Development / Northeast

GUWAHATI, June 3 ? Frequent agitational programmes like bandhs, rail roko agitations, picketing, dharna, obstructions etc in the last few years not only resulted in financial loss to the Railways but also affected the movement of people and goods to this backward region of the country.

According to records available with the NF Railway, the areas under the juridiction of this Railway witnessed 132 bandhs, 24 Rail Roko programmes, one picketing, 17 obstructions, 15 dharnas on the tracks etc in the year 2000. In the year 2001, the area witnessed 112 bandhs, 28 Rail Roko agitations, one...

TEZPUR, June 2 ? The NE region of the country is not backward. It is resourceful and has the potential to emerge as the centre of development in the country, said secretary of the North Eastern Council (NEC) PL Thanga here today. Thanga, who was inaugurating a two-day regional workshop on ?Policy Framework for Efficient Management of Water and Land Resources for Poverty Alleviation in NE region?, organised by the North Eastern Regional Institute of Water and Land Management (NERIWALM) at Dholabari here, besides inaugurating the new administrate building of the Institute, also called upon the...

Dimapur, June 1: The first phase of the Department for Development of North East Region-funded embankment project on river Dhansiri at Nahar Bari and Rangapahar was formally inaugurated on Saturday, providing the residents with the much-needed respite from the menace of soil erosion.

?Hopefully, our worst fears of losing our land and homes to monsoon floods is now a thing of the past,? said Hokato, a settler on the bank of Dhansiri.

The residents expressed the hope that the project would serve its purpose and prove its worth when it faces its first acid test in August.

Over the past several...

GUWAHATI, May 31 ? The Department of Development of North-Eastern Region (DONER) disbursed Rs 550 crore from the Non-lapsable Pool of Central resources to the NE States in the last financial year. This was disclosed by the Minister in charge of DONER, Dr CP Thakur today. Addressing a press conference here today, Dr Thakur said that an effective monitoring system has been evolved to ensure proper implementation of the projects. Apart from monitoring by the State governments, Planning Commission and CAG, the DONER is also monitoring the implementation of schemes by taking photographs and other...

KOHIMA, May 19?The Centre has created an ?Export Development Fund (EPF)? with an aim to boost trade from the north-eastern region under the prime minister?s package of new initiative for the north-east, reports PTI. An official release received here said the development of trade and exports in the region, which borders countries such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, China and Myanmar, has been given priority by the Centre after the announcement of the specific set of measures under the ?PM?s action plan for the north-east? in January 2000.

The Centre has so far sanctioned Rs 7.95 crore for 21 projects...

GUWAHATI, May 28 ? Financial constrain has seriously affected the functioning of the North Eastern Council (NEC) set up for the development of the region, admitted the Governor Lt Gen (Retd) SK Sinha. In an interview with The Assam Tribune, Lt Gen Sinha, who also served as the chairman of the NEC, said, ?we tried to activate the Council as much as we could within the limited financial allocations. I also ensured equitable allocation to all the States, particularly Assam.? He said that the NEC had been doing commendable job but it is difficult to achieve results overnight. He expressed the view...

GUWAHATI, May 26 ? The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) has sanctioned Rs 36.55 crore for the north-eastern States for the session 2003-04 to fight the onslaught of the dreaded disease. Revealing this at a workshop on AIDS today, NACO project director Meenakshi Datta Ghosh said the targeted areas for utilisation of the amount are interventions, prevention interventions, low-cost AIDS care, institutional strengthening and inter-sectoral collaboration, with an increase of 20 per cent over the previous year allocation.

NACO, which supports 94 blood banks in 76 districts, is also...

Dibrugarh, May 25: Biomedical researchers in the Northeast have for long been forced to rely on animals brought in from outside for conducting their experiments. But this is all set to end, with the Lahowal-based Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC) setting up a ?reproduction centre? for experimental animals.

Established in 1982, the centre ? located in the Upper Assam district of Dibrugarh ? is the lone biomedical research laboratory in the entire region under the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Lahowal is 13 km from Dibrugarh.

The director of the research centre, Jagadish...

SHILLONG, May 25 ? National Hydro-electric Power Corporation Ltd (NHPC) has got outstanding dues of nearly Rs 100 crore upto April this year against seven north eastern states ? beneficiaries of the Loktak Hydel Project - with Manipur topping the list, according to the North Eastern Regional Electricity Board (NEREB), reports PTI.

The outstanding dues included the principal amount surcharge on it, development surcharge, according to a NEREB statement released at its 52nd board meeting here last week. While Manipur topped the list with an accumulated outstanding amount of Rs 43.82 crore, it...

SHILLONG, May 23?The Power Ministers of the North-eastern States have demanded that no power generated in the region should be exported outside without first meeting the full requirements of the States of the region.

This was clearly spelt out in a resolution adopted by the Power Ministers of the northeastern States, the excess power should be sold at a rate not lower than the rate applicable for the States of the region,? the resolution further asserted.

The Power Ministers also urged the Ministry of Power and the Government of India to expedite the execution of all identified but pending...