Development

NEW DELHI, Aug 25 ? India was forced to construct fencing beyond 150 yards from the international border along the Indo-Bangladesh border following objections raised by the Government of Bangladesh. Divulging this Minister of State for Home Affairs, S Reghupathy said that according to joint India-Bangladesh Guidelines for border authorities, no construction of defensive structure could be allowed within 150 yards from the Zero Line. Fencing along the border is being constructed at a distance of 150 yards or beyond from the international border as the Bangladesh Government has been objecting to...

NEW DELHI, Aug 25 ? Fresh alert has been sounded following reports of ULFA planning to target vital oil installations particularly storage tanks in Assam, highly placed sources said. Amidst escalating tension in the Region, Union Home Minister, Shivraj Patil will be making his first trip to North-east on September 4-6. The Union Home Minister is slated to tour Assam, Meghalaya and Manipur. Sri Patil visit to Manipur would be crucial as he is expected to break the ice by trying to open dialogue with the agitating organisations.

Meanwhile, according to Petroleum Ministry sources here they were...

NEW DELHI, Aug 25 ? An all-party delegation of the Assam Assembly today urged the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to recognise the floods of Assam as a national problem besides seeking Rs 6,500 crore for rehabilitation of flood victims and repair of the damaged infrastructure. The delegation led by Speaker of Assam Assembly, Prithibi Majhi met the Prime Minister at his Parliament House office this afternoon and presented him a memorandum signed by all the political parties.

Later emerging out of the meeting, he told this newspaper that the Prime Minister?s attention was drawn to the rules of...

SHILLONG, Aug 24 ? The North Eastern Council (NEC) was considering a series of performers presentation (SOPP) and has started writing to all the constituent states about it, a senior NEC official said today, reports PTI. NEC Secretary Kamal Taori said that the NEC like the Planning Commission 'must always' be on the look out of 'intensive search of performers' and organise their presentation into a series in a 'systematic manner'.

Taori, a former Advisor in the Planning Commission (PC) said the main objective of the SOPP was to give a platform to performers to offer suggestions for betterment...

IMPHAL, Aug 24 ? Manipur Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh today said his Government also wanted complete removal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from the State, but would not tolerate violent agitation for that. In a statement here, Singh said the government was not against democratic agitation and non-violenct movement launched by the people for lifting the Act. But, he said, indulgence in violence and anti-national activities in the name of demanding lifting of the Act would mislead the people and the government would not remain a silent spectator.

Singh said dishonouring of national...

NALBARI, Aug 24 ? The All Assam Students? Union (AASU) has warned the militant outfit ULFA to use gun by the mind and not by the fingers which has resulted in the Dhemaji like situation in Assam. The AASU can?t tolerate the killings of innocent people, schoolchildren in the name of ULFA?s independent Assam.

Talking to The Assam Tribune, the AASU chief Prabin Boro, who came to Nalbari to attend a citizen meeting said that ULFA should realize that they also have been using the masses as a shield like the innocent children who were killed on the independence day function in Dhemaji. The Assamese...

GUWAHATI, Aug 23 ? In accordance with the directive of the Supreme Court of India to introduce ?Environmental Studies? as a compulsory subject and following the guidelines of the University Grants? Commission, Gauhati University has introduced the subject in all its affiliated colleges from the current academic session, informs a press release.

The subject will be taught through a 50-lecture course to students of all streams (Arts, Science, Commerce) at the second year of the 1+1+1 degree course and in the second semester of the professional courses (Engineering, Medical, Law etc). Each...

NEW DELHI, Aug 24 ? On a mission to thwart any anti-Gogoi move, party high command?s cold response has left the State Congress MLAs confused and angry. It has not been a happy experience for these MLAs as the AICC high command has rebuffed them. AICC president Sonia Gandhi is yet to grant them an audience.

Meanwhile, the pro-Gogoi faction met CWC member and in-charge for Assam, Digvijay Singh, besides Motilal Vohra and Ahmed Patil and submitted a memorandum with the contention that those claiming to be the seniormost Congressmen were in fact new entrants who joined the party in 1990. They...

NEW DELHI, Aug 24 ? In what could lead to a big boost to the local farming sector, an initiative to procure defence supplies locally in the North East has gathered momentum, with the State-owned STATFED being identified as the nodal agency. Success of the initiative to procure the day-to-day requirement of the defence forces estimated now rests on the success of the pilot projects to be launched simultaneously in Guwahati and Tezpur by STATFED, said the Minister of State for Defence, Bijoy Krishna Handique.

The move, initiated at the behest of the Minister of State, took a concrete shape after...

GUWAHATI, Aug 24 ? Surabala Bardoloi, the widow of Bharat Ratna Gopinath Bordoli ? the first Prime Minister of Assam, passed away at 6: 40 pm, in her Ulubari home today. Bardoloi who was 98, had been suffering from illness since the last couple of days.

Surabala Bardoloi shot into prominence with her devoted support to her husband who emerged as the undisputed leader of Assam during the freedom struggle despite his difference with the then Congress leaders on many issues. It needs no mention that Bardoloi was reckoned as the man championing the cause of the people of the State. Surabala was...