Development

IMPHAL, Dec 16 ? Out of over 200 ethnic tribals who took shelters in Myanmar due to large-scale fightings between the troops of Indian Army and frontline United National Liberation Front along the porous border, 110 including women and children were handed over to the Indian authorities at Moreh, India?s gateway to the South-east Asian countries.

Official sources here said on Wednesday that around 90 tribals still in Myanmar, are to be handed over soon. The refugees who have been handed over include 52 males and 58 females and are being lodged at the Moreh Ward No. 2 Super Market where an...

NALBARI, Dec 16 ? The fate of hundreds of families of five revenue villages of Dhantola, Namati, Goroimari, Khudra Katra and Khudra Katla Barkuchi under Batahgila mouza, five kilometre away from Nalbari town, has become uncertain due to the negligence being shown by the government. The families were uprooted following the devastating floods caused by the Pagladia river year after year.

Till 1996, the situation of these villages was quite different and the villagers in those days led a prosperous life with bumper production of rice and other produce. The villagers who mostly depend on...

GUWAHATI, Dec 16 ? The State has, in fact, received a total amount of Rs 613 crore from the Central Government besides the Calamity Relief Fund (CRF) and the National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF), to meet the situation created by the devastating floods this year. Another amount of Rs 200 crore is also coming from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) for the purpose.

Disclosing this in the State Assembly today, Minister of State for Finance Himanta Biswa Sarma said that those amounts were received by the State at the instance of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh...

GUWAHATI, Dec 16 ? The Assam Government has submitted a comprehensive scheme for the rehabilitation of the surrendered militants to the Central Government.

This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Home, Rockybul Hussain, in reply to the discussions on the cut motions on the supplementary demands for grant for vigilance commission and rehabilitation of surrendered militants for the current financial year in the State Assembly today.

The Minister informed the House that the Assam Chief Minister had requested the Centre to extend the facilities extended to the surrendered militants in...

NEW DELHI, Dec 16 ? The Centre is likely to toughen it stand on tackling militancy, with Union Home Minister, Shivraj Patil today hinting that the Central Government was mulling a Unified Command for all the north-eastern States. The possible hardening of the stand against ULFA may come in the wake of the UPA Government coming increasingly under attack of the Opposition for the manner of handling the situation in the State.

In the Lok Sabha, for instance, BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi of Bihar criticising the Centre?s handling of the situation said that it should not agree to talk with ULFA until...

Shillong, Dec 15 ? Normal life was affected in three districts of Meghalaya today due to the overnight 20-hour bandh called by Khasi Students Union (KSU) with stray incidents of stone-throwing in some places. However, no untoward incident was reported from anywhere till noon during the bandh, that began at 7 p.m. yesterday.

The bandh in East Khasi Hills, Ri-bhoi and Jaintia Hills districts is being supported by the apex North East Students Organisation. Normal life was hit in East Khasi Hills district, in which the capital town of Shillong is situated, with no shops, commercial establishments...

AGARTALA, Dec 15 ? Altogether 69 people were killed and 59 injured by the insurgents of different outfits while 54 hardcore ultras were eliminated by security forces in Tripura in the past 11 months, Assembly was informed on Monday.

Replying to a question of the leader of the Opposition, Ratan Lal Nath, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said the casualties occurred in the 179 incidents of insurgent attacks in different parts of Tripura in past one year.

Eighty-three civilians have been kidnapped by the different outfits like National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and All Tripura Tiger Force...

DIMAPUR, Dec 15 ? NSCN-IM chairman Isak Chishi Swu while appreciating the Government of India for its efforts to find a solution to the vexed Indo-Naga political problem said that ?we are here? to talk to the people and explain to them the process of ongoing negotiations with the Centre.

Thuingaleng Muivah, general secretary of the organisation said consultations with the Naga public would be the ?most crucial phase? of their current visit to hammer out a solution to the problem and asked the Nagas to freely express their views on the issue.

Thousands of Nagas from all the Naga-inhabited areas...

BOKAKHAT, Dec 15 ? The unscrupulous poachers in and around the Kaziranga National Park (KNP) have reported to pit-poaching method for trapping rhinos as opposed to gun shots and electrocution. It is learnt from the KNP authority that the poachers have been resorting to the method which involves the making of a hole/pit for trapping the rhinos in nearby places of the Park like Bagori, Khutori, Baghmori, Harmoti, etc., where the animals generally wander in search of fresh pastures.

Incidentally, an elephant calf recently fell into such a trap, and sustained injuries. It is a matter of concern as...

GUWAHATI, Dec 15 ? The State Assembly today passed the Appropriation Bills relating to the fiscal years between 1995 and 2000. The Bills were meant for legalising an amount of Rs 13135,65,46,854 from the Consolidated Fund against the excess expenditure made by the State administration during the said period.

Replying to the concerns expressed by the members on the issue of excess drawal of public money by some people, Minister of State for Finance Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the Government had approached the State?s Vigilance Commissioner for categorical observations on the matter. There...