GUWAHATI, July 13 ? The North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Power Finance Corporation (PFC) for a Rs 2000 crore loan for the execution of the 600 MW Kameng Hydropower project in Arunachal Pradesh and 280 MW gas based power project in Tripura. A NEEPCO release said that the Kameng project would be completed in five years and the gas-based project in Tripura would be completed within the Eleventh Five Year Plan. The completion of these two projects would completely meet the power requirement of the North Eastern region and the...

GUWAHATI, July 13 ? While a major part of the State continues to reel under flood, the Brahmaputra, which has been in spate for the past few days, has posed a serious threat to the city itself. The Brahmaputra was today flowing menacingly at 1.59 metres above the danger level. The trend, however, remained steady throughout the day. Meanwhile, the river was recorded by the Central Water Commission (CWC) as flowing at 51.27 metres at 5 pm today, which is the second highest since 1988 when it had touched 51.37 metres and inundated the Fancy Bazar and Bharalu areas. Yesterday it was recorded at 51...

NEW DELHI, July 13 ? Beleaguered caretaker Chief Minister, Gegong Apang today came to the defence of State Governor VC Pande, pleading that the Centre should allow him to complete his term that expires in four months. His reactions came following reports that the Central Government has made up its mind to remove the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh for his role during the recent political crisis. He sent in three conflicting reports to the President within a span of 24 hours, creating all-round confusion at the Centre. ?I appeal to the Central Government not to disturb him. The Governor has not...

GUWAHATI, July 13 ? At a time when the entire State is reeling under the fury of floods and erosion, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has pointed out a case of wasteful expenditure incurred by the Water Resources Department ?due to an injudicious decision to take up erosion protection work under the ?Flood Damage Repair? (FDR) scheme in an area known to be prone to recurring flood and erosion.? The CAG, in its report presented to the State Assembly yesterday, said that the Department incurred a wasteful expenditure amounting to Rs 63.65 lakh and the work remained incomplete...

Aizawl, July 12: Notorious for hunting birds and small wildlife with their slingshots and airguns, children of rural Mizoram are mending their ways. On Saturday, 349 schoolchildren of Sihphir Vengthar village, about 20 km from Aizawl, pledged in public not to target wildlife.

These children, from the primary to high school level, collectively promised to ?protect the environment and wildlife with utmost effort?.

The ceremony was organised jointly by the forest department and the Young Mizo Association (YMA) branch of the village. The Sihphir Vengthar chapter of the YMA is the first non...