Development

Aizawl, July 12: Notorious for hunting birds and small wildlife with their slingshots and airguns, children of rural Mizoram are mending their ways. On Saturday, 349 schoolchildren of Sihphir Vengthar village, about 20 km from Aizawl, pledged in public not to target wildlife.

These children, from the primary to high school level, collectively promised to ?protect the environment and wildlife with utmost effort?.

The ceremony was organised jointly by the forest department and the Young Mizo Association (YMA) branch of the village. The Sihphir Vengthar chapter of the YMA is the first non...

Imphal, July 12: What?s in a name, goes the clich?. But for a large number of people in Manipur, a rose by any other name will not smell just as sweet. Or, will it? Prodded by two non-governmental organisations, people have suddenly realised that they need to shed their names and take on traditional ones to preserve their identity.

A hundred of them, egged on by the Meitei National Front and the Federation of Indigenous Martial Arts and Cultural Students, thronged Imphal?s lower court complex last week to take part in the mass conversion of names.

The people, belonging to Meitei, Tangkhul...

Kohima, July 12: Nagaland is anxious about whether the ceasefire will continue with the NSCN (Isak-Muivah) yet to take a decision on extending the term of its truce with Delhi beyond July 31. Chief minister Neiphiu Rio and his colleagues today met representatives of the Church and various non-governmental organisations to ascertain their views on the subject. The verdict was unanimous: the ceasefire, declared in 1997, should continue in spite of the deadlock in the peace talks.

The last round of talks between Delhi and the NSCN (I-M) in Amsterdam ended in a stalemate, leading to speculation...

AGARTALA, July 12 ? Tripura remained cut off from the rest of the country as heavy landslides caused by incessant rains blocked Assam-Agartala NH 44 at Sonarpur in Meghalaya, offical sources said here today. The landslides have resulted in hundreds of Guwahati and Shillong- bound vehicles, including buses, to remain stranded in different places on the highway inconveniencing passengers and transport workers, the sources said. The landslides have led to suspension of state bus services and other private carriers.

Rail connectivity of the land-locked state was also partly disrupted at Badarpura...

DIMAPUR, July 12 ? The security forces have stepped up patrolling and frisking at several access routes to Dimapur, particularly from Niuland area and Intangki Reserve Forest area.Travelers from those areas reported that security forces have put up new check-posts and were frisking them as part of security measures. Sources said that this kind of security drill might be widened to other parts of the State if the activities of antisocial elements do not show any significant drop. Security forces said that from now on, frisking and other forms of security drill would be carried out routinely to...

IMPHAL, July 12 ? Manipur today remained cut-off from rest of the country following heavy landslides on the Guwahati-Imphal National Highway triggered by incessant rains in the past few days, official sources said. Landslides occurred at three points on NH39 in Mao, Kangpokpi and Lairouching areas in Senapati district and efforts were on to clear the roads, the sources said. Reports from the districts said all Manipur-bound vehicles had been stranded at Mao Gate, near Manipur-Nagaland border. Operators also suspended their transport services between Imphal and the neighbouring states, the...

NEW DELHI, July 12 - The crisis in the tea industry has taken a heavy toll with a record number of 96 tea gardens including 17 in Assam having closed down affecting over 28,000 workers during the last three years. Disclosing this Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, EVKS Elangovan said that though 41 of them have since reopened 55 continued to remained closed. The gardens were located in West Bengal, Kerala, Assam and Tripura. According to the written reply furnished in the Rajya Sabha, in Assam six of the 17 closed gardens have reopened, while rest of the 11 continue to remain...

ITANAGAR, July 12 - In a boost to the Congress in Arunachal Pradesh, 13 former MLAs, including eleven ministers of the Gegong Apang-led United Democratic Front and former Speaker Setong Sena formally joined the party today, deputy CLP leader Tako Dabi said, reports PTI. All the the eleven ministers held office before the downsizing on July 7. Ten of them were from the BJP, while another was an Independent. One BJP member of the dissolved House, who had given a letter to join Congress earlier was also inducted into the party today, he said.

Sena is a member of the Congress(D), while the...

GUWAHATI, July 12 - Members of the Takam Mising Porin Kebang (TMPK), the All Mising Students Union, today urged the people of the State to become aware of the perils involved in massive constructions on the region?s rivers, and on hilly terrain across its borders. In a press meet in the city today, the students? body exposed two major constructions, which once completed would threaten the existence of a large number of population spread across Assam. Referring to the recent flash floods witnessed in several parts of lower Assam, spokesperson Ranoj Pegu described it as the effect of water being...

NEW DELHI, July 12 - Responding to Assam Government?s SOS, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh is likely to visit the flood-ravaged State this weekend, even as a high-level technical team on a stock-taking mission headed by Union Water Resources Minister, Priyaranjan Das Munshi is arriving in the State shortly. The devastations caused by floods in Assam and Bihar figured in Lok Sabha today, with agitated members belonging to the two States demanding adequate relief measures and sanction of funds to meet calamity. Arunachal Pradesh also kept up the pressure on Centre with the State Government...