Society / Meghalaya

TURA, March 7 ? The Council of Nokmas, from East, West and South Garo Hills, have urged the Meghalaya Community and Rural Development (C&RD) Minister to look into the appointment of Block Selection Committee members as there has been ?discrimination? towards the selection of Nokmas. The Governor of Meghalaya had assured the inclusion of twelve members from among the heads of traditional institutions of Meghalaya, such as the Nokmas, Syiems, Dolois etc, as members of the Block Selection Committee. But the Nokmas allege that the authorities concerned failed to properly implement the same. The...

TURA, Feb 21 — The famous annual community fishing at Siju took place on Tuesday in the lake of late Captain Williamson Sangma. The community fishing, locally known as Wari Bila, was organised by the Tourism Department and the Ampang Mahari of Siju as part of the Winter Festival. The day-long affair began at 7.30 am with the arrival of the public at Siju cave. This was followed with the arrival of the invited dignitaries and traditional games competition. The community fishing started from mid-day. Fish from Siju is famous throughout the North-East and beyond. The fresh water lakes of Siju are...

SHILLONG, Feb 19 – Once again a son of North-east India has done the region proud. Phrang Roy, who hails from Shillong, capital of Meghalaya, has just been selected as Assistant President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a press release stated. Mr Phrang Roy's promotion now equates him with an Assistant Secretary General in the UN system. Mr Roy is presently the Director for its Asia and Pacific Division and is based in Rome. He will be taking charge of IFADs Economic Policy and Resource Mobilization division.

Roy's selection was officially announced after the...

GUWAHATI, Jan 13 — The progress of the implementation of North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) was reviewed in a meeting held under the chairmanship of the Union Minister of Health and FW, Dr C P Thakur at Guwahati yesterday. Addressing the review meeting, Dr Thakur said that NEIGRIHMS will be commissioned in May 2005. While expressing his satisfaction over the works completed so far, he urged upon the concerned authorities of the project to speed up works in order to complete the same within the stipulated time. The NEIGRIHMS, established in...

SHILLONG, March 11: Meghalaya, home to three matrilineal tribes - the Khasi, Garo and the Jaintia - is as unwilling as any of its neighbouring "patriarchal" states to give its women the benefit of 33 per cent seat reservation in all the decision-making bodies. "Blanket reservation will do more harm than good , both for the women's uplift as well as to the political processes," Chief Minister E. K. Mawlong told The Telegraph when asked to comment on this much-debated issue. The Chief Minister reasoned that for reservations of this sort to succeed there should be enough qualified women to fill...

SHILLONG, March 10: Social workers in Meghalaya are concerned that violence against women in rising in the State which is the only matrilineal society in the country, giving a wide range of economic and social powers to the fair sex. Women's issues and problems in the State were once again highlighted at an official function here on March 8 to celebrate the International Women's Day. The chairperson of the State Social Welfare Advisory Board, T Phanbuh set the tone of the meeting by asking the Meghalaya Government to urgently set up a State commission for women. Urging Chief Minister EK...

TURA, February 28: Highway robberies on the rise on the Shillong-Tura route (via Guwahati) with the gangs of anti-social elements adopting a new modus operandi. This new technique was apparently chalked out to foil the security forces strategy of providing escorts to the passengers. The dacoits have capitalised on the lacuna in the police plan which is that escort is provided only from Bono located about 90 minutes drive from the western part of the city. There has been an increase in highway robberies during the last couple of years and reached its peak during the years of 1977 to 2000...

SHILLONG, January 29: Meghalaya has a dubious distinction of having the highest drop out rate in the country. In fact, out of the 100 students that get admitted in KG standard, only 36 students remain in school after they reach Xth standard. Talking to this correspondent, Ranjan Chatterjee, Commissioner, Education said that the drop out percentage in Meghalaya is 64, the highest in the country. Chatterjee said that an all out effort is being planned to arrest the rate of drop outs and have greater interaction between the students and teachers. In a order, the State Government has made it...

SHILLONG, August 7: After remaining in cold-storage for the last 14 years, the Northeastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) is back on the rails. The long delayed autonomous institute, the foundation of which was laid by late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1986 and which was on the verge of being scuttled, is now likely to see the light of day. The Union Health Minister, CP Thakur is scheduled to lay the foundation stone of the constructions of the institute at its permanent site at Mawdiang-diang, about six kilometres from here, at 11.45 am tomorrow...