Development

MANGALDOI, Oct 19: All is not well concerning the Bailey bridge over Mangaldoi river here. The bridge with a 9-tonne capacity is in such a precarious state today that it may split up any moment. An eventuality of the collapse of this bridge is fraught with the danger of severing the surface communication between Upper and Lower Assam.

The bridge being on National Highway-52, assumes significance today for the Upper and Central divisions of the State. Moreover, it is also important for the neighbouring States of Nagaland and Manipur besides Arunachal Pradesh as far as road communication is...

GUWAHATI, Oct 19 ? Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today promised to offer safe passage to the representatives of the proscribed NDFB if and when they come forward for talks with the Government. Welcoming the unilateral ceasefire offer of the outfit, he said that the agenda of future talks with the outfit would be decided once they make up their mind to come to the negotiating table.

Ahead of his departure for New Delhi tomorrow to meet Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil the next day, Gogoi told newspersons during a press conference here that no direct contact with the ultras have been established...

IMPHAL, Oct 18 ? With the formation of the Unified Command structure with the Chief Minister as the chairman, large scale counter-insurgency campaigns would be intensified in this sensitive border State.

Addressing a crowded press conference at his official residence here on Sunday, the Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh said that in the prevailing law and order situation and under the pressures of the voluntary organisations, the state and central forces will start counter-insurgency operations against the underground Kuki Revolutionary Army for rescuing the vice-president of the All Manipur...

AGARTALA, Oct 18 ? The major political parties in Tripura have rejected the demand for chief ministership as a pre-condition by a faction of the banned National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) for coming overground, reports PTI. Tripura Finance Minister and CPI-M leader Badal Chowdhury said the State government would not consider any political demand of the outfit.

"NLFT(N) has spoken to the Central government and the Centre will decide what would be the conditions for peace talks. But we have made it clear to the Centre that no political demand of the outfit would be conceded by the state...

IMPHAL, Oct 18 ? Six insurgents and an Army jawan were killed in a major gunbattle at Borobekra area in the Jiribam border town in Imphal East district of Manipur today, official sources said, reports PTI. Army personnel of 9 Para Regiment on a tip-off cordoned off a suspected insurgent hideout at Borobekra area in Jiribam, about 222 km west of here, late last night and began a search operation this morning.

As the security forces stepped up the search operations in the hilly area bordering Cachar district of Assam, suspected insurgents opened fire and in the gunfight, one Army jawan and six...

GUWAHATI, Oct 18 ? Increase in movement of militants operating in the north-eastern States through the North Bengal corridor is causing concern among the security agencies and the issue was one of the topics which got attention in the meeting of the DGs of the police forces of the NE States, held here recently.

Security sources said that the meeting, which stressed the importance of improving coordination between the police forces of the region to deal with the problem of militancy, was also attended by the Additional Director General of Police of West Bengal. Sources revealed that the two...

NEW DELHI, Oct 18: The modalities for talks with the outlawed NDFB would be in line with the dialogue with Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT), and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is likely to convene a meeting with Assam Government shortly to finalise them, highly placed sources said.

In a day of fast-paced development, a crucial internal meeting was held at the North Block here today to review the developing situation in the Northeast. Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil was briefed by the officials, where the proposal of the Assam Government came up for deliberations.

The Union Home Minister in...

ITANAGAR,Oct17? APCC president Mukut Mithi on Saturday opposed the inclusion of Arunachal Congress and NCP MLAs in the new Congress ministry in Arunachal headed by Gegong Apang, reports PTI. Mithi referred to Apang?s statement at his first press conference after his swearing-in as Chief Minister on Saturday where he did not rule out the inclusion of independents and Arunachal Congress and NCP MLAs subject to the approval of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

These MLAs had extended their support to the Congress on condition that Apang was elected Chief Minister. Mithi said as APCC president he...

GUWAHATI, Oct 17 ? Participants at a conference organised by the Centre for Development and Peace Studies (CDPS) have called upon the Assam Government to offer unilateral cease-fire to the outlawed ULFA to create a congenial atmosphere for talks. They also called upon the Centre to appoint an interlocutor to facilitate talks.

The round table conference was chaired by CDPS president TL Baruah, IAS (retd) and moderated by its director, Wasbir Hussain, a senior journalist. The speakers and participants included APCC president Bhubaneswar Kalita, AGP general secretary and MLA Hitendra Nath...

DIBRUGARH, Oct 17 ? With Jibantara Ghatowar of the Congress finally wresting Moran from the AGP, the regional party has drawn up a massive revamp plan within the party to prepare for the Assembly polls in the State, scheduled for April 2006. AGP leaders believe the 2006 polls could be advanced by the Congress, to catch the other parties unawares.

The only AGP leader with a mass base in upper Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal, on Saturday put up a brave face, saying the scheduled 2006 elections would not be impacted by the Moran by-election result. This is the same person who said a week ago that the...