DHUBRI, August 7: The proposed new broad gauge railway line from New Mainaguri (West Bengal) to Jogighopa (Assam) via Boxirhat is soon going to be shelved, according to a feasibility report proposed on the line. It is known from a letter written by AS Choudhury, DGM(G), Alipurduar to the Railway Users Advisory Committee that the proposal for the construction of the new BG line from New Mainaguri to Jogighopa at an estimated cost of nearly Rs 700 crore is now going to be shelved for two reasons - (i) unproductive nature of the line and (ii) constraints of resources. It may be recalled that the...

IMPHAL, August 6: The Irabot Memorial Charitable Trust, Manipur will install a life-size statue of Jana Neta Hijam Irabot at his birthplace at Pishum Oinam Leikai. The construction of the statue is now being done on war footing for unveiling it on September 30. The construction committee of the trust has been raising funds to complete the project which is estimated to cost around Rs 3 lakhs. The committee has made an appeal for seeking contributions from the general public. Considering Irabot as a pioneering social worker of Manipur, Lamyanba Irabot Khonggul Liba Lup, Oinam Leikai took its...

NEW DELHI, August 6: The Centre would give a special thrust to set up food parks in the Northeastern states to facilitate new food processing units that could value-add to the region's vast horticultural resources, Minister of State for Food Processisng Chaoba Singh said on Saturday, reports UNI. Inaugurating a seminar here on development of the Northeast, he pointed out that the food park scheme would provide a total technology and infrastructure package to important horticultural produce collection centres. Facilities for the food park would include cold storage, cold chain, warehousing...

NEW DELHI, August 6: After the Central Government's permission to allow foreigners to visit Nagaland, the Union Home and Tourism Ministries have received demands for lifting restrictions on the foreign tourists in other Northeastern states as well. These states, including Manipur, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, have made a beeline for the two Ministries, and requested that foreigners should be allowed a free access in order to boost tourism. The government had last month lifted the ban on foreign tourists in certain districts of Nagaland. A decision on the demands of the other Northeast states...

AIZAWL, August 5: Mizoram Director General of Police (DGP) M. Tumsanga on Friday gave appointments on compassionate ground to the dependents of 17 policemen killed in action, reports PTI. The appointees included wives or next-of-kin of the seven policemen killed by Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF) militants near Malsury in Lunglei district on June 30 and those five policemen killed by Manipur's PREPAK ultras at Mizoram-Manipur border hamlet of Vaitin in 1999. All the 17 new appointees were given jobs according to their educational qualifications in the police department. Addressing the...