News

AGARTALA, June 18 – A total of 952 people have been killed and over 1200 kidnapped by insurgents in Tripura during the last five years, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar has said.

In a written reply to a question by leader of the Opposition Ratan Lal Nath in the Assembly recently, Sarkar, who also holds the Home portfolio, said that 633 people were injured in insurgency-related incidents and 111 houses set ablaze by the ultras during the same period.

A total 836 insurgents had surrendered, he said, adding, 858 insurgents were arrested and 179 insurgents killed during the same period...

GUWAHATI, June 18 – Indian industries are facing stiff challenges following free flow of third country products across the international border. The problem in the North East is more apparent as most of the markets are being flooded by these cheap products, posing a serious threat to the Indian industries.

The third country products are generally brought from Myanmar and then sold to different markets as per demand of the people. Porous Indo-Myanmar border and lack of enforcing agencies are helping the traders to run their business without any hindrance.

In Guwahati, three markets...

Kokrajhar, June 18: Trouble is brewing again in the Bodo heartland, this time over Dispur’s alleged apathy towards the tribal community’s language. The Bodo Sahitya Sabha (BSS) today warned of a mass agitation if the Tarun Gogoi government did not lift the ban on appointment of teachers and provincialisation of venture schools in which the tribal language is the medium of instruction.

“The Bodo language is still at the nascent stage, and the ban on appointment of teachers and provincialisation of schools has affected its very foundation. In the district of Golaghat, there is no provincialised...

SHILLONG, June 18 – The Meghalaya Assembly on Thursday admitted a privilege motion against an NCP member questioning ‘impartiality’ of the Speaker. Speaker Martin M Danggo informed the House that his secretariat received a notice for privilege motion by Congress’ Zenith M Sangma who quoted media reports on April 26 last saying NCP leader ‘Edmund K Sangma flays Danggo for supporting the ruling party’s views’.

The Speaker said the motion would be taken up for discussion on Monday. Zenith Sangma in his privilege motion said the reports quoting the NCP leader questioned the ‘impartiality’ of...

Imphal, June 17: Call it the drama of survival. When not staging or rehearsing plays, one of Manipur’s acclaimed theatre groups makes sanitaryware to augment its meagre earnings. Imphal Banyan Repertory Theatre’s sanitaryware production unit is the brainchild of its director M.C. Thoiba, who was an engineer with the public health engineering department before theatre beckoned.

Everyday, after drama rehearsals are over, members of the theatre group shift focus to an entirely different creative process: making low-cost sanitaryware for the rural market.

It is an alternative source of income...