attended the inaugural session at the Gandhi memorial hall in...

GUWAHATI, Dec 14: Existing tribal land holding practices in the Northeast may be depriving the people from availing bank loans to bring about agricultural development in the primarily agrarian economies of the States here. Suitable modifications need to be made in the rules to enable the tribals to bring about a transformation in their lives.

A team from the Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes Commission (SA&STC), led by its chairman Dileep Singh Bhuria, which is currently visiting Assam and Nagaland, has observed that the individual cultivators should easily get the soft loan assistance...

GUWAHATI, Dec 13 ? With an objective to pave way for private investment in infrastructure sector in this region the North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Limited (NEDFi) has signed an MoU with Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited (ILFS). Governor of Assam Lt Gen (retd) Ajai Singh attended the MoU signing ceremony between the NEDFi and ILFS which is expected to revolutionise development of infrastructure sectors like power, roads, telecom, water supply, sewerage, industrial estates etc in this investment-deficient region through ?private public partnership? mechanism.

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IMPHAL, Dec 11?In a significant development, Manipur and Mizoram have set up a joint power commission to study the problems and grievances being faced by the consumers of the two neighbouring states in the north east region. Reports reaching here said that the joint power commission was set up after a meeting between representatives of the two state governments at the office of the Union Power Secretary R V Sahi at New Delhi on Tuesday.

The headquarter of the joint commission will be based at Mizoram, During the first five years the Union government will bear fifty per cent of the cost of...

GUWAHATI, Dec 11 ? The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is planning to provide 95,350 mobile phone connections in the north eastern region of the country. This was disclosed by the Union Minister of State for Communication and Information Technology Ashok Pradhan in the Rajya Sabha today. A PIB release said that in reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, the Minister said that the BSNL and the Reliance Telecom Limited are providing mobile phone services in the region and the Hexacom India Limited has also been granted licence to provide the same in the region. The Reliance Telecom has been...

NEW DELHI, Dec 10 ? End of power woes in Assam seems to be in sight with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) clearing a USD 250 million loan package to Assam Government to restructure its power sector. The ADB from Manila said that the Assam Power Sector Development Plan (SDP) comprises a policy loan, an investment loan, and three technical assistance (TA) grants to support a comprehensive programme of reform. The State Power Department and Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) are the executing agencies for the investment loan, which has a 20-year term, including a five-year grace period. The...

NEW DELHI, Dec 9 ? In an attempt to resolve the crisis over railway recruitment, Railway Ministry has convened a meeting of the Informal Consultative Committee on NF Railway here tomorrow to discuss the issue. Railway Minister, Nitish Kumar is slated to chair the meeting that would be attended by North-east MPs. The timing of the unscheduled meeting assumes significance because the Railway Minister is slated to reply on the short duration discussion on the recent violence in Assam and Bihar due to recruitment policy of the Railways this week. The inconclusive discussion that started last week...

IMPHAL, Dec 6 ? The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance ministry at the Centre is making efforts to frame a common formula for proper channelisation of the potential as well as the resources available in the region for developmental activities on all fronts. Disclosing this at a reception function of the BJP state unit held at the Manipur Dramatic union hall in Imphal, Union Minister for Small Scale Industries and Development of North Eastern Region (Doner) Dr Chandreshwar Prasad Thakur on his maiden visit to Manipur on Friday, expressed his desire to take the ?benefits? of the centrally...

NEW DELHI, Dec 5 ? The need for change in the recruitment policy of the Railway in order to avoid future clashes between States, was overwhelmingly endorsed by Members in the Lok Sabha, with Members from Bihar urging Union Railway Minister Nitish Kumar to bifurcate Katihar Division from North East Frontier Railway and include it in Hazipur Zone. The growth of regionalism, particularly in Assam, was perceived as a serious threat to the unity and integrity of the nation. ?We have to check the menace of provincial chauvinism and protect federalism, which has engulfed Assam,? remarked Basudev...