Development

NEW DELHI, July 6: Laloo Prasad?s maiden Railway Budget has no new projects and trains for the Northeast. The UPA Government?s Railway Budget 2004-2005 has come as a disappointment to those expecting major announcements, as the Railway Minister tried to share the credit with his predecessor, Nitish Kumar, who announced the introduction of a number of trains less than five months ago.

As far as the north eastern region (NER) is concerned, the Budget has little to offer by way of new projects. A new train Guwahati-Delhi Poorvottar Sampark Kranti Express was announced in the Interim Budget...

Dibrugarh, July 5: After a gap of nearly two decades, the Assam Inland Water Transport department, in collaboration with the Inland Water Authority of India, will reintroduce cargo service on the Brahmaputra between Guwahati and Dibrugarh from the second week of July.

?Initially, the service will operate twice a month and we have been instructed to book goods from Dibrugarh and Nimatighat in Jorhat,? said commercial officer of Dibrugarh I. Rahman, who is overseeing the operation.

Cargo and passenger services on the Brahmaputra were a regular feature before Independence with British planters...

Guwahati, July 5: The BJP today tried to allay apprehensions among its Christian-dominated state units in the region, saying the revival of its Hindutva agenda had nothing to do with ?any religion?. This clarification comes in the wake of the en masse resignation by the party?s Mizoram unit last month.

Senior party leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told mediapersons here today that Hindutva has nothing to do with any religion.

?Our stand remains the same: equal treatment to all, appeasement of none,? Prasad said. He, however, added that the resignation of the entire...

Imphal, July 5: Manipur University is planning to bring the people of India and Myanmar closer by opening a Burmese studies centre here for students interested in knowing more about their neighbour. Indo-Myanmar border trade was opened through Manipur?s Moreh township by the then Union commerce minister, P. Chidambaram, more than a decade back.

But Manipur had been maintaining close trade ties with its neighbour long before that.

Instances of cross-border marriages were also not uncommon.

University registrar R.K. Ranjan Singh said the University Grants Commission (UGC) has approved the...

Kokrajhar, July 5: The National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) has joined hands with the Nepalese Maoists in what is seen as an attempt to recoup itself after the Bhutan operations of December. Sources said a meeting between Nepalese Maoists and NDFB militants was held at an undisclosed location near the Indo-Bhutan border at the temporary headquarters of the outfit?s 2nd ?battalion? under its ?western command? recently.

The sources said the meeting chalked out plans for joint training and joint strikes. They added the Nepalese extremists will supervise modern tactics of guerrilla...

Agartala, July 5: The Reang tribal community, cutting across political affiliations, are preparing to organise a procession at the state capital to protest the forced resignation of minister for primitive group programme Manindra Reang. A major political row is also brewing between the CPM and its partner, the CPI.

CPI leader D.P. Sengupta said ever since the break-up of the undivided Communist Party in 1964, the CPI gradually lost its base and strength. CPM domination adversely affected the Shantir Bazar Assembly constituency.

Although the CPI was a claimant to this seat, the CPM nominated...

SIVASAGAR, July 5 ? To increase productivity by way of a thorough revamping of the oldest oil field in the country in Sivasagar district, ONGC, Assam Asset is to go ahead with its Rs 1000 crore project for upgrading and modernisation of its existing installations and rigs in Geleki Rudrasagar and Lakwa oil fields.

Satish Chandra Upadhyay, ED & Asset Manager, Assam Asset at a press conference at Nazira on Friday delivered detailed interpretation of Expression of interests EoI) ONGC had invited from global players in the field of hydrocarbon exploration for revamping of group gathering station...

GUWAHATI, July 5 ? The Federation of Industries and Commerce of North Eastern Region (FINER) has vehemently opposed the Assam State Electricity Board?s (ASEB) bid at a further power tariff hike. Representing the FINER at a hearing before the Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission (AERC) here today, former president and director of the FINER Abhijit Barooah made a fervent appeal to the Commission not to allow the ASEB to hike power tariff further.

Any permission to the ASEB to hike tariff further would jeopardise the industrial growth in this State, he argued. The petition of the FINER in...

GUWAHATI, July 5 ? Bringing an end to speculations for more than a month, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi finally announced the list of his new downsized Ministry here this evening. No new face has been included in the Ministry, while several senior Ministers including Public Works Department Minister Sarat Barkataki, Power Minister Devananda Konwar , Agriculture Minister Dr Ardhendu Kumar Dey and Industries Minister Bhubaneswar Kalita have been dropped from the Ministry.

As all the Ministers had submitted their resignations to the Chief Minister to enable him to downsize the Ministry, he has...

Guwahati, July 4: The North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (Neepco) Workers? Union has urged the management to consider ?only economically viable? projects to help the corporation generate more power. The appeal was made by the union at its 17th conference at Kathalguri in Dibrugarh district recently. Over 300 delegates from all over the region took part in the meet. The union also urged the Centre, the North Eastern Council and the state governments of the region to come forward and help the corporation achieve its full potential.

It appealed to the Centre not to go ahead with its...