Development

New Delhi, July 11: Stepping up pressure for the removal of governor V.C. Pande and imposition of President?s rule, a delegation of MLAs from Arunachal Pradesh, led by former chief minister and state Congress president Mukut Mithi today urged the AICC to take up the issue with the Centre.

After a meeting with Congress general secretary and Arunachal Pradesh in-charge Oscar Fernandez, Mithi told reporters that he has submitted a first-hand account of his interactions with the governor.

?We have briefed the high command about the development, besides a clarification of the actual position...

Agartala, July 11: Dissident NLFT commander Nayanbasi Jamatya has demanded the upgradation of the Autonomous District Council (ADC) for tribals of the state to the status of Bodoland Territorial Council in Assam and deportation of "foreign nationals" within this year. Jamatya recently held extensive discussions with his ?cadre? on the charter of demands that he would negotiate with the Union home ministry. He said he has already informed Delhi of his demands on the upgradation of the ADC through an amendment of the Constitution and the deportation of ?foreign nationals?.

Jamatya said the ADC...

Guwahati, July 11: Nearly seven months after using military power to drive out militants of the Northeast, Bhutan is planning to wall its border with India to block a possible re-entry by the rebels. The 82nd session of Bhutan?s National Assembly this week witnessed an animated discussion on the subject, the Himalayan kingdom?s official mouthpiece, Kuensel, reported.

Representatives of several border jongkhars (districts) made a case for steps to secure the border, saying the possibility of the militants returning could not be discounted as long as the Indo-Bhutan boundary remained porous.

Th...

SHILLONG, July 11 ? The Central Government has set of target of implementing the software for transport computerisation of all district transport offices (DTOs) in the north-eastern states by June 30 next year. This was disclosed at a two-day workshop on ?Transport computerisation in N-E states? which concluded at the National Informatic Centre (NIC) here on July 8.

With road communication being a major bottleneck in the region, the implementation of the scheme would be useful as it would help transcend the physical barriers and ease the functioning of the transport sector, Principal...

DIMAPUR, July 11 ? Contradicting the the NSCN-IM charge of ?provocative? deployment of troops near the latter?s council headquarters, the security forces on Saturday said that on the contrary the strength has been thinned out from the area owing to heavy engagement in anti-ULFA operations in neighbouring Assam. ?It is clarified that no additional troops have been stationed in the vicinity of the Hebron camp of NSCN-IM at Mangalamukh,? the spokesperson of the Jakhama-based IGAR HQ said yesterday. There was no deviation from the routine activities of troops in Nagaland, he said adding that there...

ITANAGAR, July 11 ? Unabated rains for the past two weeks in Arunachal Pradesh have made the situation grim in the four flood-affected districts of Lohit, East Kameng, East Siang and Lower Dibang Valley in the State, reports PTI. Lohit and East Siang districts remained cut-off from the rest of the country following washing away of roads in many places and landslides. In Lohit major rivers are in spate and all low-lying areas of Tezu township and many other villages are inundated, official sources here said. At least 40,000 people have been affected by the flash-floods. Country boats, elephants...

NEW DELHI, July 11 ? Stepping up pressure for removal of State Governor VC Pande, a delegation of MLAs from Arunachal Pradesh led by former Chief Minister and State Congress president Mukut Mithi today had a meeting with Congress leaders, including Oscar Fernandes, reports PTI. After the meeting Mithi told reporters that he had submitted a first hand account of his interactions with State Governor VC Pande. He claimed that the Governor had sent two different versions of his report regarding the political situation in the State.

The delegation is likely to meet Home Minister Shivraj Patil. The...

GUWAHATI, July 11 ? With devastating floods creating havoc all over Assam, the Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi has requested the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, to provide an emergency fund of Rs 1200 crore from the Natural Calamity Contingency Fund to deal with the situation. In a memorandum to the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister said that at least eight MI-8 helicopters of the Indian Air Force should be placed at the disposal of the State Government for emergency relief and rescue operations at the cost of the Central Government. He said that a high-powered aerial survey team should be...

GUWAHATI, July 11 ? The overall flood situation in the State remained grim with the number of affected people going up to more than 20.50 lakh. The death toll in the current wave of floods also increased to 13. The rail and road communication all over the State have been badly affected with floodwaters inundating national highways and railway lines. According to official reports, the current wave of floods have so far affected 2794 villages in 19 districts of the State and about four lakh houses have been damaged. The floods have also caused heavy damage to standing crops and as per reports...

Kohima, July 10: The rival Naga outfits have stepped up their war of words, with each faction targeting the other over the Assam-Nagaland border spat. Accusing the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) of being involved in the killing of an Assam government official this month, the rival group played the Karbi card today. Deputy kilonser (minister) Kughalo Mulatonu said the Karbis should protest against the NSCN (I-M) while maintaining ?brotherly relations? with the Nagas. An economic blockade in Karbi Anglong last week has led to a shortage of essential commodities in Nagaland...