Development

Guwahati/New Delhi, July 10: The fate of Arunachal Pradesh governor V.C. Pande hangs in the balance even as the state unit of the Congress has intensified pressure to remove him and clamp President?s rule in the state. The BJP, on the other hand, has warned of ?dangerous consequences? if the Congress tinkered with the Constitution.

The Congress high command is awaiting the arrival of PCC president Mukut Mithi in the capital for a ?first-hand account?.

Union home minister Shivraj Patil, however, remained non-committal on the imposition of President?s rule and the demand for Pande?s removal...

SHILLONG, July 10 ? The North Eastern Council (NEC) has sanctioned an amount of Rs 4.38 lakh to IIM-Calcutta for an evaluation-cum-impact study of marketing support for agri-horticulture produce in the region. The money was sanctioned to the IIM as the third instalment of funds for the study of NEC- funded ongoing schemes, Council sources said here 0n Saturday.

The NEC also okayed a sanction for payment of over Rs 1.27 lakh to a Jawaharlal Nehru University associate professor for study on NE economy. The money sanctioned to Gulshan Sachdeva, associate professor of JNU?s School of...

ITANAGAR, July 10 ? Beleaguered Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Gegong Apang has said the Centre could not impose President?s Rule in the state as there was no constitutional crisis following the dissolution of the state Assembly, reports PTI. ?The Centre cannot impose President?s Rule and if it does so it will go against the spirit and provisions of the Constituition,? Apang, formerly of the Arunachal Congress and who now belongs to the BJP, told PTI.

He was reacting to the UPA government not ruling out imposition of President?s Rule in the state in the face of dramatic political...

ITANAGAR, July 10 ? The flood situation in Arunachal Pradesh continued to be grim today with all the rivers rising alarmingly and crossing the danger level following continuous downpour during the last few days, reports PTI. Teju, the district headquarters of Lohit, remained cut off from the rest of the country for the second day today.Lohit Deputy Commissioner P S Lokhande told PTI that at least 40,000 people were affected by the flash floods in Piyiong, Namchai, Chowkham, Sonpur, Mahadevpur and Teju circles of the district following swelling of Noa Dihing, Digaru and Derrang rivers.

While...

NEW DELHI, July 10 ? Amid dissent by few ministers in Meghalaya who were dropped in the downsizing exercise, Chief Minister D D Lapang has admitted that some of them may be unhappy but said the Constitutional provision had left no option before him, reports PTI. ?Naturally some of them may be unhappy but once the law is made, there is no option but to follow it. I had to carry out the exercise with a heavy heart,? Lapang told reporters here Thursday night.

The Meghalaya ministry comprised 39 members, including the Chief Minister, before the downsizing on July 7. Prominent among those dropped...

GUWAHATI, July 10 ? Stepping up his campaign against Governor V C Pande, Arunachal Pradesh Congress chief Mukut Mithi today demanded his immediate removal as he was 'sick and physically unfit' and imposition of President's Rule in the State. "The Governor's frequent change in stand and his loss of memory proves that he is physically unfit and sick and thus he has to be removed," Mithi told a press conference here before leaving for New Delhi to discuss the political crisis in the State with the Congress high command.

"I have a feeling that he is very sick and suffering from memory loss...

GUWAHATI, July 10 ? The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh has assured all possible help to the State Government to deal with the flood situation, while, an emergency meeting of the State Council of Ministers this evening decided to release an amount of Rs 50 crore for providing relief to the affected people. Official sources said that the Prime Minister today called up Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to discuss the situation arising out of the devastating floods in Assam and assured that the Centre would provide all possible help to the State.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister convened a meeting of...

Shillong, July 9: Meghalaya chief minister D.D. Lapang today tried to cap the dissent simmering within his own party over the downsized Meghalaya Democratic Alliance ministry. The ministry now has just 12 members. Lapang spoke to the media soon after the swearing-in ceremony of 15 parliamentary secretaries.

The government also announced a list of 11 chairmen and co-chairmen, in which former chief minister F.A. Khonglam?s name figures prominently.

Outgoing home minister R.G. Lyngdoh and senior Congress legislators K.K. Dkhar and Tony Curtis Lyngdoh stayed away from the function. Lyngdoh has...

Silchar, July 9: Project Setuk, a unit of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), is set to add another feather to its cap by completing a double-lane national highway linking Karimganj town with Suterkandi village on the Indo-Bangla border in record time.

The highway is expected to boost border trade between the two countries.

The BRO unit had recently bagged the ISO 9001-2000 certificate for meeting the specified quality standard, while executing infrastructure schemes in the Northeast.

The new 14-km National Highway 151 will have a state-of-the-art double-lane metallic track.

Briefing...

Agartala, July 9: The Reang demand for an Autonomous District Council, which had triggered their largescale exodus from Mizoram in 1997, has been revived by Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF) militants, who are fighting for the tribe?s autonomy in that state.

A decision to this effect was taken by BNLF leaders at a recent secret meeting in a forest hideout near the Assam-Tripura border.

Sources in the intelligence wing of the state police said the BNLF had slowed down its activities in Mizoram and North Tripura, hoping for a solution to the twin issues of repatriation of Reang refugees...