KARIMGANJ, August 19: The Union government has fixed the year 2007 as the deadline to complete construction of fencing and border roads along the entire stretch of the Indo-Bangla border from Mizoram to West Bengal, GK Pillai, joint secretary (Northeast) in the Union home ministry said today. Pillai, who is here in connection with the visit of a joint delegation of the Union government, the state government and the All Assam Students Union (AASU) to the border areas of Karimganj district, said the people of the state have to take up the responsibility of checking illegal infiltration into the...

GUWAHATI, August 19: The nationwide drive launched by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to woo regional parties to have an electoral alliance with it has not had any success in the state much to the relief of the Congress. The saffron party's success has remained limited to striking a deal with the All Bodo Students' Union (ABSU)-backed Bodo political groups in the Kokrajhar constituency only. Sources in the state BJP said though the national leadership of the party was interested in having an electoral alliance with the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), the regional party did not give any positive...

GUWAHATI, August 19: Restoration of peace and all-round development of the state will be the main poll planks of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls. This was announced by chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, who is also the president of the AGP. Mahanta said implementation of the Assam Accord would also be one of the main issues to be raised by the AGP. The Congress has been alleging that the AGP-led alliance government in the state has failed to provide security to the life and property of the people. It has also accused the state government of failing to take up...

GOALPARA, August 19: A group of 20 hardcore Rabha militants along with a huge cache of arms and ammunition surrendered to the Goalpara district administration in presence of high police and Central Reserve Police (CRPF) officials at a simple function here on August 15 last. The surrendered militants of the Rabha National Security Force (RNSF) were led by Laberson Rabha, district commander of the outfit who laid down a US-made sub-machinegun. Other weapons deposited by the cadres included a .22 US-made rifle, four foreign-made revolvers, two hand-made bombs, one Sten gun, one pistol and 80...

AGARTALA, August 19: A Tripura government engineer, working at the Dambur hydel project of South Tripura district, has been released by the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) after nine months of captivity following payment of a heavy ransom, police sources said on Wednesday. Gurupada Guchhait, who had been abducted from the protected area of the project on November 27 last year, reported at the office of the power department at Amarpur at 10.30 pm on night and said the ultras had just released him. Guchhait had been suffering from different ailments during his nine-month captivity and is...